Exploring the mountainous Kingdom of Swaziland

COUNTRY: Southern Africa (Swaziland, Mozambique & South Africa)
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Emily Forbes

Sawubona to all our Australian family and friends! Our first week on the African continent has flown by, and already we have many great stories to tell.

We all arrived in Swaziland on Monday and were greeted by the staff who took us to Lidwala Lodge, our home for the duration of our stay in Swaziland. The first two days in the mountainous Kingdom of Swaziland were spent exploring the local area and settling in to our new home. We are slowly getting used to the concept of 'Swazi time', the laid back lifestyle here means that often (nearly always) things to do not run to time, but we would not have it any other way.

A highlight for many for the first few days was a visit to Lobamba Village. Here we were able to really be immersed in Swazi culture and see how the locals live. We were greeted by many local children who were excited to say hello and give us a cuddle or a high five. During our visit to the village we also had the chance to taste a freshly brewed Swazi beer, which kind of tasted like salad dressing. Our visit was followed by a traditional dinner, comprising of three different types of meat, maize and beans with chilli, tomato and onion.

On Wednesday we embarked on our journey to Kruger National Park where we would be spending the next five days on safari. After a five-hour long bus ride we arrived and were immediately greeted by hippos, giraffes and impalas. The incredible scenery and wildlife continued to amaze us over the coming days. I think I can speak for the whole group when I say that the number one highlight was spotting a leopard and watching it stalk and kill a mongoose! Some other great moments were watching a lion walk in front of us on the road and spotting a month-old baby elephant. We were lucky enough to spot the Big 5 over our time at Kruger as well as many other animals including cheetahs, baboons, kudus and a wide variety of birds. Our days were filled with unlimited game drives, however at night we enjoyed sitting around the campfire sharing stories or enjoying a cocktail by the bar that overlooked the river where elephants and hippos often came down to drink.

We are now settled back in to our home in Ezulwini, and have much to look forward to, with our first day at our neighborhood care points on Tuesday and a ziplining canopy tour of Swaziland planned for the weekend.

Until next time, Sala Kahle!

Emily