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Published: December 9th 2008
27 Oct - jump back aboard Priscilla, say farewell to Maputo, the sun is shining again and we cross the border from Mozambique into Swaziland. Stop at Pick n Pay, (yup they have supermarkets in Swaziland!) for essential birthday party supplies such as cake & champagne. ATM swallows my bank card, NOT amused but it gives me a chance to phone home and speak to mum and dad 😊
We arrive at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary - much more laid back than some of the other parks we've visited. Rolling hills, lush countryside, red dirt roads, purple jacaranda trees and croc / hippo infested waters. As there are no lions or leopards in this park you can walk freely and lots of wildlife comes direct to your door. We check-in to our traditional Swazi accomodation - a beehive hut. Reminiscent of the Ger tent I had in Mongolia only much bigger, approx 10ft tall, 2 comfy beds, tea-making facilities and our own shower and toilet - woohoo, what luxury after camping!!
V relaxing afternoon sitting outside the hut, drinking Savanna watching the wildlife go literally passed our front doors - impala, horses, warthogs and monkeys. In the evening we head
to the bar to watch traditional Swzi music and dance which involves lots of drums and high kicks, clapping and stomping. The usual crowd then heads to the Hippo Haunt Bar for a night cap.
28 Oct - meet our local guide then walk to a local Swazi village. En route we pass kudu, ostrich and zebra. We are invited into the village by the lady-chief...an extremely colourful, flamboyant woman. There are loads of cute, wee black kids running around and some young women in their 20's. This is really an orphanage as most of the village kids have lost their parents to HIV / AIDS and there are no men left in the village. The chief talks us through the importance of song and dance in everyday Swazi life while working, building & maintaining the kraal (fence), weaving grass, making kitchen utensils and crushing grains to make pap. Lots of audience participation too of course! We have one final song and dance from the children and then buy some handicrafts. I didn't bring anything from home to give the kids but decide to handover my Moonwalk cap, and more importantly... THE CELTIC CAP.
[JB - I felt
some cute wee Swazi kid would appreciate it better than me, hope you don't mind, lol.]
It was an interesting insight into local life. The children seem so happy, well-behaved, eager and helpful despite their basic upbringing and extremely low life expectancy.
It's a hot walk back to camp in the midday Swazi sun, a siesta then get ready for Janet's Ding Dong birthday party. A great night with a Mexican feast, various i-pods providing the music, dancing and everyone dressed up. Some of the more interesting costumes included:
Livie - zebra, with melted chocolate stripes
Charlie - lion, more than your average pussy 😉
Isaac - turtle, on tour joke
Alejandro - African warrior thanks to clever use of duvet cover
Manuela - traditional African mama with melted chocolate face
Sat Nav - also a mama with great boobs and bum thanks to some balloons, lol
The champagne was flowing all night, literally at one point all over me...cheers Charlie! And far too many shots but surprisingly quite an early night. The birthday girl enjoyed herself though and seemed delighted when I gave her my Celtic cross necklace as a present.
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