Going to Lesotho in May for 2 weeks

[JR'smama777]

I've never travelled in Africa and will be going with a group of folks from my church working on a community partnership project focused on HIV/AIDS.

We'll be in So. Africa and Lesotho....please send along any info, travel advice, wonderful things to be on the lookout for, etc!

[sally Z]

I am in South Africa, Lesotho is land locked by South Africa. I have not been there myself but can tell you about SA. The drakensburg mountains in that area are breath taking.

How long will you be in SA for and what did you hope to do while here?There is so much to see and do if you give me an idea of what areas you will be in and for how long I might be able to give you some ideas what to do. I worked at a hospice in Pretoria before having my daughter and both my parents are very involved in AIDS work in SA.

Good luck with you trip, if you ask thing specific you need to know I will try and help

[JR'smama777]

Thanks for your response...nice to meet you!

We'll be going to Johannesburg (probably incorrect spelling, I'll need to brush up!) in early May and are hoping to do something fun for a couple of days before heading to our work in Lesotho. We'll then go visit another project, probably a school in Durban where our church has some relationships.

We've been talking about going to Kruger Park for our fun time...what do you think? How far is that from J'burg? And I'd love to hear more about the Drakensburg Mountains as well.

Could you tell me what the weather tends to be like in that part of SA for May? Any other hints will be much appreciated! :thumb

[sally Z]

Glad to help

Spelling was perfect. I live in Pretoria which is just north of Johannesburg.

Johannesburg is rather a big city, ugly in my opinion. But there are some nice things to do. The Apartheid museum is well worth a visit if you are interested in that sort of thing. I went a while back and it was such an eye opener, even coming from a open minded family i was shocked to see how much propoganda and lies we had been fed by the goverment during this terrible time in our country.

There is a big amusement park and the history of the gold mines just next to the Apartheid museum at Gold Reef City.

Not sure what kinds of things you are interested in.

The Kruger park in quite far from jo'burg but I would suggest going to the Pilansberg game reserve as it is much closer and a bit smaller but still has the big 5 and all the other game. The kruger is huge so you sometimes don't see much but the Pilanesberg being smaller you have a much better chance of seeing more animals. The do safari game drives during the day and night. http://www.knet.co.za/pilansberg/index.html

Drakensburg mountains have some spectatular walks and hikes
http://www.drakensberg.kzn.org.za/drakensberg/

May is winter here, can be quite cold during the night -1 or so and during the day iy usually heats up to about 9-10 degrees C. Most houses do not have central heating so it can be cold inside. The moutains are particularly cold and do get some snow. Early May is not too cold yet though.

Will you have kids with you? How many are travelling with you? this kind of influences the things that you can do. How much fun time will you have?

[JR'smama777]

Yikes! Sorry for the delay...I've been so busy at work these days and stay away from the computer when I'm home with ds.

We're going in May for 2 weeks. There are 6 adults, no kids. It looks like we'll be flying in to J'burg and spending a couple of days sightseeing so we can have some bonding time before starting our 'work'. Then we'll go to Maseru, Lesotho for a week and then on to Durban for a couple of days to visit a missionary school.

Thanks for your thoughts on Kruger...I like the idea of not having to go so far and having a better chance to see some wildlife! Rhinos are my favorite...any chance of seeing one of those guys?

Keep your info coming...any and all interesting nuggets welcome!

[sally Z]

how are your plans coming along?
If you want to see rhino then definately try a smaller game park. They are hard to spot at the best of times.
What else can I help with?

[JR'smama777]

OK! We have an itenerary!!

It looks like we'll be flying in to J'burg and then on to Kruger Park for 3 days. We'll then fly either back to J'burg or to Maseru. We'll spend a week in Maseru, driving out to the town of Mapoteng each day for about 4 days. We'll then go back and spend another day in J'burg before flying home.

I am really looking forward to it! Our group spent some time with my pastor's wife who went to Lesotho with him 2 years ago...it was wonderful to hear a woman's perspective and get to ask questions of a feminine hygiene nature!

I've been trying in vain to find long straight skirts for our time in Mapoteng. The ones I have are ok for California weather, but not the mountains! I had a round of vaccinations last week (the tetanus one is still making my arm sore but them's the breaks).

I have also been digging into as many books as I can. When I was in college, I did a lot of reading of African writers and am enjoying picking them up again. Any suggestions?

