Swaziland Part 2.

So after our shopping experience at Manzini market we were on our way and off to Hlani Royal National Park, which was about 100 km away, in the Lowland area of Swaziland. It was a straight road and we were planning to be there by lunch time as we only had to buy wood along the way. Well that was also quite an experience. All along the way there were ladies selling wood. We stopped to get some and in the end we got a huge bag full for R35. The lady packed it in a bag and then she and Dick carried it across the highway which carries all the traffic, mostly trucks, to Maputo.

The wood bag behind the stack,which is the same amount in the bag, about to be carried across the highway

While Dick was buying wood, I was reading through the very good Swazi publication, called Discover Swaziland. In there was a description of the little town of Siteki, which was 1000 metres high and from where you can see the Indian Ocean on a clear day. There was also a little ad for a restaurant called R&B and talk of Pizza, which just sounded so enticing after all the braaiing that we do. We decided to take the 12 km detour and go for lunch there. Well the R&B of the ad and the real one were slightly different. We found a small and I mean small restaurant with 4 tables. When we sat down we were presented with finger bowls with hot water to wash our hands. There was not an indication of pizza on the menu or I just never saw it because right there on the menu was Pap and Stew, either beef or chicken. My mind was made up. It was going to be that and I was willing to take my chances with the chicken. Dick had the beef and in that little bit of Africa we had the best meal of our holiday, amongst the locals of the town and the friendliest of waitresses.

The R&B Restaurant.

Inside R&B with our "meal of the trip"

It was a short drive from Siteki to Hlani and we were there early afternoon. Real bush camping, with the only difference this time that we were right next to the bathroom and we felt like we had an “en suite” facility this time. This surely made up for the very distant facilities of the previous camp. We settled in and spent 3 nights and 2 days in this wonderful environment.   The park is not very big, cannot remember the size now, and there are 3 sections to it. In one area there are lions, but we only heard them at night, as they were off limits to the public at the time we were there. In another area were the Rhinos and Elephants and Hippos and we saw many of those. For the rest it was Impala and Nyala and Warthogs and MANY birds. One morning we booked to go on a “bird walk”. Well we were out on a Land Rover and were driving through the park with a well informed guide with good bird knowledge. We did do a bit of walking and we did see some birds, or more to the point, Dick saw some birds and I agreed. My bird spotting eyes are rather poor at the best of times and in the early morning it is poorer. Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Our new "anti-muggie" wine covers, bought at Manzini market.

Our camp set-up in Hlani. Did not even need the awning.

The next day we went on our own game drives in the park. We started off in the Rhino section in the morning and we did not get very far. On the first road that we took there were some Rhino very close to the road and it did not look like they were keen to move away, so we moved away and reversed and backtracked. We chose another road and again we were met by Rhinos in the road. We again turned back and chose another road, just to be met by more Rhinos. We gave up at that point and changed our route for the morning.  In the afternoon we went the other way and saw very little. There is a lovely waterhole by the camp and we saw Rhino lazing around all day and Elephants coming to drink and Hippos doing what Hippos do, which is nothing, other than the occasional snort.

The "Hippo Road block"

We left Swaziland on Friday morning via the Highlands area. We stopped at Pig’s Peak hotel for our last Swazi coffee and came back into SA at Jeffrey’s Reef. All in all we had a lovely time, met some great people, like the manager of the park, Glen, a ex SA guy who is passionate about his park, the couple from  Betty’s Bay who shared the campsite with us for 2 nights  and the great outdoors which you can only experience in the bush.

Last view over  the mountains.

 We honestly had a super time in this small country right here close to our country. The people were great and so passionate about their country and friendly beyond friendly. For me Swaziland differed from SA in one very big way and that is the positiveness that you experience all over. It was very refreshing.