South Africa #37.

Today we are leaving Lesotho and heading back into South Africa. We are going to Drakensberg today. We see herds of mountain zebras and gnus (also known as wildebeests) on the sides of the road. It’s still so crazy to me to see these animals in a non-zoo, non-park atmosphere. Really very cool.

We stopped in a small town called Ladybrand to gas up the bus,  and strangely enough, attached to the gas station was this glorious Toyota dealership...all shiny and modern in the middle of nowhere. It was like a mirage. I popped inside to ask if I could take a few pix, and they must have wondered if I was nuts, but they agreed.

This is similar to our 4Runner, but called a Fortuner. 




And this is a Legend, similar to our Tacoma. 


We are now in the Free State province, and we stop for lunch in the little town of Clarens, also for Wellington to buy the supplies for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast as it’s another camping night tonight. When I was paying for my water and snacks, the cashier (Agnes) asked me to take her picture and to show everyone at home. So here you are Agnes! She posed and posed and made me take about 20 photos. 

Clarens was a really pretty town, it would have been a great place to stay overnight. This park was in the centre of the downtown area and the shops surrounded it on all 4 sides, lots of galleries and handicraft places. We had our lunch there and then headed onwards.



The scenery is sort of otherworldly.

We arrived in Drakensberg and this time quite a few people decided to upgrade to a room. And again, they were amazing rooms.

We all had a little backyard patio with a BBQ, I was almost beginning to feel bad for not cooking my own meals. These little kitchens were fully stocked, but I only ever used them for making coffee. 



My backyard view, which had sheep and ostriches that woke me in the morning. Not by knocking on my door or anything, but by the bleating of the sheep. And somewhere there was a rooster as well.




Dinner was spaghetti, and as usual some people prepped for dinner while others cleaned up afterwards. Many hands make light work.


These are the tents that I never did sleep in. 😊. Seriously....no regrets.



Next morning was the 23 km hike. The guide kept saying that it wasn’t a hard hike, but a few of us went to bed contemplating the enjoyment that may or may not be a part of that hike. What will tomorrow bring?