Semonkong - "The Place of Smoke"
The Country: Lesotho
The Laungauge: Sesotho
The People: Basotho
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The Country: Lesotho
The Laungauge: Sesotho
The People: Basotho
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Golden savannas, dusty roads, heat scorched earth, and scantily clothed tribesman. Is this how you envision Africa? Think Again!!!
Soaring mountains, rolling green plains, bright blue skies and cool temperatures. Forget about Africa as you knew it and enter the, "Kingdom in the Sky".
Soaring mountains, rolling green plains, bright blue skies and cool temperatures. Forget about Africa as you knew it and enter the, "Kingdom in the Sky".
Lesotho is a small landlocked country encircled completely by South Africa. It is considered the, "highest country in the world", but not necessarily for it's highest peak. Instead, for it's lowest. Lesotho's lowest geographical point measures 1,400 meters (4,500 feet) above sea level, making it the highest lowest point of any other country in the world.
To be honest, I'd never heard of Lesotho until entering South Africa but with such a lofty title, I couldn't pass it up. The only problem - Time. My multi-month Africa adventure was rapidly coming to a close and 5 days was all I could allot for the entire country. Determined to make this mini-trip a mega success, I decided to focus my efforts on one place, Semonkong, "The Place of Smoke". Semonkong is a community of small villages located in Lesotho's western highlands. An area known for it's rugged terrains, remote tribal life and of course, the attraction for which the region was named, Semonkong Falls -aka- Maletsunyane Falls. Rising 186 meters (670 feet) this natural wonder spills over a peaceful plateau into a hidden gorge below. The force of the river colliding with the canyon floor creates a mist, a smoke as it were, that rises mystically out of the gorges belly. The first tourists to experience this misty phenomenon, some 100 years ago, appropriately named it, "the place of smoke". This was later translated into the local Sesotho language as, "Semonkong". Nearly twice the height of Victoria Falls and over four times the size of Niagara Falls, Semonkong Falls is the tallest single drop waterfall in all of Africa and I had to see it! (Please read the previous blog, "The Long Road to Lesotho", for a detailed description of the journey to Semonkong). |
Photo - http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/africa/semonkong-hiking.html
Photo taken by Semonkong Lodge Owners, Armelle and Johnathan
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Photo taken by Semonkong Lodge
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Located on a terraced hillside, rooms range from simple dorms to luxurious suites. Whatever your budget or travel style, Armelle and Johnathan accommodate. I chose, go figure, the cheapest option. The stone rondovel dorm room with wood burning fire place. It was cozy, quaint and as luck would have it, private. No other backpackers overlapped my nights stay and I enjoyed a room all to myself.
The lodge also boasts an incredible dining/entertainment room. High beamed ceilings, natural wood furniture, and flickering candle light dance this space to life. Friendly staff make every meal a social event and the food is dynamite! 5-star flavor and service for an ever so palatable backpacker price. The lodge also offers extensive hiking information along with an array of other local activities. It was one of these activities that further enticed my Semonkong visit! A chance to complete the highest commercial abseil in Africa, the famed Maletsanyane Falls! |
Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Raining for a number of days prior to my arrival, the Maletsunyane River was pumping! This meant Maletsunyane (Semonkong) Falls would be too full and powerful to abseil alongside. "How many days until the water level drops", I asked. Johnathan responded with a sigh, "I can't promise anything. Could be tomorrow, could be in a week". So what did I do? I waited. Biding my time for 3 days until the Falls were safe to abseil! And trust me, there are far worst places to spend a few days. The Semonkong Region is loaded with adventure and beauty! One of my favorite activities being an unforgettable horseback ride to the Falls.
After a few formalities, i.e. nose stroking, hair combing and baby talk, I mounted my trusty steed. Sure footed and strong, "Bob" carried me over the first highland pass with ease. Gleefully bouncing along, I couldn't help but sing out to every local farmer and passerby, "Dumela" ("Hello", in local Sesotho language). Shy smiles stretched forth from behind modest hands and hospitable waves sent me on my merry way.
Nearing the top of our days primary ascent, a whole new world revealed itself. Blues brighter then a Mediterranean sky, greens more intense then the Irish countryside, highlands more impressive then the Scot's and a landscape more ethereal then my dreams of heaven. A wide bowl of low lying peaks surrounded the flat valley floor before us with the sparkling Maletsunyane River snaking it's way slowly to the other side. It was one of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen. If Mother Nature were the Queen of England, this vista would be her royal portrait! Perfectly composed, colored and moving…??? Floating just barely above the wide expanse, cottony white clouds danced from one hill to the next. Casting life-like shadows all over the valley, the vista changed with every shift in wind. No plane of vision was ever quite the same, as if time were passing right before our eyes.
