Lesotho > Rock paintings of the Bushman

Just after eight o’clock, when we arrive at the breakfast room, we’re already the last of our group. The weather is beautiful today, and the view over the mountains is stunning. This morning, we’ll take a walk through the village of Malealea, visit a school, and see a local museum. The group is split into smaller groups of four, so that more guides have work. We go with Berry, who first leads us to the school. It’s the last week before the holidays, and all the children are playing outside.

Lesotho - Everyone wants to appear in the photos at the school near Malealea

While the teacher explains about the school, I take a photo of the children. They crowd around eagerly to see the photo afterward. At the end of the tour, the children enter the classroom and sing a song for us. They probably do this for the other groups too, perhaps every day, but there’s no sign of that—it feels completely spontaneous to me. Berry then guides us to the museum. Here we see various household items, different plants and cacti, and how a traditional hut is built. From the museum, we have a beautiful view over the valley. At the end of the tour, we visit the village itself, meet residents selling handicrafts, and taste homemade beer.

Lesotho - A little boy looks out over the valley

Once back, we have lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon, we take a walk to see the San rock paintings, created here over a thousand years ago. Ra, our guide, leads us to the gorge. Although the walk is described as easy, it involves quite a bit of scrambling over rocks and descending steep sections. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful hike. We visit three caves containing rock paintings. The third is on the opposite side of the stream, from where we must climb steeply—without using the tree roots for support, it would be impossible. We walk and climb back via the same route. By now, it’s five o’clock, so it’s time for a beer on the terrace. In the evening, a choir sings and a band plays at the lodge. After dinner, we go to bed on time to ensure we’re in bed before the lights go out at ten o’clock.