How to get there
The surest way to Malealea is to drive. The lodge is about 310 miles from Johannesburg. To get there, we drove the N1 out of Johannesburg to the N3 to N5 in Harrismith to connect with the smaller roads of R712 and R26 to Lesotho's capital, Maseru. Returning, we took a more scenic route, following R26 north and cutting over to R716, eventually finding the N1 north.Airline tickets from Boston to Johannesburg, with stops in Atlanta and New York, run about $1,700 on South African Airways. The lowest round-trip air fare from Boston to Johannesburg at press time was $1,449 on Virgin Atlantic. From JFK, the lowest round-trip air fare at press time was $1,009 on Iberian Airlines.
What to do
The Malealea Lodge & Pony Trek Centre
Box 12118
Brandhof, Bloemfontein
South Africa 9324
011-51-447-3200
082-552-4215
www.malealea.co.ls
malealea@mweb.co.za
It can be difficult to phone the lodge. Try e-mailing or visiting the website.
Even though Lesotho has its own currency, we paid everything in South African rand. The rand fluctuates to the dollar daily. With 6.3 ZAR equaling about $1 US, the cost for pony trekking for the day is about $15 to $22 per person, for three or more people. The cost for overnight trips is about $11 to $28 person per day for three or more people.
Where to stay and eat
The Malealea Lodge and Pony Trek Centre
There are a variety of rooms, including rondavels, square huts, and farmhouse rooms. The cost is about $13 to $26 per person, per night. Meals are about $6 to $10 per person.
What to bring
If pony trekking, the lodge strongly suggests bringing warm sleeping bags, warm clothing, and rain gear, as the weather in Lesotho is very unpredictable, even in summer. This is the mountainous Southern Hemisphere; when it's winter in Lesotho, it's summer in Boston. Bring camping food, water, towels, sunscreen, and a hat -- the last is very important, especially if it is as sunny as it was when we trekked.
