Ts'ehlanyane NP, Lesotho

We were the only guests staying at Patcham Place in Clarens so had our choice of tables for breakfast.

I had booked for two nights in Clarens because all the guest houses in Clarens had a two-night minimum for booking over a weekend. However the owners didn't hold us to the 2nd night and only charged us for the one.

Clarens was a nice enough town to visit for the afternoon but there wasn't too much keeping us beyond that.

So onto Lesotho, the 75th country for me, three-quarters of the way to my goal of 100.

It was a 45 minute drive to the border town of Caledonspoort. There were a couple police checks along the way as we got closer to the border, as well as a check for drinking and driving (similar to the RIDE stops in Toronto).

At the border, we parked the car at the South African side and stood in line for about 10 minutes to receive our exit stamp. It was busier than normal because of Christmas.

There was another lineup on the Lesotho side. Non-regional visitors have to fill out a form; the helpful staff also gave us a few tourism pamphlets. Heather got held up for a bit as the border official was asking her for a visa. Canadians don't need a visa and it didn't look like an attempt at a bribe so we're not sure what was going on. Anyways he called over another person and then let Heather through.

There was a cursory check of our trunk, and then we were on our way.

It was still early in the day (about 10:30am) so we decided to head first to Hlotse for craft shopping, adding about an hour to the drive.

I wasn't sure where the craft shops would be so followed the signs to the town centre. It was the local centre, which looked very similar to some of the smaller towns we drove through in the Eastern Cape, south of Lesotho.

I pulled over and we looked up in google maps (I had offlined the area earlier) the craft shop mentioned in the pamphlet we received at the border. It was just around the corner from us.

We drove in and parked. There was a sign on the door to call a cell number if the door was closed. We didn't have a data plan so walked around, and found the lady who ran the shop in her home next door. She came by and opened the shop.

They had good quality mohair crafts per Heather who's more particular about woven goods. Bought a few items, and then got back on the road.

The way to Maliba Lodge in Ts'ehlanyane NP was clearly marked. The road wound through the river valley and through small villages with speed bumps. Lots of gear shifting!

The people reminded us of Bolivia, with distinctive hats and ponchos/blankets for the cold. Lesotho is mostly at an altitude between 2-3000m, a very different climate from South Africa.

After 45 minutes we reached the gate to the national park, and the road turned to gravel. Another five minutes and we were there!

I had booked Maliba over Dec 24-25-26 as it offers full board, and we've found restaurants and stores hit-and-miss for being open over Christmas. There's lots of hiking opportunities, so seemed like a good fit for Christmas. Plus it would keep us off the roads, the DUI rate is very high in South Africa, and I figured more so over the holidays.

Anyways it was still before noon and our room wasn't ready yet. We had a very nice 3-course lunch (the restaurant at Maliba is one of the better ones in Lesotho according to the Lonely Planet).

Maliba has only six chalets (as well as some self-catering cottages) and I had booked back in April to make sure we got in. I guess cause we were first to book they gave us the "honeymoon" chalet, more secluded from the rest of the complex. We had a really nice view down the valley from our room and large balcony.

We relaxed until dinner. They had some cultural dancing that started at 6:30pm, we're not big fans as usually it ends up with audience participation, so only went down to the main lodge for dinner at 7pm.

Heather had the winner for her main, duck breast with a red wine sauce.

We were tired (I think we've been on safari time the entire trip) and went to bed around 9am. Our room had a fireplace, the first time in years that we've had a chance for Santa to drop by.