Blogs from Ezulwini Valley, Swaziland, Africa

Dear All After overnighting again in my Johannesburg lodge, I flew to Swaziland on a beautiful Sunday morning in the southern hemisphere. I was seriously impressed by this country - it seemed to be the calmest, chillest African country I've ever been in, with good roads, solid buildings, plenty of shopping malls, and lots of happy people. While South Africa seemed a developed, westernised version of Africa, Swaziland appeared more of a developed yet African version of Africa, if that makes sense. I arrived in another 40-seater Airlink plane from Johannesburg - it was only around a third full, and I was clearly the only tourist, which is definitely my kind of travelling! I shall overlook the need to declare whether one has had a c-word vaccine or not, and the temperature check, at the airport, ... read more

According to Wikipedia, people in Swaziland have a higher probability of being struck by lightning than people anywhere else in the world. This unverified factoid became the subject of our thoughts in a very meaningful way when we got stuck on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm. This is what happened... We left Hlane around lunch-time after we had done another unguided drive, this time with absolutely no sightings. I had spotted a hot spring marked on one of our tourist maps and was keen to explore. It only required a small detour from our route back so we thought it was doable. Unfortunately the map we had in the car didn't have it marked. We took a 60km detour through some stunningly beautiful countryside and reasonably heavy traffic to find the springs but didn't ... read more

The place we were staying at in Swaziland was a pine plantation owned by Lindsey's cousin Heather and her husband Sakari. Heather and Sakari had kindly let us use the place but unfortunately they could not be there. Having arrived in the dark and discovered that our accommodation had no electricity we had the interesting tasks of trying to find light and make a meal, not to mention more mundane things like finding the bedroom and bathroom. Heather had foreseen that electricity might be a problem as their power is generated through a micro-hydro-electric power plant which crucially depends on the water level of the farm's dam. As the wet season rains had not arrived on time, by the end of September, the dam was very low. She had prepared by leaving out candles in wine ... read more

GUBA: meaning “To dig” in Siswati, the native language of Swaziland. This is a truly special project, and quite unique, I think, in its impact, its ability to evolve with the needs of the community, and its scope. It’s a small not-for-profit set up just 5 years ago with limited funding, by an amazing British couple who’d simply had enough of working in NGOs filled with bureaucracy, politics and corruption and who wanted to make a real difference to the quality of life of people in Swaziland. Guba’s mission statement is “Alleviating poverty through training in sustainable agriculture, natural building and natural resource management”. And it's absolutely true to every word. Guba is run entirely on Permaculture principles - the space is laid out in a permaculture way - the garden is farmed using permaculture techniques ... read more

This was my 1st time out of the country (RSA). I was so excited to get my 2st stamp in my passport and say that I went to the Magical Swaziland. This country is so rich in culture and heritage, that i just wanted to see every attraction and explore more. My visit was a Week away in the stunning Ezulwini Valley with the mountain range surrounding us as a maganifisant back drop. We went to see the royal cral and hear all about the culture of the swazi people, intresting as I got to see the dance of the people, drink of thier home made beer and met a Shangoma. The House on Fire is a unique attraction, fairly new. But ba site to see as there are many artistic patterns, statues, sayings and funny ... read more