Durban, SA & The Kingdom of Lesotho

Our early departure from the ship took us through the busy central business district of this big modern city of Durban into the hilly and beautiful suburbs. The landscape was lush, the homes beautiful and the terrain mountainous. As we got further from the city, we could see many small Zulu villages on the hilltops – with traditional round houses and small vegetable gardens. It was incredibly beautiful with large cattle farms, planted pine trees, corn fields and rural life. After 2.5 hrs we arrived at the Sani Pass Hotel, where we transferred into 4 x 4's for our journey farther inland into Lesotho. Our first impressions where that the road was rough, but we had no idea what was to follow. At the South African border we had to present our passports for inspection. From there we traveled only 8 km in one hour through “no man's land”. And then, another “pinch me” experience of climbing the rocky, windy, steep road up to the top of the Sani Pass! The whole area was just gorgeous – high mountains, rugged vegetation. No one lives on this land as it's been designated a World Heritage site. After another hour's drive up, we arrived at the Lesotho border (which we were not permitted to photograph). We entered into a small village of some 10 stone huts and a handful of people. The men were all shepherds who had come down from the mountains to see the “tourists” who had arrived. They wore little else but wool blankets and hats and rubber boots. The women welcomed us into their hut where we could see their meager living style. The vegetation was alpine, the weather much cooler, and the views incredible. We spent a couple of hours at the top of the mountain, taking it all in. Many of us shared our box lunches with the villagers, which they welcomed. Our journey down was slow and cautious, and we even passed a few people who were walking up, carrying their supply of wood. We were back at the ship almost 13 hours later. After the many stories our guides and others have told us about South Africa, we're beginning to realize the complexities of this vast country.