After our time in Malealea we headed to the Tsehlanyane National Park in our mighty Toyota Fortuner. Time warps when traveling by car in Africa. The map says four hours. Reality says much longer. So many potholes. Speed bumps. So many speed bumps. Road construction. Slow downs. Police stops. Shepherds and animals crossing roads. People crossing roads. A quick stop for groceries and coffee is never a quick stop.
A couple of hours after leaving Malealea we arrived back in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. It is appropriately chaotic. We even took roads to avoid the chaos, and still chaos.
After Maseru we passed through several more cities and towns. They would abruptly begin and end. Instant and mini chaos. We drove by lots of roadside stores made from corrugated metal. Food stores. BBQ stores. Salons. Shoe stores. Burger stands. Produce stands. Even spotted potted plants in a tiny left turn island.
After a few hours the sky turned dark. Rain and lightening. It was a wicked storm that moved across the whole country. Sometimes we were driving into it, sometimes leaving it, then back in. We missed its ravage on one town, arriving to find hail on the ground, flooded creeks and downed trees. Will saw kids throwing hail snowballs. Through it all we saw shepherds.
As we got closer to the National Park, we drew deeper and deeper into the mountains. Absolutely stunning majestic peaks.
We arrived just before dusk. As we got the keys to our river lodge, the skies opened again. It was fierce but brief. The thatched roof started leaking in one of the bedrooms, through the floor and into the kitchen. Rains and leaks were gone as quickly as they had arrived. And then, a double rainbow and a sunset. A wild summer day in the mountains of Lesotho.
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