After a few formalities, i.e. nose stroking, hair combing and baby talk, I mounted my trusty steed. Sure footed and strong, "Bob" carried me over the first highland pass with ease. Gleefully bouncing along, I couldn't help but sing out to every local farmer and passerby, "Dumela" ("Hello", in local Sesotho language). Shy smiles stretched forth from behind modest hands and hospitable waves sent me on my merry way.
Nearing the top of our days primary ascent, a whole new world revealed itself. Blues brighter then a Mediterranean sky, greens more intense then the Irish countryside, highlands more impressive then the Scot's and a landscape more ethereal then my dreams of heaven. A wide bowl of low lying peaks surrounded the flat valley floor before us with the sparkling Maletsunyane River snaking it's way slowly to the other side. It was one of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen. If Mother Nature were the Queen of England, this vista would be her royal portrait! Perfectly composed, colored and moving…??? Floating just barely above the wide expanse, cottony white clouds danced from one hill to the next. Casting life-like shadows all over the valley, the vista changed with every shift in wind. No plane of vision was ever quite the same, as if time were passing right before our eyes.
Maybe it was the paucity of atmosphere, maybe it was the clean, fresh mountain air or maybe it was just the sanity that came with being so far from noise, traffic and Africa as I knew it, but I honestly felt on top of one of those clouds! A cloud that was moving…fast! Without realizing it, my excitement must have pulsed through my leg, kicking Bob into overdrive. Shooting off down the hill, I did everything I could do stay aboard! With one hand wrapped in the reign and the other white-knuckled and plastered around the saddle horn, I discovered a strange confidence.
Matching my body rhythm to Bob's, we flew towards the horizon. I felt alive, free! WHOA! WHOA! Okay Bob, too much freedom, slow down!! Bob wasn't stopping. Holding on for my life, my wild eyes attracted a group of local Besotho men tending their crops. Yelling something in the Sesotho language, the men brought the horse to an almost immediate stop. Flung forward at a break neck speed, Bob's dramatic stop almost killed me. I saw my life flash before my eyes and could taste my last breath, full of grass and manure. Thankfully, by the grace of all that good in this world, my ankles had slipped through the stirrups and somehow held me in. Disheveled hair, pale skin and eyes as big as saucers, I tried to appear composed as my guide caught up but really Reg, you looked like a deer who had already been shot. Back in control of my steed and on side of my previously panicked guide, we pressed further into the valley. Following the muddy path, dozens of local farmers passed by. Some on donkey, others on horse and still more on foot. Carrying large loads of grass and root vegetables they traipsed the same paths in the same attire they had for decades. Grass-work, conical hats, gum boots and large cotton blankets wrapped around their shoulders. Did I take a wrong turn and end up in Nepal…or the Andes? This wasn't Africa, I thought. Photo taken by Joe Albas
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Photo taken by Joe Albas
Photo taken by Joe Albas
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Given the extreme weather conditions, the Basotho people wear large cotton blankets for most occasions, and in all kinds of weather. There motto, you never want to be unprepared when Mother Natures strikes. The hat is also an iconic piece of the Lesotho wardrobe and can be seen dotted over most of the countryside.
Along with blankets and hats, the Basotho people rely on one more barrier against the elements…housing. Skilled stone masons, the Besotho people are known for some of Africa's best rondovel-style homes. Traditionally, a rondovel is a round or oval shaped, stone building with a tented, free standing roof. Using locally sourced stone materials, the mortar is usually a mixture of soil, sand and cow dung. The pitched, free standing thatch roof is then sewn to locally sourced tree limbs and attached to the top. The rondovel shape provides a natural air-con in the summer but also traps heat during the cold days of winter. It's round shape aids in heat distribution and the thick walls help keep the warmth in.
Along with blankets and hats, the Basotho people rely on one more barrier against the elements…housing. Skilled stone masons, the Besotho people are known for some of Africa's best rondovel-style homes. Traditionally, a rondovel is a round or oval shaped, stone building with a tented, free standing roof. Using locally sourced stone materials, the mortar is usually a mixture of soil, sand and cow dung. The pitched, free standing thatch roof is then sewn to locally sourced tree limbs and attached to the top. The rondovel shape provides a natural air-con in the summer but also traps heat during the cold days of winter. It's round shape aids in heat distribution and the thick walls help keep the warmth in.
