The kids had half term break so we headed for the Sani Pass, which is a mountain pass between KwaZuluNatal in South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho, the tiny mountain kingdom that is entirely land locked by South Africa.
It is a long drive from Pretoria so we tried to break it up with some stops. Stops are hard to find because along the main highways its not built up with hotels like you would find along interstates in the US. I'm still in the doghouse for a place in Durban that I booked through an internet site, so our family was pleasantly surprised by my first pick called the Lourenza Wildlife Reserve. It was this little slice of paradise down a long, muddy dirt road. A huge rain storm blew through while we were driving, the cottage we were supposed to stay in was flooded so instead we got to stay in the huge main farmhouse that had 5 bedrooms! There was no power due to the storm so the kids served us a candle light dinner of tuna fish sandwiches...very much like scene in the Parent Trap! The highlight was having our own Emu that wandered around the entire night & morning.
Kelly called him the "Creep Ew" which made Charlie mad! What we learned is that Emu's make a noise that sounds like a drum-it was pretty cool. This guy was very interested in everything we were doing, he would stick his head in the windows and he even watched TV with Kelly and Charlie in the morning.
Charlie got a four wheeler ride from the nice manager of the place, his name was "Wimpy" which is a real South African name, there is even a chain of burger restaurants called Wimpy. (makes me think of Popeye)
We headed for the Southern Drakensberg Mountains where we would spend the next night. We stopped for lunch at Van Reenen's Pass at this beautiful tea garden. (note the teenagers who won't look at the camera for the photo-too cool)
The restaurant was next to the smallest Catholic church. It was built by a man in memory of his son who died saving 8 people during an accident at a coal mine. The church had seating for eight.
Appropriately after we visited the little church we saw a real "praying mantis" at the table next to ours. I don't think I've ever seen a real one before!
After a drive through Zulu land where little huts are everywhere, we arrive at the town of Underberg, grab a few provisions and head for the place Charlie was most excited about.."The Little Wing Teepee Camp". Yes, we got to stay in real Native American Teepees...in Africa!
A view of the entire camp...this was another place I found online but wasn't too sure of, it turned out to be a winner!
It even came with friendly dogs...this one (we thought of her as Annabelle) we didn't catch her real name, spent the entire night with us, here she is on the cupboard in the outdoor kitchen, a lightning storm was brewing so I think this was where she felt safe. The lighting storm was incredible.
The kids loved the floating dock, they swam off it and just laid on it and read books.
Katie could probably have stayed there for a week reading, we could have just fed her occasionally and she would have been happy!
They didn't want to leave!! They said they wished we could have come here with Anya & Jake
(our buddies who came last summer)
Our tee pee named Eagle, it had a double bed, and extra mattresses for the floor, and a full size couch! Quite luxurious for a tee pee! We headed off for the Sani Pass which was about twenty minutes past the town of Underberg.
Sign saying you must have 4 wheel drive, however a mini bus taxi passed us that was coming down, I hope it had really good brakes!
A car heading up ahead of us.
The runoff from a waterfall, we got out to dip our feet.
We cross out of South Africa, then into "no mans land" until we get to the Lesotho border post at the top.
A view from the car, here is what Wikipedia has to say about the pass..
"The route up Sani Pass starts at 1544m and climbs 1332 vertical metres to an altitude of 2876 m. The road is a steep gravel road with gradients up to 1:3, which can be difficult to drive in bad weather and may be covered with snow and ice in winter. By South African law only 4x4 vehicles are allowed on the road.[1] The pass lies between the border controls of both countries and is approximately 9 km in length.[2] Caution must be exercised and drivers or riders must be alert while navigating the pass as it has claimed many lives.[1] Occasionally the remains of vehicles can be seen that did not succeed in navigating its steep gradients and poor traction surfaces."
After many hairpin turns- we make it!! It actually wasn't as hairy at the top as we thought, we learn that all the work that has been done to widen it at the top and re-grade it has made it much better than it was in years past. We were still happy to not attempt it with snow and ice.
Looking down from the top...
Lesotho is known for its beautiful blankets and the locals wear them like jackets to keep warm. Katie didn't pack well (no shock to anyone that knows Katie) and we buy her one to keep warm. The wind is howling at the top. Reminds me of reading about base camp in the book "Into Thin Air".
Another view..of the road we came up...
We hiked a bit at the top..
Sheep right outside our door...we stayed the night at the top.
Later the wind dies down and the clouds move in. we had been sitting inside the "Highest Pub in Africa" playing a cool card game with a group of American Missionaries who were on an around the world adventure. Charlie was getting squirrely so I offered to take him outside. The clouds were rolling in and it looked amazing, he decided to turn into Spider Man and climb rocks. We moved to bigger rocks after this one and when he was up high on one he said "Mom, I feel like I might fall back, will you get me?" So I had him jump down onto my back, I took one step and rolled my ankle-BADLY! I sent Charlie running to the pub to get Greg- sounds like an Irish joke, right? Greg and Kelly helped me up the hill, that night everyone at the pub rallied to help me out. The waiter prayed over my foot...a sweet couple from Switzerland started giving me pain medicine and brought their tool box size first aid kit to wrap it up...a girl from Belgium who was a medical student in SA asked if she could look at it, she wrapped it for me. It was pretty painful, and I hopped back to my room for the night with Kelly and Katie helping me, they called me Peter Cottontail.
I was waiting in the car for this photo...with my foot up high. We decided to drive straight back to Pretoria instead of staying one more night along the way, wanted to get me to an x-ray machine. Charlie said we could stop in one of the little towns to find a doctor for me...stand by for town photos...
Driving through Lesotho, we saw shepherds herding their sheep, these guys are wearing the traditional blankets...
Saw tons of donkeys too, some carrying supplies.
These little villages were all through the mountains...here is where Charlie would have had me get my ankle checked!
The blankets are airing out to dry. The drive through Lesotho was beautiful, even with a bad ankle, there were waterfalls all around us and gorgeous mountains. We even stopped by the ski resort called "AfriSki" as it was right on our way, there are just a few runs down the side of a mountain...no trees though so it seems like it would be strange to ski there.
We made it back to Pretoria by night (long drive) and headed for the ER where they confirmed I had broken my ankle. So as I write this I've got my foot elevated and have some interesting pain killers coursing through. That is my first broken bone and a big number one on my personal Anti-Bucket List!
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