Hluhluwe to Maguga Lodge in the Kingdom of Swaziland.

An 8am start in drizzling rain this morning for the 1.5 hour drive to the Swaziland border. The protea Hotel was a good base for what we covered and overall it was a pleasant stay. The highlight for many of our shopaholics was the hotel gift store that had some of the most competitive prices and quality items encountered to date.

Leaving South Africa was relatively simple but the checkpoint between the 2 countries was elaborate and formal and we had to walk into Swaziland to complete their immigration. This is rather ironic since you can go 100 metres either side and simply walk anywhere. This is one of the reasons South Africa is facing a refugee crisis with relatively open borders. The Kingdom of Swaziland is administered by King Swazi the third, an absolute monarch who doesn't take dissent from his subjects. He has 14 wives, several palaces and is reportedly worth US$2 billion. 45% of his 1.2 million subjects live in abject poverty and this is quite evident, especially between the border and the capital Manzini.

The scenery in Swaziland is worth a special mention. As you enter the country you are immediately aware of a relatively flat broad valley with what appears to be an escarpment on your right. At the base of this is the very long Pongolapoort Dam. The escarpment has all the features of a fault and some scientists believe it is an extension of the Great African Rift Valley. The poorest subsistence farmers tend goats and cattle and many can be seen on the verges of this busy highway. As the soil improves, much larger sugar estates can be seen and several towns had processing mills and one a distillery. The mountains tend to close in as you approach Manzini and the terrain is much hillier. What really surprised was the number of quality homes around the capital and one can surmise that these belong to people in the government.

We drove through the capital to the Swazi Candle factory for lunch and a demonstration of candle making. The young man moulding produced a rhinoceros shaped candle in 5 minutes and his artistry was a sight to behold. The site also had many market stalls to encourage our shoppers. We arrived in Maguga Lodge around 4pm after traveling through some beautiful mountain scenery. Basalt was the base rock for some of this drive and the associated red soils were rich and supported more extensive farming.

Our accommodation at Maguga was in Rondavel huts with thatched roofs and the site overlooked the impressive Maguga Dam. Impala were wandering around the huts this afternoon and it was interesting to see signs that said beware of hippos and crocodiles down near the dam.

Some of the following photos were taken from the bus, hence the poor quality.