When I typed this yesterday, I was sitting in front of our rondavel in the Mlilwane Game Reserve in western Swaziland. For as far as I could see, there were green meadows, sugar cane fields, pine and eucalyptus forests. It was quiet, except for the songbirds and the indistinguishable insects. Once again, we virtually had the place to ourselves. There are a few other people staying here at the Sodwaza Backpackers place, but we opted for a secluded thatched hut with an amazing view over a room in the main house.
We left South Africa on Sunday, the day before their national election. As he is prone to do, President Jacob Zuma opened his big mouth over the weekend by saying that a vote for the African National Congress was a ticket into heaven; voting otherwise was siding with the devil. Not voting for the ANC is seen as unpatriotic, when in reality the party has not delivered on many of its promises. Sadly, this is not Mandela’s ANC anymore. Zuma’s many kneejerk comments can be laughable and dismissible, until we realize that sometimes US politics don’t sound much different and that is sobering.
I digress. When we arrived in Ezulwini Sunday afternoon, we had an array of budget accommodation to choose from. It is hard to sometimes know what a place will be like, just by what you read, even from Lonely Planet. I think for the most part, we have had really wonderful places to stay so far. We started first at Lidwala, which was a traditional style backpackers lodge and it was packed with volunteers for a nearby project. They did however have a lovely tented camp for us by a stream and it was relatively quiet in the evening. The facilities however were more than we were willing to put up with for the week. A tiny kitchen with an over packed fridge, sketchy showers, and not enough toilets. We have logged enough time at similar places in the past and are too old for that when there are other options available. Plus, they were expecting twenty more teenagers the next day.
On Monday, we moved over to the Southern Cross Lodge, a house run by a Spanish couple, Jesus and Maria. We were the only ones there, the kitchen was large and well-stocked, and we watched movies in the evenings. But because we had a whole week in this lovely valley just south of the capitol, this also was not the place we wanted to spend all of our time. It was plenty nice, BUT, and I have to be honest here - 1) we felt like we had someone checking up on us all the time, 2) there was an obnoxious dog who hadn't been trained properly, and 3) no mossie screens on the bedroom windows so they stayed closed without a fan in the room. Needless to say on Wednesday, we came to Sodwaza and stayed there for a few days.
The great thing about this national park was that we could walk around with the animals. Granted, there were no predators (except for the crocodiles), but wild is wild. Walking past herds of nyala, kudu, impala, zebra, black wildebeest, and blesbok was just a very cool thing to do (and we were thankful for the exercise every day). Most of the time we did not even take photos, just enjoying seeing the animals who seemed quite used to people and were relative calm. We have also seen some very different birds – the brillant “Red Bishop” is a stunning little puffball of a bird. I think the many warthogs who were all around the camp were my favorites. Even at the pool, we had zebra and impala walk by.
Ezulwini is a rich cultural area. One of the royal palaces is here where the Queen Mother stays in residence. Swaziland is the last absolute monarchy on earth and photos of the king are everywhere - on curtains, in photos, on cloth. A lot of the craft industry is also based in this area. Weaving is one of the main skills used in making baskets, mats, and ropes. There is also a widespread textile industry printing cloth and making batiks, a locally run candle company, and beadwork. We enjoyed going to the large regional market in Manzini where produce, clothes, household goods are sold and just about any service could be rendered. Russ got a haircut and we could have consulted with a traditional healer. I love markets for the bustle and the people you can talk to. I always feel like I learn a lot.
Earlier this week we went to a nearby village to see how the traditional Swazis live. It reminded me much of the Zulu way with the beehive huts segregated into male and female living quarters, cooking areas, and grain storage. We talked with the headman who told Russ that he should have paid seventeen cows as lebola when we got married. I think it was a compliment, but I told Russ he would have gotten a deal at twenty. Ha-ha. Seventeen cows!
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