The African Galleries: Lesotho

A lake near Semonkong.	A spectacular Sunbird.	Close-up on a Sunbird.
Looking towards Semonkong town.	The view from my bunk. I didn't even have to raise my head to see this.	The spray from the falls, gives Semonkong its name. It translates as Place of Smoke.
Maletsunyane Falls plunge nearly 200m in a single drop.	Semonkong Lodge organises abseils down the edge of the falls. It is the highest commercial abseil in the world.	Look at the top of the falls and to the left to get a true sense of scale. Here it is where the abseil begins.
Local Basotho villages.	The descent by rope takes around half an hour per person.	The top of the footpath down to the base of the falls.
After dropping so far down, the river seems to relax as it continues its passage to the sea.	The building in the forground used to be a local pub. The locals however seem to prefer drinking in small tin shacks. The beer isn't bad however.	It is a very long road - or at least it seems that way on the six hour bus ride.
This Basotho village has essentially the same layout as the very earliest farming settlements from over ten thousand years ago.	A modern school balances on one of Lesotho's many hills.

Clicking on any of the above images will open a larger version in a new window. To return to the previous page please click on this link. If you would like more information on the photographs or the places featured then you are most welcome to email me.