SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is an incredible country with much to do and see; it also borders two tiny countries that I’ve been wanting to visit, Lesotho and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Unfortunately I didn’t get to visit Cape Town on this trip, but I highly recommend adding it to your itinerary if you have the time! With this new era of travel with PCRs and covid, I’ll go over the best route and logistics!
Day 1: Arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa
After picking up your rental car, head to Ampath Labs to get a PCR done! Even if you just arrived, it’s beneficial to get one done right away if you’re heading straight to Lesotho. In Lesotho, you’re able to use the same PCR if it’s within 72 hours so you want to maximize your time as much as possible. There’s many labs in Johannesburg, but Ampath had the quickest turnaround time; if you take it by 4 PM you’ll have it by the next morning. After the PCR, start your drive towards Ladybrand, South Africa for the night!
LESOTHO
Day 2: Crossing the Lesotho border
There’s not much to do in Ladybrand, so once you wake up and receive your PCR test via email head towards the Maseru Bridge border. My friend and I tried to cross and were turned away since Lesotho was technically under lockdown, even though we didn’t see any restrictions online and we had our PCR tests, which was the only requirement listed. I was going to be working with a hotel as a photographer, and since we didn’t have any cell service on the Lesotho side I wasn’t able to call to see if they could write us a letter of invitation. We tried walking back towards the South Africa side to see if we could get some signal, but luckily a customs officer was able to hotspot us to make a call and receive the letter. Then we finally were able to cross!
We didn’t think it could get any worse, but it did. Mind you, we didn’t have service besides the downloaded Google maps, our spare tire was flat from hitting a pothole the day before, and we didn’t have any local currency. But, it did get worse. We got another flat and we were in the middle of nowhere. A car happened to roll by as we were walking down the highway, and a man from the health department spoke English and was willing to help us. I waited by the car while the man took my friend to different repair shops to fix our two tires. Since we didn’t have any service, I had no idea what was happening or when they would be back. I laid on a bench nearby thinking to myself how long I should give before I walking down the highway to contact someone, but after three hours they returned. New tires were slapped on the car and we continued to the town of Semonkong.
Day 3: Maletsunyane Falls, Lesotho
We had the honor of staying at Semonkong Lodge, which is the only hotel near Maletsunyane Falls, a 192 meter waterfall, the highest waterfall in the country. It was about a 30 minute hike to the falls, so it was the perfect location. Most of the grass was brown and dead, and when we got there close to sunset there was quite a large shadow, so I recommend visiting during the spring or summer months during midday. I also really enjoyed wandering among the local villages; the people are so unique covered in warm blankets.
SOUTH AFRICA
Day 4: Crossing back into South Africa
We crossed back into South Africa at the same Maseru Bridge border without any issues. It was a little confusing because we had to go to a health window to get our PCRs verified first before going to formal customs. After we were cleared into South Africa, we headed towards the town of Bethlehem for our next PCR to enter Eswatini! This Ampath Lab sends their results to Bloemfontein since it’s a larger city, so it would take up to 48 hours. We decided to take our time and slowly make our way towards the Eswatini border.
Day 5: Waiting for PCR results
There wasn’t much to do or see on the way to Eswatini; we would have taken the route through Durban if we could cross through the pass, but since it was winter we were advised not to do so if we didn’t have 4×4 or a car that could handle the snow. We spent the night in a city called Newcastle and found some good wifi to do some work before crossing the border.
ESWATINI
Day 6: Crossing the border to Eswatini
We finally received our PCR results and crossed the border to Eswatini! Everything was really straightforward so we didn’t have any issues like we had in Lesotho. We checked out Swazi Candles and the Mantenga Cultural Center, then grabbed a drink at Malandela’s Restaurant before heading to the next hotel I was working with.
Day 7: Mantenga Lodge, Eswatini
My friend really wanted to go to Kruger National Park in South Africa, but I convinced him that we should stay one more night in Eswatini so I could have more time to craft content and we could relax a little bit. Mantenga Lodge has a stunning view of the mountains nearby and had some of the best Swazi food!
SOUTH AFRICA
Day 8: Crossing back into South Africa
There’s a new rule regarding PCRs between South Africa and Eswatini and that they’re valid for 14 days, so you don’t have to worry about how much time you spend! After crossing back into South Africa, we headed towards Kruger National Park. I was a little wary about going to this park since it’s extremely expensive, but you can definitely do it on a budget! One way is to drive to the town of Skukuza and you can stay in a little bungalow and take game drives whenever you please. It’s a little bit like a resort town with lots of gift shops and restaurants, but it was perfect for budget travelers!
Day 9: Heading back to Johannesburg
Take one last PCR test at Ampath Labs before grabbing your flight to your next destination! There’s not much to see in Johannesburg so you don’t have to worry about setting aside extra time to explore. Thanks for following along!
