Our first trip south

I notice that Kit has already shared the fact that I caved and purchased a GPS when we were in Pretoria last!  I was always against the idea of one, as I thought it took the fun out of exploring somewhere new.  That may still be the case, but when we arrived in Pretoria at night last week, I was very happy to have a GPS device to guide us through unchartered areas of the city.  Since then we have put our new TomTom to good use as Kit and I went on a trip south for the first time.  Since we arrived in Lesotho there have been road works on the main road south and this has put us off travelling in that direction.  The time had come, however, to take our first step into these new lands.  Two doctors who had worked with me at the QEII Hospital had been moved, one to Mohale’s Hoek and the other to Qacha’s Nek.  I had promised to visit them for some time, so plans were made.

With the assistance of TomTom we set off last Friday afternoon and successfully found a detour around the last of the road works.  We managed to get to Mohale’s Hoek within 2 hours and in time for dinner with Dr Richard and his colleagues from the district hospital.  Kit and I were given a tour around the hospital, I even gave an opinion on one of the patients.  I was most impressed with the set up.  The building was sound, the wards clean and not overcrowded.  Although QEII has more in the way of equipment to do tests, there was something very appealing about the working environment in the hospital.  I’m not sure what life would be like outside of work though.  After dinner and the tour, Kit and I headed to bed in preparation for our long drive on Saturday.

We picked Dr Richard up after breakfast and headed off further south.  Our destination was Qacha’s Nek (“Q” is pronounced with a click) a town in the far south-west of Lesotho, which until recent years was only accessible by plane, on horseback or with a long detour via South Africa.  The road was long and windy as we drove over mountains, then along the Senqu (or Orange) River, and over more mountains.  We filled up at the last garage selling unleaded petrol and continued on.  The drive was quite beautiful, with scenery unique to this part of Lesotho.  We could easily have been driving through Arizona given the numerous cacti along the roadside.  We took a detour up into the mountains to a lake (Letseng-la-Letsie) for a picnic lunch.  During the drive to the lake, we did not see single other car, and during our picnic we did not see another person.  It was a remote and beautiful spot.  We may have to go back in the spring or summer, when I hear there are some unique flowers in bloom.

We arrived in Qacha’s Nek late in the afternoon.  Our first stop was the district hospital where my other ex-colleague, Dr Patrick, works.  Even though it was Saturday he was busy on the wards as he was going to be on his own in the week.  One doctor for the whole district!  The hospital had a similar feel to the one in Mohale’s Hoek, a well maintained building with warm wards and with some empty beds.  We spent some time catching up with Dr Patrick before calling it a night.  On the Sunday, we made a trip to Lesotho’s only snake park before we headed back to Maseru.  We left at 11am and eventually got back to Maseru at 6pm, a journey which by plane, we found out, takes little more than 30 minutes!

This last week at work has been quite tough.  I have continued to look after the male medical ward, the TB ward, go to the TB clinic as well as the general medical clinics despite my colleague being at a workshops all week.  I did have the help of two new doctors from the DRC (Congo) but at this stage they feel more of a hindrance than a help.  I tried my best to teach as I went along, but the pressure and volume of work prevented me from achieving a great deal.  By Thursday I got myself quite wound up by it all and was really looking forward to the break of the weekend.

And it has been a great break.  Kit and I celebrated 5 years of married life on Friday by going out for a meal; actually we went out for lunch as well as dinner, how decadent!  I had a truly fabulous time reminiscing and planning for the future.  On Saturday, we had planned a hike on a nearby plateau but due to some of the excesses of the night before, we didn’t get out of the house until after lunch.  We went on a drive just to the east of the city in search of the Metolong Dam, only to uncover that it is yet to built!  We carried on along the road and back round in a loop to Maseru.  It proved to be a great little jaunt out, and a potential for an afternoon for some of our visitors.  Today we have played tennis (I won!!), tried to fix the dripping tap in the bathroom (my nemesis) and have caught up with some correspondence.

The weather is definitely warming up.  I have managed to wear flip-flops during the day, but still need the slippers at night... so weird!  We are expecting a quiet few weeks, with no plans to travel out of Maseru until our first visitors of the spring arrive at the end of next month.  I’m looking forward to it already!

Matt's Birthday Weekend - Celebration & Surprises in Pretoria

Last Friday we set off on a road trip to Pretoria. We were giving a lift to our neighbour Dr Soe who was off to visit his son, and our friend Chris who was heading up North for a job interview. We travelled a new route to Jo’Burg using Dr Soe’s SatNav. Vast expanses of farm land with the occasional settlement dotted the way. It was a hot afternoon and made hotter by the fires that burnt on the verges next to the road – I think it is to get rid of pests and to clear the ground quickly but when everything is so dry the fires spread fast. We stopped for petrol and a late lunch with the only food on offer being a fat cake filled with minced beef! A fat cake is a deep-fried doughnut batter and is a traditional food over here. This was my first taste of this slimming delicacy and was pleasantly surprised although I am sure my arteries couldn’t take them too often!

We arrived at night and were thankful for the SatNav as we negotiated our way to Greg and Elonah’s NEW house! It was great to see it and to hear about all their exciting renovation plans. We had a cosy night catching up and watching a film before heading to our bed, which they had only purchased that evening. Next morning was their house warming breakfast and it was a scorcher of a day. Everyone headed out to their front garden enjoying pancakes, coffee and chats. It was great to meet so many of their friends who we will be seeing again at their wedding in Cape Town in December.

