Getting ready to roll...

Juanita has been serviced, my hair has been cut, final shopping is done - all that's left is to pack: equipment, food (including bread-making stuff), warm clothes for the mountains and swimmingもっと詳しく
We're rolling!

Lunch at Villiers

An OK drive to Villiers. We have been swapping drivers regularly. We have stopped for lunch at the Wimpy here and will now leave the N3.
Wimpy looking up when they serve balsamic and olive oil.
Vrystaat!

The Free State is as flat as ever. But today it was a brilliant green! Lots of mielies! But I couldn't get a good picture flying by at 120 kph.
The first signs of the escarpment and the Malutiもっと詳しく
The more things change...

The more they stay the same. Bethlehem is unrecognizable as the same town we travelled through 60 years ago, and Clarens is now a tourist trap instead of a little Vrystaat dorp.
But the Escarpment isもっと詳しく
... in Clarens

We are staying in one of the Clarens Cottages. It is very modern, very comfortable and a bit impersonal. But it's in Clarens, so it's fine! It's also a lot cooler in Clarens than in Modimolle: we areもっと詳しく
Clarens day 2

We actually managed 3 exciting things today: We drove several kms back towards Bethlehem to look at the Ash River Outfall. This is where the water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project flows out ofもっと詳しく
Caledonspoort Border Post

So into Lesotho we go. No problems at all at the border with chatty types on both sides.
Top of the World

View point at top of pass.
Well Bill created this Footprint when we were there but unable to post anything. So here are the pictures from the Top of the World.
Katse Dam

It took us 5 hours from Clarens to the Dam wall with all the stops for oohs and ahs and pics and driving hazards, but it's worth the drive!
Here are our first impressions:
First sight of the Dam wall,もっと詳しく
Orion Katse Lodge

Finally made it to the Lodge only to find our booking was just a room - no self-catering 😑
Oh well.
The room is reasonably appointed with a shower in the bathtub. We will just have to have dinnerもっと詳しく
Katse Dam wall tour

On our way from the Dam to Katse Lodge we stopped at the Visitors' Centre to enquire about tours. Angela had insisted we should do a tour that goes through a tunnel. There was a tour to the Dam wallもっと詳しく
Driving in Lesotho

Driving in Lesotho - especially to Katse Dam - is both hazardous and stressful. High, steep mountain passes, up and down around and around. You cannot drive fast because around the next bend might beもっと詳しく
Living in Lesotho

Some pics of people and places on our route. There were lots of little settlements and a couple of bigger towns. Every available slope was covered with mealies. And everything was GREEN!!
Pictures ofもっと詳しく
Golden Gate

We left Katse this morning at 8 and got to the border at 12. Much better than yesterday. We picked up a Mosotho mama at the border and dropped her in Clarens.
We needed to pick up Bill's pills at theもっと詳しく
Golden Gate Day 1

Cold, windy and overcast. The rondavel is very gloomy so we slept 'til 7. Walked towards the natural swimming pool, but it's frustrating not to be able to scramble up mountains any more 😕
Aもっと詳しく
Golden Gate Day 1 some more

A drive around Blesbok Loop yielded a few blesbok and some black wildebeest - and lots of pretty wild flowers and Golden Gate scenery. We walked in the campsite this afternoon. Crossed the bridge butもっと詳しく
A pilgrimage

Every time I or any of my sisters go to Golden Gate we make a pilgrimage to the van Reenen family graveyard. In our youth we spent many an Easter weekend at Lusthof, farm of Oom Percy and Aunt Lily deもっと詳しく
Golden Gate Day 2

Today was the day for the vulture restaurant.
But it doesn't seem to exist 😣
Not a single vulture and no new carcass.
However the wild flowers were lovely and the scenery stunning.
We haveもっと詳しく
For my Sistas!

Well, there was a sign to 'Surrender Hill' ie Lusthof, so on our way from Golden Gate to Hobhouse I insisted on the detour...
First the Mushroom Rock which you can really only see coming the otherもっと詳しく
Invaders of the Free State

Everybody knows the Eastern and Southern Free State is grasslands, but obviously the first white settlers didn't like it so planted exotic trees. Here is a selection seen on our route.
Lombardyもっと詳しく
Hobhouse

So we left Golden Gate just after 8. Detour to Lusthof took about an hour. Then we stopped in Ficksburg to replenish food supplies - we are not sure when we'll be able to do it again 😊
Theもっと詳しく
Hobhouse Day 1

When I woke this morning it was raining, and has continued to do so on and off all morning. So today was declared a day of rest and getting to sort Lesotho pictures.
We just had 'koffie' with ourもっと詳しく
Hobhouse Day 1 Cont.

So we made good progress with updating everything this morning but felt the need to get out and about this afternoon
So we drove through Hobhouse back towards Ladybrand as far as a rather nice damもっと詳しく
Hobhouse Day 2

This morning dawned overcast but cleared quite soon, so we thought it was safe to drive out and see the world. Started with a 'short' drive to a nearby dam on the old main road (!) to Wepener, onlyもっと詳しく