Arriving in Lesotho, the poverty was immediately striking. OK, not as bad as other parts of Africa but it seemed so African straight away. I think I was saying something nostalgic such as "oh Rachel, we're in Africa again". Houses were mostly concrete built but then it can get very cold in Lesotho as it has the highest low point on Earth of any country. Its lowest point is 1300m, i.e. higher than almost all of the UK. Ben Nevis is only 1395m or thereabouts. We stopped in the first town we came to, Mafeteng. Suddenly, there wasn't so much to buy for dinner, even in the Chinese-owned food shop we went in to. We walked around the housing areas, just as I would anywhere else in Africa and met people. This time, it was the children who entertained us. They were keen for their photo to be taken and had fun with seeing their picture on the digital camera.

We slowly made our way to Malealea, a place we knew of a well-run lodge that runs activities. On the way, we stopped to take a picture and suddenly lots of children came from nowhere, hence their nickname "pop-ups". This is not so unsual as "we were in Africa again" ;-) But Rachel was not used to this and their passionate pleas for sweets and money didn't bounce off her not-so-hardened skin and she found it hard to say no. For the first time, it is. Most tourists do give something or course ( e.g. a pen) but giving nothing but a smile is the most appropriate, which I will come to in my summary email. Whereas the people asking for money or whatever would normally be left way below me outside the truck, this time, the very sweet children had their noses pinned up on all of the windows around the car, which somehow made leaving them a little harder.

On the way to Malealea, we picked up our first hitchhiker - an elderly man who hardly knew where he was I'd say and didn't really speak English but his grandson (probably) told me where he wanted to go. We dropped him further down the road and then went off the tarred road towards Malealea Lodge. Here, as in most rural areas and some urban areas, most Basotho (meaning the people of Lesotho) were dressed in the traditional Basotho blanket, which looks like a rug wrapped around people. Ponies and horses are still commonly used, which is fairly unique in Africa. I have seen very few horses in Africa. Oxen pulling carts and sheep were also common. A lot of animals here for an African country! Driving towards the Lodge, we came to a peak, where there was a gap in the rock. The view was absolutely spectacular, hence it hance been dubbed "The Gates of Paradise". It's no surprise to me that I could find a picture on the web of this, which is pretty good considering most photos of views don't come out very well. Look at the top of this page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/novosad/page2/ It unfortunately shows you the view through the gates and cuts out the rocks that look like gates!

I was pleased to stay at Malealea Lodge for 2 nights in our own little hut (that amused Rachel). The Lodge is very much community-orientated with a local choir and a local band singing and playing music every night. They receive money from tips and sell their music. Children are asked to give tours of the village; older locals act as guides for pony trekking, walking tours etc. The workers at the Lodge have set up Malealea Development Trust. Over the years they have done some fabulous projects in the area.

[Aside for the few people who I think are interested in the area of child sponsorship...
The Lodge's website is comprehensive on what they offer a visitor and what they do for the area. The following is a link to interesting thoughts on child sponsorship, e.g. why you should check out the organisation (if applicable) via which you sponsor a child etc., what goes wrong sometimes with child sponsorship etc. The Lodge comments on problems they had with their own sponsorship scheme and how they operate it now. The interesting newspaper cartoon may be headed "why not to sponsor a child" but in the context of their website, it is highlighting the pitfalls. http://www.malealea.co.ls/development_scholarship.htm]

First morning there, Rachel went up to the nearest public phone at the Gates of Paradise pass, 5km away, to make a phone call to work for her seat choices (she's a trainee solicitor). The chickens in the metal shack and the calf running around outside amused her. Far cry from the people she was calling! We then went on a walk using Joseph, a school leaver we met the previous night, as our guide. We hiked down a pretty gorge, dodging the river running through it (normally dry at this time of the year). We stopped for lunch (beetroot chutney sandwiches...lol) at some cascades. Unfortunately, Rachel slipped into a deep rock pool as her short legs proved to be a disadvantage. She was not amused! Just as she started to dry off, a ladder which used to provide walkers with a dry route over the river had gone, which was unknown to Joseph. So we had to throw our shoes over to dry land and then slide off a rock into the river, which is shallow away from the rock pools. Hiking our of the gorge was almost a rock climb.

Leaving Malealea the following day, we were stopped by two policemen. They asked if they could have a lift to the main road. How can I refused? It's important to avoid them suddenly finding a fault with the car or something! We drove to Maseru, the capital city. Finding a place with unleaded petrol was not an easy task. LRP and diesel is what people in Lesotho are still mainly using...this tells you something about the vehicles in Lesotho! We walked around the centre a little, which was quite modern but modest and small. We drove along the South Africa - Lesotho border, passing through some attractive mountainous areas with alpine-like trees and cute villages. Then crossed back into South Africa.