CLARENS/GOLDEN GATE PARK/LESOTHO 1 - 5 October 2016

Saturday, 1 October, we took off for an adventure!  The Waltons and ourselves are returning home on the same day, so our "holiday" group decided to take one last hurrah!  So off to Clarens/Golden Gate Park/Lesotho we went.  And what a grand time we had.

Clarens was only a 2 1/2 hour drive from Johannesburg.  What a quaint, fun small town it it.  It is situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains and is nicknamed the "jewel of the Eastern Free State." It is surrounded by sandstone mountains with multi-colored layers. It was named after the town of Clarens in Switzerland where exiled Paul Kruger spent his last days.  Clarens has many art galleries around the village and many other fun shops that we enjoyed.  Clarens was our home for three nights.

Our drive to Clarens 

Time for lunch

 Red Mountain House - our abode for three nights

Our room was the second door from the right

Where we stayed is just down the road to the left

 Just look how fun the stores are....

 A little park in the middle of town

 Where we ate dinner one night...

 Time out for an ice cream cone

 View from our rooms

 Enjoying our fireplace in our room....we needed it at nights because it did get cold

 Our favorite store in Clarens - the Mona Lisa Garment Gallery - a store with fashionable clothes from the early days

Inside the Mona Lisa shop

 The men spent most of their time on the benches enjoying each other's company

 Anyone want to buy a B & B Guest House in Clarens

 Our hotel - leaving for church

 Our drive to Phuthaditjhabe for church

 Phuthaditjhabe

 The branch was showing conference.  We enjoyed the session

This is Elder Jubber with Brother Johnson - he served with Dennis in the mission presidency with President Zackrison

 They ate in between conferences

 This is Tanda from Ezakheni, South Africa now going to school in Phuthaditjhabe - Dennis set him apart for his mission to Kenya just the week before we left for home in 2014.  So good to see him.

 We met this young man while he was in the Durban mission.  Now married with a son and attending school in Phuthaitjhabe.

Golden Gate National Park is between Phuthaditjhabe and Clarens.  On our return we spent a few hours driving through Golden Gate.  Enjoy the beauty of this magnificent park.

 We stopped at this cultural village.....

 There were zebras, blu wildebeests, springbok, hartebeests, elands

 Blu wildesbeests

They have a vulture hide where they put out carcasses of animals to attract the vultures but unfortunately there were no vultures enjoying the food provided for them.

 Jackal 

Golden Gate Dam where we found some young men selling animals that they had made out of clay and painted.

Elder Jubber holding a warthog

 Look at these clouds

 The following day we drove to the Royal Natal National Park.  The only word I can use to describe it is majestic. We hiked up to the Cascades which were waterfalls cascading down the rocks.  Then a more challenging hike to the Amphitheater (a big mountain in the shape of a huge amphitheater) and the Thegula and Ribbon Falls.  Some in the group made it further than others.  It was beautiful. We took another hike to some paintings on the rocks that dated back about 800 years.

ROYAL NATAL NATIONAL PARK

 CASCADES 

 The hike....

 The cascades

 Dennis playing tarzan

 Hike to the ampitheater..

 Amphitheater

On the way down we met these ladies who were selling these hats.  Liz and I bought one.  Cute, huh?

 Hiking to the rock paintings dated back 800 years...that is our van at the bottom

 This is the ampitheater.  All day the clouds had covered most of it.  As we arrived at the painting, we were able to see the entire edifice.  

 Rock paintings.....

 Our guide..painting are pretty faded but you can see them

 What we saw coming home.....

Tuesday, we had a calm day.  We enjoyed the morning saying good-bye to Clarens and then headed to Ficksburg.  On the way we went to a railroad museum and to our hotel, Oregon Cottage Guesthouse. We took a walk in Ficksburg, had dinner and then played games.  A restful day.

Oregon Cottage Guesthouse

The grounds were gorgeous.

 Our room

Wednesday we drove to Lesotho which is surrounded totally by South Africa but is a separate country with its own borders, so we needed our passports.  Lesotho has such a mountainous topography that it is known as Africa's "kingdom in the sky". I love Lesotho.  When we crossed its borders, I felt like I had gone back in time with donkeys carts, people riding the donkeys and men herding the cattle with their blankets over them and hats that come to a point.  Elder and Sister Chandler met us and took us to two weaving establishments where we were entertained by the ladies.  These ladies have such a talent in their weaving skills. So glad that they share it with us.

LESOTHO - enjoy going back in time 

Maputsoe Lesotho border 

 Shame, I cut off the donkey's head

 Arriving on donkey

I wonder if these kids are going to school on their donkeys....

You can't see the hat very well, but it is really pointed...

We arrived in the city of Teyateyaneng where we were looking for the weavers.

 We were lost and stopped at this homestead to get directions.  Then passed out the suckers

 This young boy had made a toy out of this tire - rolling it down the street

 The outside and inside were made out of cans....

The ladies danced for us and then we joined in

 I bought this nativity weaving from them

 The Chandlers had shown them the First Vision and then given them a picture and asked for them to make a weaving.  Here they are working on it.

 I love you sign.....

 These young boys were playing marbles outside

Our adventure was over and we headed for home.  It was a grand time with friends, God's beautiful country and the people of Africa. A great combination!