Kingdom of Lesotho - The Roof of Africa

02/09/2018 Our plan for our 2-day stay in the Drakensberg was actually to hike up to the Amphitheatre. 7 hours for experienced and fit hikers plus the corresponding ascent and descent. But when we arrive at our hostel Amphibackpackers, interesting tours are offered to us and we spontaneously decide to join the trip to the neighboring Kingdom of Lesotho tomorrow. When will we ever have the chance to see something like this again? Probably not so soon.

It gets dark here at 5:30 pm and we hurry to set up the tent borrowed from Denja's host brother Thomas. In no time at all, it's dark and our somewhat aged shelter is standing. We cook pasta and complete the menu with salad and dessert. Wash up and onto the air mattress, because we're supposed to start at 7:20 am tomorrow. But we can't really sleep well. It storms so heavily that we wonder if the tent will hold up through the night. Right on time, we start early in the morning. Apart from us, there's only Reka, a veterinary medicine student from Zurich, and Searchmore, our African guide. Very cool. Searchmore provides us with information about the Kingdom of Lesotho during the trip.

Lesotho is the highest country in the world, as it has its lowest point at 1,400 meters. That's why it's also called the Roof of Africa. When we arrive at the border, we can clearly feel the altitude through the colder temperatures. Brrrh, how must it be in deep winter?

Right at the border crossing, we also understand what the travel guide means when he describes that out of the 5,500 km of roads in Lesotho, only 800 km are paved. This is the main road. No joke.

We fly like dolls in the car and are shaken back and forth. Searchmore just laughs and says, "African massage, he?"

The second thing that immediately catches the eye is that Lesotho is a beautiful and terribly poor mountainous country. The nature is breathtaking and the tranquility is captivating. The village residents can be seen wrapped in colorful blankets herding animals, riding steep mountain slopes on horseback, or walking along narrow paths. There is no electricity or water. That has to be fetched from the nearest well, which is several kilometers away. Unbelievable.

There is nothing that characterizes the western world. No supermarkets, no ATMs, no shops, no factories, no workshops, no television, no radio... simply nothing. But there is plenty of wonderful nature and endless opportunities for hiking and trekking.

The inhabitants of our village have to provide for themselves, growing corn, cabbage, and other vegetables. They can only make money by selling a sheep or a goat, but first they would have to have animals, and that's difficult. The families depend on finding paid work in South Africa for the men and women of working age. But that's almost impossible, as a visa is valid for a maximum of 30 days. For urgently needed items like mattresses, cooking pots, or school supplies, they have to go to South Africa. By foot — because there is no public transportation. Almost nobody has a driver's license, let alone a car. The steep walk alone takes 1.5 hours to the border, and then the next town is still far away.

We visit the village school. It's Sunday and unfortunately the school children are not there. The building was constructed with the help of our hostel, so now each class has its own room. The cute but very small roundhouse, which used to have to accommodate everyone, is now used as a kitchen because the children receive breakfast and lunch here. This is also necessary because they often can't get any food at home. We are placed in the school desks and the school principal plays school with us. We learn essential words like hello, thank you, etc. The words sound so foreign that we secretly save them in our phones because the good man actually asks us about them with beautiful regularity. Hehe, just like the kids, we cheat.

The principal explains that the primary school is free and attended by all children. He says the high school is beyond that hill; the principal points to a huge mountain. When we ask, it turns out that the students have to walk there, 2 hours there and 2 hours back, every day. Uuaaah! Nevertheless, for most of them, attending high school remains an unattainable dream because the visit costs a whopping 800 Lilangeni in school fees per quarter! That's unaffordable for almost all families.

We also find out that medical care is a disaster. The doctor comes by every 3 months. Several of the children are AIDS orphans. Since there are no orphanages, they have to live alone. 11 children are also infected. We read from the travel guide that the population as a whole has been greatly decimated by AIDS and that there are almost no people over 35 years old. This generation has been almost wiped out, which has exacerbated poverty. Now it is also clear why there are big boxes of free condoms at the border during passport control.

We leave the tour bus behind and start our hiking tour. Today we only have to cover "just" 11 km and 700 meters of altitude, so it's an easy walk for Africans and a challenge for my still slightly sore thighs. The hike is really great, the landscape is varied and really worth seeing. So beautiful and so peaceful. The tranquility is wonderful and so is the view. It would be even better, though, if I didn't have to constantly look at my feet and could enjoy the view more. Well, that's what training is for. Once again, all we can do is persevere. It can only get better after all. We have lunch with a view and watch the boys herding goats. Occasionally, riders wrapped in blankets pass by.

We continue hiking until we reach the highest point and take some pictures.

 Then we go steeply downhill and crawl sideways like skiers down the rocky slope and steep grassy meadows.

Our guide Searchmore introduces us to the history of Lesotho. He shows us ancient rock paintings and explains that they were painted with animal blood and what they mean.

With his "Let's roll!" we head to the final stage. Quite exhausted, we reach the three small roundhouses. 

There we are served typical local food. The grandmother of the house puts a plate of pap and greens in the middle, and everyone eats from it. With the right hand, you pick a piece of pap, shape it into a mini flatbread, and use it to grab the greens, then let the combination disappear in your mouth. Pap is a white maize porridge that is eaten with every meal and really doesn't taste like anything. But it fills you up, is cheap, and available.

 Finally, we are introduced to the village healer. In full healer attire with appropriate robes and bells, he tells us the story of his calling. The school principal translates and we are allowed to ask questions. As we all discover later, none of us find the story very credible, so this part of the otherwise beautiful tour is very short. Satisfied, we get on the bus and shake our way back to the border. It's a shame that the day is already over. I would have liked to stay longer.

The travel guide says that Lesotho is an underestimated travel destination. Despite the poverty, I can only agree.