KZN/Lesotho road trip: Day 19 - Ladybrand, Maseru

Andrew had put in a day’s leave for today, which was Monday, so that he could spend some time showing us around Maseru and taking us for breakfast. We had a wonderful night’s rest and after Mandy had seen her clients, she still had to work, we got into his bakkie and he took us down the road to a place that had a coffee shop and also did breakfasts, Cranberry Restaurant – really nice breakfast, thanks Andrew and Mandy. Lovely Swiss Hot Chocolate too.

The property looks quite insignificant from the road but is very interesting, once inside. Aside from the coffee shop there is a lot of garden with paths, a pond with ducks in, a pond with koi fish in, accommodation units, little conference area, a wellness centre with spa and a gym and probably some stuff that we missed.

We headed for the Lesotho border in Maseru where we had to do the passport thing again, silly us, we should have got a 3 day pass as we were coming back on Tuesday through to Thursday and that would have saved a lot of effort.

Andrew has worked in Maseru for many years, off and on and so knows the area really well. He showed us the route we could take to by-pass Maseru for our trip to Malealea on Tuesday. On the way we passed the Pope’s podium where the Pope delivered his address to the crowds when he visited recently. He showed us the Chinese-built and sponsored Parliament buildings for the Lesotho government, which are not yet occupied as there is apparently a dispute as to Lesotho’s side of the deal. We were amazed at how much foreign aid there seems to be in and around Maseru.

We also stopped off at the Lesotho Sun Hotel and had a walk around (or limp, for poor Mandy, who has a cast on her foot after suffering a broken ankle). The view from the pool deck was great and a bird’s eye view of part of the city. You can see business blocks, traffic as well as local street-vendors. It is pretty noisy, but fairly clean.

Andrew showed us his office as well as the several homes that he has lived in over the years. They range from modern to really old stone homes in the suburbs. Our tour ended at Lancers’ Inn, Rendezvous Restaurant where we had a drink in the very pretty garden. Their friends, Catherine and Johnny, own the hotel and Johnny is the Dutch Consulate in Lesotho. They were invited to join us for supper that evening.

After a very busy tour, we had to head back to Andrew and Mandy’s home as she had appointments in the later afternoon.

We had a lovely evening with good company and great food, Andrew did lamb in the Weber and Mandy took care of all the trimmings…….We were spoilt rotten and shooed out of the kitchen when we offered any help, thanks Guys.