spooky Zastron

Leaving pretty much on schedule, we left Cape Town and drove for the better part of the day (12 hours) to reach the town of Zastron in Free State, a long-established trading post with Lesotho and just 55km southeast of the mountain kingdom border.

We had reservations to stay in the Maluti Hotel, the biggest, and definitely most charismatic building in town.

There were all sorts of animals in the lobby, from kittens, to birds to lizards to dogs. The high ceilings, faded walls, ornate picture frames and swinging naked lightbulbs looked like a set from a horror film.

From what we could gather, we were the only guests and so we had the best possible service while dining in their dimly lit bar/restaurant, with a private waiter at our disposal.

See pic of Anice delighted at her humongous - and very tasty - ribs and rice dish, while Matt looks a bit less than impressed with his minute chicken :)

Of course, being family now, we all shared.

A very interesting first night, to say the least. It left us wondering what more surprises were to come?