Lesotho

We had to take a few days off this week to go up to Lesotho on a road trip. I was definitely in need of a mini-break and the perfect excuse came up for it in trying to help Mike to extend his tourist visa as he's been 'grounded' by the volcano! By leaving the country and returning a few days later he could extend his time in South Africa without having to return all the way to the UK.

So Mike, Steve, and I set off with our English friend Kath to attempt the Sani Pass border from KZN into Lesotho. We made good time and the going was good until we got to the exit border from SA when the border police advised us we might not make it up the Sani Pass without a 4x4. However, they hadn't reckoned on my Hilux being 'indestructible' and, after a quick chat with a driver coming down the pass, we decided to attempt it anyway. The track was a little hairy in places but Steve managed to skillfully negotiate the hair pin bends. Once at the top we befriended an English guy who is travelling Africa by motorbike who had managed to fall off his bike twice on the same track! It was ok for us but for most of the winter the track is covered in mud and snow.

We stayed at the highest pub in Africa overnight, which was chilly as it's situated on the edge of a mountain!! After the tropical warmth of Monteseel, it was a bit of a shock to the system. The next day we travelled across the Maloti mountains to Botha Bothe which was a long drive through spectacular mountains. At pretty much the highest point, near an old diamond mine, my exhaust decided to split and from then onwards it was a noisy journey all the way home. We also passed the only ski resort on the African continent, it's all happening in Lesotho! It might be one of the poorest countries and be suffering heavily with the AIDS pandemic, but they still know how to welcome tourists (and skiers) to their land!

God looked after us and even provided us with a place to stay on the second night when we ended up without a clue where to stay. We came across a guest house called Naleli, in the small town of Leribe. The lady who worked there, Margaret, made us feel very much at home and proved how friendly the locals are! If you ever find yourself in Leribe, stay there! After a good night's sleep we crossed the border back to Free State and back home via the Golden Gate National Park.

Although we are all now much refreshed, unfortunately our mission failed as Mike was granted only another 7 days as there was no Home Affairs at the border. He's now trying to get home before he gets arrested, deported or something similar.. Pray that it gets sorted out, he only has a few days left...

T-shirts!

Grapevine Foundation founder Micky and her new husband Klaas have made a flying visit to us whilst on honeymoon travelling round South Africa and they brought a selection of t-shirts kindly donated by Pat and John Hannigan from Wales.

We gathered my 36 of my 40 kids together at Inchanga Primary School yesterday to distribute the t-shirts. They all got one that fitted and so everyone was happy. It was great to see them all together as normally I have the smaller ones in one group and the older ones on another day. It was also brilliant to see the older boys helping the little kids in Reception to put their t-shirts on the right way round. They are good kids.

A big thank you to Pat and John for the t-shirts which will certainly be worn a lot, especially as it's still very warm here even though 'winter' is coming! ;-)

Easter fun

My hilux also makes a good washing line!

fun at the pool

On Easter Saturday we organised a party for the children from Sithembakuye orphanage. Despite the few days previous being a bit iffy with the weather, Saturday morning was brilliantly clear without a cloud in the sky and very warm indeed. Perfect for a pool party. Not so perfect for the marshmallow eggs that we'd hidden in the garden though, which were in real danger of melting away!

The kids arrived and were straight into the pool, their confidence is increasing in the water with some of the littler ones being very brave and even splashing me! (not a wise move generally). A couple of the older kids are still a little shy of being in the pool but thankfully we didn't need to rescue anyone this time.

Sean's brother and sister, who are visiting at the moment, had hidden the eggs round the garden and the kids loved looking round for them. We have a big enough garden with lots of hiding places to make it a really fun activity. Afterwards they did stop to make sure that each child had found some and shared out eggs as necessary. This is what's so great about Africa, it's not so individualistic as other places, no one ate until everyone had something to eat.

After lunch, we played some traditional party games - pass the parcel, pin the egg in the basket and egg and spoon races in the garden. All the kids joined in with gusto and there was a really happy atmosphere.

The Gogos often come up and enjoy a fun day with the kids. However, on this occasion, the Gogo worked really hard instead with Russell as they had to do a lot of washing. For a few months now their valley has been without water and it's getting really hard for them to do washing each week. They are relying on a water lorry that comes round as and when, but when you've got lots of kids and all the washing for them to do, it gets a bit overwhelming. Our washing machines were going all day, but it was actually faster for the Gogo and Russell and some of the older girls to wash by hand in the bath! In the space of a few hours they'd washed and dried everything and definitely earned an Easter chocolate crispy cake before they took it all home!