We exited Kruger via the Crocodile Bridge gate and immediately found a nearby restaurant Marula padstal for really good food at very reasonable prices.
It was a real contrast to be back out in the real world again surrounded by commercial sugarcane plantations as far as the eye could see. Both sides of the border, both entering and exiting eSwatini, were dedicated to sugarcane. The roads were littered with bits of sugar cane that had fallen off the numerous trucks ferrying it between plantation and mill. Everything was on a massive scales, massive plantings, trucks everywhere, huge sugar mills belching out coal smoke.
The border crossing at Jeppes Reef (RSA) and Matsamo (Swaziland) was really relaxed and we proceeded through with no waiting, no issues.
The route over Piggs Peake pass, down toward the capital Mbabane, was less relaxed. The area has huge plantation forests and plenty of logging traffic. But it was the state of the road that caused the real problems. At one point I felt we were in a rally car dodging one pothole after the next. I had one arm pointing “left-Pothole”, “left-Pothole” “Right pothole” with Andrew managing all the hazards and the other drivers. But the worst road hazards by far, were the numerous speed bumps. eSwatini has increased the driving difficulty by not painting, signposting, or marking most of these speed bumps – good luck at spotting one hidden in shadows. Taking one at speed, is not recommended – voices of experience on this. There were many cows walking on and alongside the road and staying in lanes wasn’t always compulsory.
Andrew was mighty relieved to turn onto the larger motorway for a much more relaxed journey for the last 30 minutes of the 2 hour drive from the border
The scenery was mountainous and a beautiful contrast to the flat plains of the last week. Sadly we spent more time watching the road for issues, than we did admiring the scenery.
We stayed in eZulwini, outside the capital, but near the American embassy. Mantenga Lodge had a lovely location, great staff, and delicious food in the restaurant. It was a good base for our 2 nights in the country. The flames below, were the lodge meat special being finished off after some time on the Braai
We visited the cultural village. It was a tourist village as opposed to a real village, but we learnt a few things about Swazi culture and history. The real highlight was the dancing & singing. While it was a show, the people looked like they were having fun performing. The singing great, but the dancing was fantastic with energy and high kicks – they really entertained the audience.
We visited the National Museum, which was very much a low key destination. But we learnt a lot about the history of the country. In many ways, there were a lot of parallels with New Zealand with British colonizers being prevalent around the 1840’s and gold rushes in the 1860s. One things not replicated in NZ is an absolute monarchy. The previous king, King Sobhuza II ruled for nearly 83 years until 1982, having 70 wives and 210 children. There were a lot of school children visiting the museum and being given talks about the exhibits.
There was only a small amount of art in the museum, but we both really liked two pieces – the African market scene and the superb pointy shoes embroidery. The text below it says “People wear pointy shoes. They don’t want work. They sit and answer their cell phones. They only wait for month end pay.”
We elected to add King Sobhuza memorials gardens to our museum ticket for a small additional amount . The memorial gardens had a nice photos display of the life of the king (although many were repeats of the same we had seen in the museum) But this display also added a lot to our non-existent knowledge of Swaziland. There is a memorial flame and statue of the king, but he is actually buried elsewhere on sacred ground on a hill, in a seated position. The new king is not as well respected as his father and is considered a little erratic. He was the one who changed the country name overnight from Swaziland to eSwatini, which is a pre-colonial name.
The mountains and lush countryside looked well worth exploring, but we didnt factor in enough time to do so. But the people we meet were charming and the country left a good impression on us.