Detouring from the path, our guide led us into a quaint village. Home to over 2-dozen thatched roof rondovels and at least quadruple that in children. Racing from stone doorsteps, the river bed and even the fields, children came out of the woodwork (or stonework in this case) to greet us. Smiling, laughing and waving they did something rather surprising. They didn't beg. Unlike most parts of Africa tainted my foreign AID and relief, these children didn't ask for one thing! Happy liaisons to their beloved homeland. It was in this village, we stopped for a cold one. It's 5 o'clock somewhere right? A local women emerged from her simple hut carrying a small bucket full of a grainy yellow liquid. She had a sparkle in her eye and encouraged each of us to partake in the concoction. Lifting the 1-liter tin can to my lips, I had a flash back to Zambia when a similar drink, known as "Chibuku", was my "welcome", or not so welcome brew. |
http://www.cowfiles.com/gallery/lesotho-images
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The Lesotho beer tasted, to no surprise, exactly the same. Yuck! Brewed from a mix of sorghum and maize the flavor can only be described as sour milk with hints of lemon and yeast. The color is brownish-yellow and the chunky contents should be shaken not stirred. If you're lucky last, you'll get all the coagulated goodness. Bottoms Up!
A bit tipsy and high on life, we continued through the village and onto the wide plateau leading to our primary destination, the gorge. And with it, Maletsunyane Falls. The bowl of mountains that once seemed so distant now rose to my immediate right while the valley floor to my left dropped completely out of sight. A giant crack, a fissure in the earths crust, led to what I could only assume would be the Falls. Dismounting our horses, we covered the last 100 yards on foot. Prancing over rocks and roots each step forward was another layer of visibility into the gorge below. With baited breath I saw the beginnings of "smoke". A mysterious mist drawing me closer to the gorges edge. Pressing further down the path, a few more feet and the Falls came into sight. "The Place of Smoke", Maletsunyane Falls, cascading in all her glory!
I've read about Shangri-La, watched documentaries on the Lost City and seen countless movies on parallel universes where time stands still but nothing could prepare me for this moment. For this view! Every, "magical world", you've ever dreamed of all rolled into one! Except I wasn't dreaming, this was real. My very own, very large, Secret Garden!
A bit tipsy and high on life, we continued through the village and onto the wide plateau leading to our primary destination, the gorge. And with it, Maletsunyane Falls. The bowl of mountains that once seemed so distant now rose to my immediate right while the valley floor to my left dropped completely out of sight. A giant crack, a fissure in the earths crust, led to what I could only assume would be the Falls. Dismounting our horses, we covered the last 100 yards on foot. Prancing over rocks and roots each step forward was another layer of visibility into the gorge below. With baited breath I saw the beginnings of "smoke". A mysterious mist drawing me closer to the gorges edge. Pressing further down the path, a few more feet and the Falls came into sight. "The Place of Smoke", Maletsunyane Falls, cascading in all her glory!
I've read about Shangri-La, watched documentaries on the Lost City and seen countless movies on parallel universes where time stands still but nothing could prepare me for this moment. For this view! Every, "magical world", you've ever dreamed of all rolled into one! Except I wasn't dreaming, this was real. My very own, very large, Secret Garden!
I was sure a Pterodactyl would fly over head or a string of talking ferries would flutter past at any moment. This was paradise. Flanked on all sides by vibrant green, gorge walls and capped by a listless blue sky, the falls cascaded off the plateau and into the mystical, magical mist. Surely a place of such beauty and grandeur would be teeming with tourists. Nope. Blissfully unknown to most of the world, the Falls were a welcome treat to only the most adventurous and devout of travelers. Perching on a large panoramic boulder, enchantment washed over. Nothing before had ever seemed so genuine, so unique, so untouched. I was having a moment with nature. When the rapture passed, and my heart returned to a normal beat, a new emotion spilled in. Excitement! I would soon be abseiling alongside all 670-feet of this rushing spectacle! |
* As mentioned in my previous Lesotho blog, all my pictures and journals were stolen shortly after leaving Lesotho.
Therefore, all the pictures represented here are the products of other photographers. Cheers!
Therefore, all the pictures represented here are the products of other photographers. Cheers!