Eswatini

We left our campsite in Kruger National Park and headed towards Eswatini. When leaving the park we saw elephants, lions and rhinos all near the roadside. It was as if they all appeared to say goodbye to us.
It was a long drive to Eswatini and we crossed over the border before heading to the Mbabane market. We walked around the market and saw the weaving market and herbal market. The people were very friendly and laughed with us. We learned that Eswatini is the last "Absolute Kingdom" which means the king makes the decisions. The king also has 16 wives and he chooses a new wife every year or two from neighboring states or communities. Eswatini changed its name back from Swaziland to it's native name in 2018.

It was just before sunset before we arrived to our camp. We are staying in cute little huts in Mlilwane National Park. The roof is weaved by reed and are similar to native housing. The huts are located in a round circle of twelve. There are animals that roam around between the houses such as warthog, zebra and impala.

The following morning we had a lie in until 7:30. After breakfast we went on a nature walk on the hippo trial. There used to be hippos in this park however they were moved to a different park as they were dangerous to humans. It was a lovely easy walk through the woodlands and river bed. We saw variety of plants and birds and finally returned to find zebra in our camp. It was nice to be out exercising in nature after the last few days of driving.

In the afternoon we rested by the pool before the local people treated us to a dance and music show. It was interesting to see how their attire demonstrated their marriage status. The men had a very funny dance move where they kicked their leg as high as possible really quickly to the beat of the music. We had an opportunity to get up and dance with them however there was no way I was trying the kick as I think I would have pulled my hamstring. I definitely enjoyed being in Eswatini as the people were very friendly. Tomorrow we head back over the border to South Africa.Read more