I don’t have a knife but I have two spoons…

So what am I eating?  I’m trying to self-cater at least a little bit, but this gets old fast when you move every few days and carry all your food along with you.

Luckily for me, everywhere in Africa the following seem to be readily available; bananas, peanuts and bread in some form.

In East Africa fruits are abundant – mangoes, oranges, papaya, watermelon, and my favorite, pineapple.  Having a pineapple just seems to make everything better.  We’ve also encountered a fair amount of cassava and plantains, which take May back to her days growing up in the Dominican Republic.  It’s easy to find fried cassava and plantain chips for sale at local groceries – both of which are delicious.

Most days I buy a real meal for dinner, either when we go out as a group or at whichever place we happen to be staying.  In Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Nairobi we went out to eat a few times, sampling Swahili, Indian and Chinese at reasonably priced restauarants.  The Indian food has been especially good especially in Dar, and at the home of our friend Krupa’s parents in Nairobi, where we were invited one day for lunch.

If I had to choose one food item that seems to dominate our lives it would have to be the cashew nut.  Or cashew nuts, to be precise, as you never eat just one!  After discovering that we could buy a 1 kg bag for less than $5 at the market in Dar, they quickly became an integral part of our diet.  We’ve each eaten at least 1-2 kgs of cashews since we arrived in Dar the first time and we’re still eating them.  It’s gotten so bad we all joke about how many cashews we eat and how we can never eat them again (after we finish our current supplies of course), yet we still do, everyday.    

A Shirt with a Life of its Own and One Big Ass Backpack

For a few weeks I had the distinct impression that Meghan’s smelly workout shirt was following me.  Everywhere I went – there the shirt was – hanging from the rafters or the door knob to dry.  Often it was fluttering in the breeze of a ceiling fan which also served to circulate the Shirt’s pungent odor of BO throughout our shared room at various Southern African backpackers.

I guess at the beginning I wasn’t completely sure Meghan’s Shirt was the source of the smell, as the odor of BO is fairly common in these parts.  So before I unfairly accused the Shirt, I did a some investigating. 

Is it me?  By doing a quick self sniff check I was able to rule myself out.  Someone in the room next door or outside?  No, this smell was much closer to home.  Finally, I got the courage to smell the Shirt at close range, and a positive identification of the culprit was made. This accomplished, I began the much more difficult task of convincing Meghan it was time to WASH the Shirt.

Meghan is about 5’2, 130 lbs and her 80 litre backpack is almost as big and heavy as she is.  It’s definitely even if one adds the 15-20 lbs of stuff she carts around with her in 4 smaller bags.  Her stuff has grown since the trip began and shows no signs of diminishing, as she’s decided to buy presents from what must be close to the entire state of Minnesota.  Some of these things include:

1 bottle of wine

1 bottle of raunchy Malawi Gin

5 one kg bags of cashew nuts

9 spice boats (plus 20 smaller spice packets)

5+ yards of Tanzanian fabric.

Then she has enough clothing so that she can go almost and entire month without wearing the same thing twice.

Nora in contrast doesn’t have enough clothing, and she somehow keeps ripping holes in her pants and get the few items she does have impossibly dirty.  She has so few clothes that she wears the same thing almost everyday; purple shirt, green shirt, brown shirt, repeat.

Oh the girls, this trip wouldn’t be as fun without them!

Malawi: The Warm Heart of Africa

I really like Malawi and I think we left too soon after spending only a little over a week there; mostly in the northern part of the country.

We took a horribly long night bus to Lilongwe from Lusaka.  At the Zambia-Malawi border we were made to exit the bus with all our belongings for some kind of check, although as soon as we lugged everything off they just told us to get right back on again, without actually checking anything.  Bizarre.  I was tired and cranky at this point (it was like 2am) and none too pleased to be participating. But at border crossings the best thing to do is keep your mouth shut and cooperate.

Lilongwe was similar to Lusaka in that it was a dusty and unremarkable place.  We did spend sometime at the local market there were I found some colorful African fabrics.  The market also had a section which sold used clothing – presumably donations from North Amercia and Europe.  Picture young African men wearing T-shirts that say: “Bingo-aholic” and “Altoona Girls Softball”.

From Lilongwe we headed north to Mzuzu (Malawi’s 3rd largest city, although you’d never know it) from where it was just a short hop by dladla down to the town of Nkhata Bay.

Nkhata Bay is right on Lake Malawi, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world.  It’s kind of similar to the North American Great Lakes in that there are a few sandy beaches and sometimes a few waves.  But there the similarities end.

Unlike the Great Lakes, Lake Malawi is ringed by palm trees, boulders and African bush.  Locals’ livelihoods, based on fishing and ferrying, are tied to the Lake as they have been for hundreds of years.  These activities are accomplished using traditional dugout canoes and motorized boats are seldom seen.

Despite rumors of a dastardly Lake bacteria/worm/parasite I decided to try scuba diving there.  I was reassured by the fact that the local dive master, Steve (yep that’s right Scuba Steve), looked healthy enough.

