Waking early on Saturday, I grabbed a lift
with friends (David and Brian – top blokes) to another country – South Africa,
crossing the border and getting stamped must have been the biggest anti-climax ever (even if it was nice and straightforward)!
To begin with the border crossing was fairly straight forward, get out of the
vehicle and get a stamp done, then continue the day as normal really, no
landscape change or real landmark, at least the Severn Bridge crossing gives
you a landmark, kind of strange.
The one and a half hour drive to Bloemfontein
(home to the Cheetahs rugby team for those of you who know your southern
hemisphere super rugby). The city is a city, much bigger than Maseru and far
more going on by the looks of it. The first thing you notice is that there is a
lot more white people, you don’t get looked at walking the street like in
Lesotho, because it is the norm, nice to be slightly invisible for the day,
though can’t say it bothers me much.
After running a few errands to some random
shops, one sold tents that go on top of 4x4’s, I now want a 4x4 and a tent like
that, they look awesome (Ioan - if you’re reading this, you’d have been in your
element). The next shop sold party gear, so we had good fun trying on various
masks of all kinds.
Then, to have lunch at a place called ‘Kloppers’
(I think!) really lovely light café, near a lake. Whilst the varsity
cheerleaders danced outside (all uniform blondes) we sat and enjoyed our food –
a super tasty burger was in order, followed by what I can only describe as the
largest slice of carrot cake I have ever had. We then wondered about before
heading to the cinema to see what was on – the film chosen ‘ Les Miserables’ (I
can safely say it’s not my kind of film). For those of you who enjoyed it….please
explain – it goes on for ages and is quite frankly pretty poor. The only
enjoyment for me was the flickers of humour shown by Sacha Baron Cohen’s
character, I think Hugh Jackman should remain as Wolverine, though I was
impressed that he can sing that well! Before leaving we head to the supermarket
‘Woolworths’ it’s the Marks and Spencer of SA, so treats galore! J
The journey back seemed much quicker,
watching the landscape flow by the roadside, even spotted a dust devil (like a
mini tornado) in the ploughed fields. The wealth of South Africa that I saw is
the clear difference as even the Basotho language remains the same (as that
area of SA used to belong to the Basotho people). At the border we hand over our receipts to the Lesotho customs - they can claim the VAT back for the coffers of the Government.
Sunday morning, up early again and off to
join the Maseru Hash Harriers once again, as we take the road to Roma and pull
up by the side of the road to park and enjoy the stunning scenery. We head off
into the remote area and split into walkers and runners, jumping over or
through rivers up small ravines and hills and dodging trees in the forest – it’s
the perfect tonic to the lack of exercise I have been undertaking. After that I’m
exhausted, head to the office to Skype, and then for a late lunch with my friend
Steph, and then homewards.
As I sit and reflect on a good weekend, the
thunder booms in the distance I am settled and enjoying myself. A call from
home adds to my pleasant evening and I kick back on the sofa to
watch Batman – only the cicadas and straw roof remind me where I am, oh and the spiders of course.
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