Our trip is now less than 2 months away....any news about what the season might be shaping up to look like?

Thanks so much for all your guidance!

[DarkHorseMama]

Rebecca, I can tell you, it will be *cold* where you are going. I have not been to Lesotho itself, but I have been to the 'berg (Drakensberg) in the winter. It's one of the few places in South Africa that will routinely get snow. Don't underestimate that you will be going to a cold climate that may or may not have the controlled air that you are used to. We spent time with family in the Free State last winter, and could often see our breath in the house in the mornings. Not sure which vaccinations you received, other than tetanus, but there are no special vaccine requirements for travel there.

Alan Paton wrote Cry, the Beloved Country which is a quintessential South African book. Oprah put it on her book list some time ago, for what that's worth, but I read it long before it made it. :) Nadine Gordimer and JM Coetzee are both Nobel prize-winning South African authors. Another author, famous for short stories, is Herman Charles Bosman. He has a satirical pen and writes in sharp, literary pictures. Bishop Desmond Tutu also has a wonderful way with words and emotion.

Kruger will definitely be cold as well, but the animal viewing should be pretty good as in winter the grass won't be so high. Kruger is one of the few areas in South Africa with the potential for contracting malaria, but again, with the onset of winter, mosquitos won't be a concern. If someone has suggested that you take anti-malarial medications, you may wish to reconsider.

Presumably you will be flying South African Airways to get there. If at all possible, presuming you will be flying coach class, call the airline NOW (or when they are open) and see if there are seats available on the upper deck. The upper deck has more leg room and is a 3x3 seat configuration instead of the 3x5x3 of the coach class lower deck. You will be much more comfortable upstairs, so try ASAP to get your seats moved up there, if there are any available. SAA also has a nice seatback entertainment system, so you should have plenty of movies to watch all the way there.

On your return flight, and we were fortunately clued in by a friend who had recently flown to the US, you will stop over for refueling...and the idiocy of post-9/11 America will come to fruition. Everyone will have to get ALL of their carryon luggage and hold it in their laps while security people search the plane for "unclaimed luggage" and vacated seats. Often, there will be SAA employees who fly into the fuel stop airport that leave after the first leg of the trip. We had a couple of seats behind us the last time that were vacated by airplane/airport personnel and the area was thoroughly checked for whatever they needed to look for and it caused a big hassle and waste of time. In one of the seats next to the vacated ones was an older woman who was the stereotypical American overseas who was insisting that the security officers clean up the wrappers and newspapers left behind by the people who had been sitting there(!). She kept harping *over and over* that they needed to take away the trash until I finally turned around and shushed her, reminding her that security guards were not janitors. It was a huge pain overall, and did little good from what I could see. In our case, it added about 90 minutes to an already unbearably long trip.

I liked to take a handful of souvenir pens and other assorted semi-useful things with me to give as small gifts to people I met along the way.

About the rhino, I'm not sure that Kruger would be the best place to see them. The game parks in Natal or a private game reserve would likely be better. Having said that, I have been close enough to have been treed by a mama black rhino, so distance isn't always a bad thing. :lol Here's a couple of pictures from the last visit we took in August of 2005. These were at a private reserve in the Free State, but I've seen multiple rhinos in Natal game parks.

http://www.porteous.us/misc/rhino.jpg
http://www.porteous.us/misc/rhino2.jpg

Have fun!

[JR'smama777]

Thanks so much to both of you for your wonderful insight!!!

I did in fact get lots of shots and will be taking malaria pills with me (altho I 'm kinda wary of them for many reasons, not the least of which is the likely side effect of yeast infections:angry ).

We are flying United, with a stopover in London which tickles me to death, since I've never been to Europe. We're going to take a ride on the tube into town for a couple of hours of sightseeing.

We will also be flying for 2 nights in a row!! I always have trouble sleeping on planes, so am stocking up on an eyemask, earplugs, Tylenol pm, and tea. I don't want to miss a second of waking time in Africa!!

I'm a little nervous about ways to pack light but yet have enough warm stuff. I'd like as much room as possible to take gifts with me and souvenirs home. Any suggestions?

As a matter of fact, I'm in the middle of Cry the Beloved Country right now and have also read a bit of Nadine Gordimer in another anthology.

I've only got 3 weeks before we leave!!:thumb