No Lesotho and Magic in the Land of Dragons

We stood at the customs window in a sort of shock. We’d planned a little sojourn into Lesotho, a tiny kingdom landlocked in the mountains within South Africa, two days of driving and exploring. “You must write down the serial number of every camera, laptop, recording device, and pair of binoculars. Otherwise, when you go back into South Africa, they may think you got them in Lesotho, and not let you bring them back into South Africa.” The face of the man behind the window offered no expression, certainly none of the pity I had hoped to see.

The customs officer slid a book under the plexigass window with a page on which we were to list every identifiable electronic or optical device. It was also his only ledger, so the people in line behind me watched with a polite urgency, waiting for their turn at the book. OK. So, I did not know that this tiny country with diamond mines and a reputation for bad roads, children who beg for candy from tourists, and donkey carts was a hot bed for smuggled electronics.

John and I passed the book on to a grey haired South African man with his camera in hand, next in line to record his legitimately owned gadget, giving up our place in line to talk things over. We stared, blank faced at the Land Rover filled with a years’ supply of electronic widgets, visualizing how deeply they were buried in the camper. I knew with certainty that Marlie’s laptop could only be unearthed by removing three other large backpacks and several sleeping bags and pillows. We’d have to unpack the entire camper parked on the side of the border crossing lane.

There are several reasons we drag along more electronics than clothes. Both of the children go to school online, a computer is a must for them. John and I have enough work we are carrying with us to warrant one apiece as well. Finding books in English and lugging them along is a chore best left to the Kindle. One per person. We’ve also decided to record this trip with the best photos and video we are able. We’re not sure exactly what we will do with all this in the end, but while we are here…

I have managed to sell a handful on photos from our travels on iStockphoto. Not exactly an economic success, but keeping up with work for clients and posting on this blog to share a few glimpses with a handful of people who follow along means finding a way to monetize photos sits squarely on a back burner. Mostly, we just store the images and video for later on several hard drives we’re also bringing with us. We spend more time researching what to see next than processing either.

So, when faced with an onerous border crossing that would surely take us a couple of hours and much frustration to complete for a two day drive through the mountains that could be avoided if we change plans and drive around, we opted to make a u-turn instead. We are a little sad about missing what some describe as the Nepal of Southern Africa, but sometimes it is best to not hold to firmly on our expectations and let the journey unfold. We’ve been found by our share of magic this way.

Today we woke to watch the sunrise over valleys and hills that roll off into the distance, high mountain grasslands. The type of terrain that inspires all sorts of over-used superlatives. Driving into Golden Gate Highlands National Park brought us past rock faced buttresses, mushrooming at the top where the harder, dark volcanic rock has been undercut by the erosion of the softer sandstone below, creating cliffs of cream and dark red, streaked with black minerals leached by water from the basalt above. Mix in some bright blue and green from the sky and weeping willows that line the stream below the rock faces and the result overwhelms the senses.

This is a stop on the way to the Drakensberg, Dragon Mountains. Looking out over the morning fog creeping up the valleys, I can imagine dragons. We’re perched high on a hillside where eagles frequent, and if I picture where dragons might live, this would be the place. And, I sip my coffee in another moment of magic.