Wow 4 years ago at Splashy
Life is the journey.. MORE TO FOLLOW
THURSDAY 28th March Easter weekend. 4.15 am
Early start, aimed to get to Clarens for breakfast at 8.30 , and meet Craig and gang and then convoy 100kms into Lesotho .
A accident just outside Harrismith at 7.30am, delayed us ( Sara and I) till 9.30 and then finally arrived in Clarens for breakfast, Craig and the gang, went up Olifants hoek pass via bergville so were there at 9 .They visited the crystal shop in Clarens , so didn't need to feel guilty for the delay .
Sailed thur the border post and arrived at destination around 2pm.. Aloe guest chalets ..about 70 Kms inland. Just chilled and registered and set up our trading table in registration room ..
80 rock hounds will eventually arrive by Friday evening , all from South Africa,different nationalities , Belguim,German, Chinese, Afrikaans, English , Sotho. from young to old.
The deputy President opened the Gemboree on Friday evening , and they , I am sure we're very grateful for the influx the 80 people brought in .
One thing that came across is that the people of Lesotho we met were very content, even though their lots in life may not be opulent . I figure that as we saw the houses that were in the fields ,they were always full of crops, mealies, vegetables etc, and there was a noticeable lack of litter, very little plastic..
Saturday
We all congregated to go in convoy early in the morning , probably about 30 cars, and bakkies and 4x4's.A lot of people commented on the Tata sedan that I was driving , as it managed very well keeping up with the 4x4 , in the rough terrain , that we encountered on way to the volcano.
I found some really quartz clusters at our first site just 10 km from our base.
We returned home after lunch and in afternoon traded in registration room , selling crystals etc from Bee Light Crystals, swooped stories and bought few goodies from the only other trader..
Early to bed, pleasantly tired after a day in the sun and physical exercises bending and picking up treasures... Because of the high altitude, the air felt thinner , if that's the right expression...
Sunday
We went off to the dinosaur foot print site , see pic. After that looking for agate, we left just before the rain came, see the pic , looming clouds..
When you travel in Lesotho expect road blocks, usually checking road worthiness and licenses, we always found the police very friendly, and its good to learn to speak a little Sothu , thank you sounds like GAALA BOA . The G is pronounced with very guttural sound..they , all the people appreciated the effort .. And not a lot could speak or understand English .
Back early for lunch and then afternoon , mineral auction , some very nice donations which sold well . We managed to get some beautiful Green Adventurine slices, Sara will turn that into jewellery, also beautiful Abreciated jasper beads ..
Monday
Trip to Katse dam, 100km east from our base, the trip because of step inclines and descents will take over two hours, often driving in second gear as to avoid brakes over heating and failing. There are lots signs to tell you engage low gear and not use brakes , the signs say brake failure due to over heating kills... To say the least the out going trip was bit nerve racking , on way back bit easier.
The visit to the dam was interesting , it is 50kms long , so one drives with it in view for a while. It is used to generate 70% of Lesotho electrical needs, and it also feeds the the three main rivers heading to Gauten province , thus supply johhanesburg and surrounds with water.. South Africa funded 90% of the project which took 7 years to complete. In return for using Lesotho water resources, SA pays R54m a month for the water.
We left early so missed going under the dam wall for 1.5 hrs tours, I was glad to miss didnt feel like confined spaces ..
We reach boarder at about 4 pm .. Chaos reigned , double lane traffic blocked bridge, and at least 500 people on foot going back into SA .. Eventually some police came and started directing traffic, and cars moved thru quickly. We reached our overnight stop in Fouriesbergs at the Meeringkloof nature, enjoyed a meal at the Die Plaas Stoep , everyone in the small town was so friendly.
The next morning, we took a walk into the nature reserve to amazing huge over hang rock , probably size of two football fields... See pics..
After that back thru Clarens , Harrismith and had to duck under cover just by howick as a major hail storm went on for over 30 mins, and of course created a accident .. Arrive safe at Umdloti 6.30 pm.. Tired and well rested from the outside world ..
Unpacked luggage and crystal treasures ...
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