Seneca Hill Perennials

February 10, 2008

Writing late AM today – no outlets to be seen here, on battery power, and not that much to tell.

We all enjoyed spending last night in the (comparative) lap of luxury, with all the hot water and space to use it that we could wish for, good dinner, fantastically comfortable beds, an excellent breakfast, and no wee-hour departures – a lovely respite. 

Set off this AM for the Lesotho leg, passing through the border at Maseru and thence off towards Semonkong.  The feel here is very different from SA – on the whole, though the place is very poor, people still seem quite cheerful and busy.  It helps that it has plenty of rain, so it’s green, not dusty, and people’s little vegetables and maize patches stand a chance of succeeding if they’re tended (not all).  As one gets to the real countryside one sees some beautiful circular stone huts, the stones sometimes chosen or dressed (don’t know) to present a smooth exterior wall to the world, the tops tidily and heavily thatched.  Cooking is done within, and when a fire is on smoke pours out from under the eaves and the lintel – probably suppresses parasites, but also terrible for the lungs.

Made a few roadside stops to admire and collect Gladiolus papilio (nabbed a stalk of seeds), later to collect Zantedeschia albomaculata (I wanted as high-altitude ones as I could get).  Surprisingly, many of them have perfectly plain leaves; fortunately, in the site where I collected virtually all had some degree of spotting, most quite satisfactory, though probably not as good as the ones I collected on the way from Maclear to Rhodes (but possibly much hardier).  Saw Kniphofia ritualis (very different from what I was sent as same, which I suspect is a narrow-leaved form of K. caulescens).  Also saw VAST drifts of Kniphofia caulescens, beautifully colored; unfortunately by then the rain and mist were taking over as we climbed and climbed, and Cameron fretted and fretted over whether his vehicle would make it (it did, but it got quite a workout).

At the zantedeschia stop we were accosted by two shepherd boys and their dog, one boy quite the cheerful politician type.  He wanted me to take their photo, which I did (not a very good one), and they were delighted to see themselves on the digital playback.  We gave them some cookies, and the politico took care to assure Dawie that he would get good cell phone reception atop the next hill.

At the next zantedeschia stop (to photograph a few remaining flowers, unfortunately on a completely unspotted plant) a whole band of kids descended on us, out of nowhere, so we did the picture thing again, which they loved, and then I got out a box of cookies and made the mistake of handing it over.  I should have dealt them out one by one.  One kid snatched it, the whole mob scuffled, and where the cookies ended up I do not know; the empty packaging lay on the ground.  Next time I do it differently.  I didn’t notice it at the time, but the kids are walking models of the second-hand clothes market…the older girl wore a down jacket and, I think, boy’s oxfords; one little boy had a thoroughly destroyed man’s sport coat draped over himself, under the ever-present shoulder blanket, and when he trudged away we saw his little bare backside.

So I have made a mental note to buy more boxes of cookies if I have a chance – but small ones, and numerous, and easy to open and close.

Eventually we worked our way through the town of Semonkong – poor, dirty, animals and people everywhere, but not fundamentally threatening.  Men always wrap themselves in a blanket, and it would appear that the blankets now are all polyester fleece printed in garish pseudo-African patterns, probably made in China.  Many men here ride the little Lesotho ponies (really horses), which are quite attractive and lively little beasts. Haven’t seen a woman on one.

Semonkong Lodge is not a reassuring sight when you arrive in the rain, with its paths and drive awash in homogenized mud and manure, but our rooms are clean and adequate, and Dawie assures us the food is good.  It’s quite cool here, but I will manage with layers if I have to.  A river runs past, below the lodge, and on the cliff top across the river the bald ibis, a rare species, gather in the late PM.  A while ago they took off en masse, but now I see some are back.  We saw three feeding (ground feeder – probe the sod with their long beaks, looking for grubs and such) on the way here, and all were thrilled – now we have 50 or 60.

Not sure what tomorrow’s plan is, other than to pray hard for not-rain. Still under some discussion.