A hiking we will go [set to music], a hiking we will go … well, kinda.

I’m going to give you a not-so-quick update on what we’ve been up to in the past week, so as not to bombard you with too much info next time we chat. We’re heading out of Durban tomorrow for 8 days in Cape Town followed by a 3 day road trip back along the south coast of the country. So we’ll have a gong show worth of stuff to tell you about in a couple weeks time.

Last Thursday Roxie took to the road once again, this time heading to the southern Drakensberg. Our plans included a slightly elaborate trip for Saturday just across the border into the Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho. It involved a 14 km hike up to Bushman’s Nek and hiring mules to pack our stuff to the top, where we were to discover a rustic self-catering lodge (the only accommodation in the park) with fireplaces in every room. It gets way cold up there (okay, cold for Africa … we’ve become so wimpy that soon we'll be donning turtlenecks and jeans in 23 degree weather, just like the Durbanites). So we tried to pack accordingly, and I was super stoked to at last have a reason to wear my blue puffy vest, which I carted all the way from Canada with this sort of thing in mind. But alas, this amazing trek was not to be. We showed up at the border, but the mules didn’t. Bummer. And the lodge had no phone, so we were SOL.

But the journey was not wasted. It was awesome to once again get out of the city and into some peace and relative solitude. We spent a couple of nights in a fantastic hostel about 30km outside of a deceptively quaint town. Let’s just say the village boys are gangsta-wannabes and we hauled a$$ out of town when things started getting a little too rowdy for our taste (yes, parents, we haven’t ‘forgotten where we are’). But back to the hostel – clean, quiet (well, save for the Chatty Cathies from Denmark), and set amongst rolling green hills and a ridge we hiked the day we arrived (the trampoline photos are from a playground nearby ... Big Brother would NEVER let us have playgrounds with trampolines in Canada, would he?). The highlight of the place, particularly for Laura and I, had to be the outdoor shower. Yep, a hot overhead shower under trees and a perfectly clear night sky filled with a billion stars is about as luxurious as you can get. It had been a really long time since I had seen so many stars, and it was funny to see Orion's Belt sitting practically right on top of the horizon. I’m convinced more now than ever that I’ve GOT to have one of these babies in my house someday.

But the absolute highlight of our trip was the drive up the Sani Pass (originally a bridle trail for pack animals) to a mountain plateau and village in the kingdom of Lesotho somewhere over 9000 feet above sea level. We made the trek via a trusty old Land Rover circa 1985 up a zig-zagging (and beyond bumpy) mountain road (we couldn’t believe what that truck could do!).

The scenery was breathtaking (saw our first pack of baboons) and the people so interesting looking (I don’t think I’ve ever encountered people who live a life so completely different than mine). We wish the photos did a better job of capturing the sheer vastness and splendour of it all to give you a feel for what we’ve seen, but our old-school digitals just ain’t up to the task unfortunately. Up there there's no electricity (and therefore no television, which means their culture remains largely untouched) and no running water, basically just huts and pasture land (mainly sheep, cattle, and goats – they’re famous for their mohair). But, while it’s one of the poorest countries in Africa, we were told that the people are happy living so simply. We had an opportunity to look inside one woman's home and taste her home-brew (deliciously sweet). We also got versed in Lesotho etiquette - apparently one should never make eye contact for more than a second, or you come across as aggressive. Hmmm, another story worth noting: apparently Lesotho is the biggest supplier of weed on the continent (not sure how that works … Lesotho doesn’t appear to have a climate that would lend itself to successful grow-ops). And who’d have thunk we’d come across dealers 9000 feet up??? Huddling for warmth in wool blankets and touques (pardon, beanies) no less?

On the way down we managed to squeeze in a visit to the highest pub in Africa, which served incredible bread (ahh, we love our bread). I also sipped a glass of hot sweet wine from Lesotho called gluhwein (too sweet for my taste). The chalet was quite impressive, and I couldn’t believe how extensive the menu was considering everything has to be imported by trucks taking those crazy a$$ roads.

We spent our last (donkey-less) day just enjoying our surroundings. We all set out together to do a day hike, but early on Laura took an accidental dip in the second river we had to cross. So while she turned back in her soggy shoes, Christina and I proceeded on to hike through some swampy grassland and beautiful valleys. I turned back about an hour ahead of Christina to join Laura for some R’n’R at an amazing waterfall right on the Lesotho-SA border. Going back alone was done much to my chagrin because (I didn’t tell you this Christina) I was convinced that on my way back I would encounter at least one of the 24 species of snake found in the area, which tend to bite hikers “scrambling up grassy knolls” (including a hooded one that looks like a cobra … what the eff?!?) … um, but I didn’t (note to Laura and Christina: I probably shouldn’t be permitted to read about the “species to watch out for” before we hike … just kidding, you HAVE to let me, or I'll just die!!). Christina will have to fill you in on any adventures she may have had on her solitary trek. Back at the falls, where Laura was studying in style (see photo), the water was freezing but made for a terrific swim on a hot day. The falls offered a fun (but rough) ride – the photo of Christina and I was taken just before we collided (she was spooning me for about 5 solid seconds). It was a perfect end to a great trip (the falls, I mean, not the spooning).

So we turned back Saturday and made a somewhat perilous journey home (featuring a leaky tire and no headlights … we improvised with the lights with the use of, um, a towel and, well, we pretty much ignored the tire). That night there was a big Varsity (university) party called the Jamaican Jam. Laura and Christina can tell you all about it because I bailed. The highlight of my Saturday evening was cornering our resident evil, which Roger confirmed for us was a GIGANTUAN cockroach (or cock-a-roach, as he called it). I, all alone to confront this monstrosity of a bug, couldn’t bear the thought of trapping it and having it suffocate to death; so, of course, I solicited someone else to do the dirty deed (go Roger, go Roger, go, go, go Roger!!!). It was well worth the sacrifice of our Durban Dining Guide, but it took a brutal slaying and some muscle to conquer that thing.

Well, on that jolly note, hope all is alive and kickin’ back home. We are definitely feeling homesick. Thank goodness we’ll have Cape Town to distract us ….

As they say in Lesotho, Khotso, Pula, Nala (Peace, Rain, & Prosperity)! Okay, the west-coasters could probably do without the best wishes for rain …. A happy break to all!

Allison