This weekend we drove from Ladybrand, South Africa across the Lesotho border to Semonkong, which

took us about 2.5 hours on the way there and more on the way back with frequent photo stops, most of which was on unpaved roads through the mountains.  The drive itself was beautiful, with vivid green mountain scapes, bright blue skies, and flocks of sheep, goats, and cows using the road as a pass forcing us to slow down and take in the sights.  We stayed at the lovely Semonkong Lodge (Place of Smoke) with views of the mountains from our traditional rondavel cottage, and enjoyed a couple of trips to check out the Maletsunyane Falls.

At nearly fourteen months old, Veda loved the drive, and just hanging out at the lodge watching the horses, ponies, donkeys, sheep, and goats wander by.  There were birds, butterflies, and when we hiked to the Maletsunyane Falls a group of local children joined us and entertained Veda with lots of babbling.  It was a magical place to take a curious toddler at this age, and a wonderful place to take the opportunity to teach a small child about animals, plants, and the environment.

The Maletsunyane Falls are about a 30 min walk from the Semonkong Lodge, and is considered the highest single drop waterfall in Southern Africa at 192m.  Although I would have loved to climb down the gorge to the delicious looking pool at the bottom to take a swim, that I definitely would not risk with a baby or toddler.  We just enjoyed the spectacular view of the falls and gorge from above, and enjoyed the peaceful serenity of nothingness +

the group of giggling village kids around us playing with grasshoppers and such.

For those with older kids or sans kids, there’s lots of fun activities to engage in.  The Semonkong Lodge boasts the longest commercial abseil in the world, starting at the top of the falls and dropping into the pool of the waterfalls below.  They also offer pony treks, 4×4 tours, endless hiking possibilities, and guided flora and fauna tours.

Although it was a short weekend for us, it was nothing less than magical, and with a baby we enjoyed mooing, baaing, and neighing at all of the animals, laying in the grass looking up at the clouds, and the beautiful southern hemisphere night sky with the milky way and all at night time.  Our babe loved it and soaked it all in, and we enjoyed watching her delight in the world around her.