After a fabulous morning the afternoon took a little turn when Elonah’s sister came down stairs reporting that the two bathrooms were starting to flood. 4 hours later after a cast-iron bath was removed, an emergency plumber called-out and some frantic mopping, things settled down. A burst pipe has meant that reverb plans are to now start with the bathrooms! Such a shame.

After showers (back at Elonahs) we headed off for the second (and more pleasant) surprise of the day – Matt’s birthday meal. We were taken to a Lebanese restaurant where we sat on a rug and ate amazing meze, drank lots of red wine and Matt enjoyed the odd belly dance or two! Happy times!

Our week back at work has been fairly uneventful. Matt has finally signed his work contract this morning and he should be paid at the end of next month. Yippeeee! The weather is warming up and patients are attending hospital again in large numbers. I am still trying to work out how and who can assist with the next step in setting up a sustainable hearing aid service. My first round of emails to hearing aid companies has not led to anything yet. But I have some other thoughts so will try to remain optimistic. Matt and I are finding that we go through phases of being very driven and motivated to get things moving and then when results are minimal and the system is so resistant to change we hit a slump. We seem to be taking it in turns so at least when one of us is feeling frustrated the other one can push you on and vice versa. Matt’s days are certainly fuller than mine and the strain of working in the system is showing itself more and more. But all in all, despite the challenges, the experience is invaluable.

We are off this afternoon to explore the South of Lesotho – new territory for us! Very excited. If possible I think Matt is even more excited about this road trip because not only is it with his beloved Jeepy but he will be using his brand new TomTom GPS device which was purchased last weekend after Matt discovered travelling with a SatNav makes for a happier marriage!! More news soon.

Bridge weekend

I know you have all been patiently waiting to hear all about the inaugural Maseru Bridge Club weekend away!  Well here it goes... on Friday afternoon we all met at our place, that is to say Kathy, Hesse, Sthe (Hesse’s girlfriend) Kit and I.  We loaded up Jeepy with a remarkable amount of luggage for a weekend away and headed off into the “traffic” of Maseru.  We had to make a quick dash back home for a handbag but spirits remained high.  There was chatter, singing along to our recently acquired compilation CDs and general amusement.  Traffic was acceptable and we made reasonable time.  Just under one and half hours south east of Maseru we turned off the main road (gravel and quite bumpy) onto a side road (gravel and super bumpy) but shortly after arrived at the gates to our lodge at Ha Ramabanta.  We arrived just in time to drop our stuff off in our rooms before heading in for supper.  By this time it was dark, but we had packed torches for the walk to the main building.  Our hosts were charming, the cook very enthusiastic (perhaps a little too), and dinner was lovely.  We opened wine and relaxed.  As soon as dinner was over, we took over the bar, re-arranged the furniture and sat down for our first session of bridge.  Fortunately there were only two other guests staying, a pair of bikers, who headed off to bed relatively early.  The bridge was great, and the wine flowed very nicely indeed.  Before we knew it, Kathy and I were up over 2000 points, everyone else had gone to bed and the lights went out.  None of this stopped us, we lit candles and carried on.  Perhaps it was the light, or perhaps the wine, but errors seemed to enter the game, with 5th suits appearing everywhere.  Eventually we decided to call it a night... a super night.

We woke up to a glorious morning.  There was a touch of mist in the air, very little in the way of cloud and a truly spectacular view.  We had obviously seen nothing the night before as we’d arrived after dark.  We sipped our teas, said hello to the lodge dogs and took it all in.  When all were up we sat down for breakfast and chatted about the previous evening’s play.  Hesse and Kit didn’t feel too sore, and vowed to carry on together and try and claw back the points deficit over the rest of the weekend.  After breakfast we had a lovely hike around the lodge, with more brilliant views.  We made it back for lunch, a short rest and then settled down for more bridge.  We set up a table in the ground overlooking the valley and Maluti mountain range beyond.  A most unusual but beautiful setting for a game.  We played all afternoon, moved inside when the sun set, stopped for dinner, and carried on after.  Once again bridge carried on beyond the 10 o’clock power cut and was illuminated by candlelight.  The second days play was a much closer affair and enjoyed by all.  There also appeared to be less wine consumed, so the errors were fewer!!

We had another stroll after breakfast on Sunday morning.  This time stayed we were accompanied by two of the lodge’s dogs.  We walked through the valley, beside a river, then over it and then through it.  We had come to a dead end and rather than turn back we took off our shoes and waded through ice cold water.  Sensibly Sthe insisted she be carried across by her man, which he dutifully did!  When we got back, we freshened up and sat down for our final bridge session.  We camped out even closer to the edge of the lodge’s grounds, overlooking the river and valley below.  It was the first time this winter I actually felt hot... lush!  The bridge was serious, Hesse and Kit, got some great cards and used them well.  When the time came to stop and head back to Maseru we all knew it would be close.  I did the sums and Hesse and Kit managed to come out 200 points ahead.  Amazingly close for a whole weekend of playing!!  On the way home we talked about the next weekend away and all hope it will be soon!!!