Diana Petterson African Continent, Lesotho

The Vast and Gorgeous Lesotho Highlands and its People

A Basotho woman, wearing the traditional Basotho blanket, is filling buckets with water at the communal tap or pipe in the Malealea village in Lesotho. The water pumped here is used for drinking and cooking. Traditional attire revolves around the Basotho blanket, a thick covering made primarily of wool. The blankets are ubiquitous throughout the country during all seasons, and worn differently by men and women. (Oct. 11, 2018)

We entered the Kingdom of Lesotho Wednesday afternoon through its very hectic capital city of Maseur, but as we continued our drive to the Malealea Lodge camp grounds, the city congestion gave way to the gorgeous vistas known as the Lesotho Highlands.

Lesotho has a population of about 2.2 million people, 25% of whom live in urban areas while the remainder live in rural areas throughout the country. The people identify themselves as Basotho. And, the name Lesotho roughly translates to “the land of the people who speak Sesotho.”

Malealea is a village in the Mafeteng district in southern Lesotho, located in the Makhaleng valley. The dirt roads to the village are bumpy and dusty but once you arrive, there’s this feeling of being warmly enclosed by this simple village of farmers living in huts surrounded by massive beauty.

Here’s Malealea in the Kingdom of Lesotho. Next is the Wild Coast of South Africa and the small town of Cintsa.

Entering the border of the Kingdom of Lesotho border which is also known as the Kingdom in the Sky because it’s high in the mountains of Southern Africa. It also has the unique distinction of being an independent nation completely surrounded by South Africa. (Oct. 10, 2018)
When you enter Lesotho’s border, you’re entering the capital city of Maseru, which is also it’s largest city. This portion of the city is by the border. (Oct. 10, 2018)
Views of Lesotho as we drove from Maseru to the Malealea Lodge where our Intrepid tour group stayed Wednesday and Thursday nights. (Oct. 10, 2018)
The economy of Lesotho is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing and mining while the majority of households subsist on farming. (Oct. 10, 2018)
The Gates of Paradise Pass is a stunning view point en route to our Malealea Lodge in Lesotho. That’s our Intrepid bus stopped a long the gravel road so we could take photos of the views. The young man, a local, perched on top of rock seemed as mesmerized by the views as we were. (Oct. 10, 2018)
The views from the Gates of Paradise Pass en route to the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho. (Oct. 10, 2018)
The Malealea Lodge in the village of Malealea in Lesotho, is nestled in the Makhomalong Valley and surrounded by the beautiful Maloti Mountains. (Oct. 10, 2018)
My thatched roof Basotho hut, #31, at the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho. (Oct. 10, 2018)
My thatched roof Basotho hut, #31, at the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho, with my own en-suite bathroom. (Oct. 10, 2018)
The village of Malealea, Lesotho, choir sings nightly at the Malealea Lodge for donations and another way locals earn a living. (Oct. 10, 2018)
These metal containers are the Malealea village shops along the road close to the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The women of the Malealea village in Lesotho, much like this woman who makes donuts and other food for sale, operate these types of businesses while the men farm the land. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The grocery store for the Malealea village in Lesotho. Deliveries are not made to the store, instead the owner must drive quite a distance to purchase the necessary items needed to stock the shelves for the villagers. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The traditional style of housing in the Malealea village in Lesotho are rondavel constructed from large stones cemented together and or baked mud bricks. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The views from the Malealea village in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The farmlands inside the Malealea village in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The views from the Malealea Village in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
Traditional rondavel houses in the Malealea village in Lesotho with its own patch of land for growing fruits or vegetables for the family. (Oct. 11, 2018)
A Basotho woman, wearing the traditional Basotho blanket, is filling buckets with water at the communal tap or pipe in the Malealea village in Lesotho. The water pumped here is used for drinking and cooking. Traditional attire revolves around the Basotho blanket, a thick covering made primarily of wool. The blankets are ubiquitous throughout the country during all seasons, and worn differently by men and women. (Oct. 11, 2018)
This Basotho woman is harvesting corn for maze in the Malealea village in Lesotho. A majority of families raise their own food and livestock. Some staple foods include pap-pap, a cornmeal porridge and beverages such as beer are locally brewed by a number of women in the Malealea village. When the beer is ready for purchase or consumption, the woman put yellow flags outside of their homes. (Oct. 11, 2018)
We visited the Makhetheng Primary School just outside the Malealea village in Lesotho. The school has six teachers for about 240 students that range in age from 6 to 13 and are taught math, agriculture, science and technology, and HIV and AIDS along with English and Sesotho languages. HIV is highly prevalent in Malealea. The children are also provided with two meals a day, breakfast and lunch. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The Makhetheng Primary School just outside the Malealea village in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
The rondavel thatched-roof local craft store in the Malealea village in Lesotho. This is where locally made items from straw baskets to straw hats, dolls to jewelry are for sale and provide an income for the villagers. (Oct. 11, 2018)
Inside the local craft store in the Malealea village in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
Inside the local craft store in the Malealea village in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
Inside the local craft store in the Malealea village in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
After the Thursday morning 3-hour Malealea village walk on a gloriously warm and sunny day with a chance to experience traditional Basotho life, I took the remainder of the day for myself. With a nice warm shower in my hut’s en-suite bathroom, a late afternoon bacon sandwich, I did some writing with a lot of relaxing and taking in the views at the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho. (Oct. 11, 2018)
We left Lesotho early Friday morning…6 a.m. early for our day-long trek to South Africa’s Wild Coast and the small coastal town of Cintsa. But before we could do any of that, we needed to exit Lesotho except when we arrived at the Lesotho border exit, along a rather desolate gravel road, it was closed. (Oct. 12, 2018)
Here we are, our Intrepid group, early Friday morning waiting on the Lesotho side of the border for the border guard to make it to work so we could get back on the road to our South Africa destination of Cintsa. (Oct. 12, 2018)
The border guard/officer/worker, whose home was within a two minute walking distance from the Lesotho border, opening the gate for our Intrepid group to exit.
This cute warning sign on the drive into the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho pretty much sums up the country roadways to the lodge and back and also to the border. Thanks Helen for taking this photo and for sharing it. (Oct. 12, 2018)