Southern Africa - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 171

in isolated hamlets, where ragged flags above
the houses indicate what's on sale within: yellow
for sorghum beer (an acquired taste), white for
maize beer, blue for fruit or vegetables. These
aren't shops but householders, doing their best
to make a vital bit of extra money through local
enterprise.
All the treks are managed by locals and all
the ponies are community-owned. A large
proportion of the lodge fees are used to fund a
trust whose projects have created a new orchard,
a small earth dam to help collect water and
a local school. It's a form of slow travel that's
rapidly making a difference to these remote
communities.

Need to know Malealea is around two hours'
drive from the capital Maseru. For details of
activities and costs see W www.malealea.com; T
[phone].

220 STAy THE NIGHT IN ONE
Of SOuTH AfrICA'S NATIONAL
pArkS

South Africa's twenty national parks contain
a range of terrain like nothing else on earth,
from the empty deserts of the Karoo to the
sandstone cliffs of Golden Gate and the dense
Tsitsikamma indigenous forest. Yet despite this
diversity, each contains one thing that unites
South Africans - a proper place to barbecue.
At every accommodation or picnic spot there
are wonderfully located braai sites for you to
cook whatever you fancy, while watching zebra
graze, waves crash against the shore or eagles
soar overhead. Each day, camp staff clean out
your braai and often then light it for you in the
afternoon, so it's ready when you return from a
day of watching game or trekking in the hills.
Apart from the chance for a dramatic backdrop
to your burger, it's well worth coming for a
night or two, as accommodation is generally of
a superb standard, ranging from low-impact log
cabins to tented camps. And staying the night

Basotho ponies provide a sure-
footed ride through Lesotho's
mountains

219 pONy-TrEkkING IN THE
mOuNTAINS, LESOTHO

It might not be the quickest means of transport,
but if you want to really get a sense of the
pace of life and raw beauty of Western Lesotho,
then opt for a pony. From Malealea mountain
lodge, high in the remote Malealea Valley, you
can spend from a few hours to several days
riding over the misty valleys, the smell of peach
blossom thick in the air as your sure-footed
steed negotiates the precipitous inclines.
Accommodation is in tents or simple mud huts