Nkhata Bay is surrounded by steep hills, and the earth just keeps plummeting down after it meets the water.  Scuba diving there is like swimming alongside a cliff, with a few sandy plateaus appearing from time to time.  While it doesn’t have as wide an array of fish as can be found in coral reef dive sites in the ocean, Lake Malawi’s aqualife is still exotic.   I saw an upside-down fish (which swims upside-down, duh) and a Mouth Brooder that sucks its group of tiny babies into its mouth like a vacuum cleaner when danger approaches.

Meghan and Nora spent most of their time in Nkhata Bay at the local shebeen sampling Chikula or “Shake-Shake”, traditional maize been sold in a paper milk-like carton.

Malawians live up to their reputation as Africa’s friendliest people.  We were often greeted in Nkhata Bay by locals, and not just because they wanted something, but because they were actually being genuinely nice.  They all said the same thing, “You are Most Welcome.”  If I ever meet someone from Malawi in my own country I will be sure to tell them that as well.  

Don’t go to Vic Falls in October

Our first stop in Zambia was Livingstone, home of legendary Victoria Falls. Unfortunately we arrived at probably the worst time to see it due to the low water level of the Zambezi River, which produced little more than a trickle, instead of the roaring waterfall we expected to see.

The Zimbabwe side of the falls (which we were able to catch a glimpse of while still in Zambia) looked a bit more impressive however none of us wanted to deal with the hassle of crossing the Zim border to get a better look.

Nora visited Victoria Falls last April and said at that time it was spectacular. I guess April must be the time to go. It definitely isn’t October!

“Like Mary, Mother of Jesus?”

My friend and traveling companion Mayerlin has a very unique name which is difficult for many people to pronounce after hearing it for the first time.  To make it easier for us, Mayerlin often introduces herself as May, for short.

In Africa many people want to greet foreigners and this greeting will involve asking your name.   For us as three single females traveling many of these friendly greeters are often random men.  You’d think that Mayerlin introducing herself by her nickname would speed up this often tedious process (often these guys are harmless but annoying nonetheless) however the conversation will invariably proceed as follows:

Random Man:  So what is your name?

May:  It’s May.

RM:  Oh, ok Mary.

May:  No, May.

RM:  Like Mary, Mother of Jesus?

May:  No, like the month…May, June, July.

RM:  So Mary, where are you from?

May:  The Dominican Republic.

RM:  The what?

May:  The Dominican Republic…It’s an island…in the Caribbean…

RM:  (dumbfounded silence)

May: ….near Jamaica….

RM:  Oh Jamaica!!  I love Reggae music! You know Bob Marley?

Sometimes at this point May will claim Bob as a relative, and sometimes I think they might actually believe her.

The Joys of Public Transport in Africa

On this African adventure my companions and I have vowed to use public transport almost entirely; buses (long distance and local), minibuses, ferry boats and trucks.

The advantages of public transport are of course the cheap price but also the experience of rubbing elbows with locals (although this can be both enjoyable and unpleasant..)  Some of the disadvantages of pub trans include long waiting periods, infrequent bathroom stops and losing all of the feeling in your ass.

The Bus

The majority of our progress thus far has been made using the long distance bus.  I will have to check with Nora to be sure about the travel times but here they are roughly:

Jo-burg (SA) – Gaborone (Bots) : 5 hrs

Gabs – Palapye : 3 hrs 

Palapye – Maun : 4 hrs

Maun – Nata : 3 hrs

Livingstone (Zam) – Lusaka : 6 hrs

Lusaka (Zam) – Lilongwe (Malawi) : 14 hrs

Lilongwe – Mzuzu : 6 hrs (it was supposed to be 4 but the bus got a flat tire)

Mbeya (Tanzania) – Dar es Salaam : 12 hrs

That’s alot of time on a bus.  Mostly bus rides aren’t that interesting, but once in a while something notable will happen.  In Malawi a volunteer typically leads the passengers in prayer before setting off.  I don’t know if this occurs because of the devout religious faith of Malawians or because of their fear that the bus won’t reach its destination…

In Botswana if you arrive late or get on the bus when its already full you’re left standing in the aisle until a seat opens up – if a seat opens up. 

The only bus ride so far that has featured live animals was in Tanzania (unless you consider cockaroaches to be live animals, in which case we also encountered some on a Zambian bus), and it was what I believe to be a single chicken discreetly concealed in a small cardboard box.   I wouldn’t have even noticed it except for the box’s makeshift airholes and the soft clucking noise that emanated from within, which definitely indicated the presence of a fowl.  Also in Tanzania we saw two goats tied to the top of a tanker truck.

Then there are hawkers selling everything from airtime to to bananas to cheap fashion jewlerly and shoes.  They swarm the bus stations and ranks – and in TZ even the places where the bus even slows down for more than 10 seconds.  The hawkers in Botswana are the most aggressive while those in TZ have the widest variety of goods, offering their wares up to the high bus windows on spiked sticks or boxes balanced on their heads.

Minibuses

Knowns as “taxis” in South Africa – they can be some of the most cramped and uncomfortable means of long distance transportation – however I would still prefer them over riding in the back of a truck.

Maun – Bush Camp (Bots) : 1 hour

Mzuzu – Nkhata Bay and back (malw): 4 hrs

Mzuzu – Chitimba: 2 hrs

Chitimba Malawi – Tanzanian border: 2 hrs

After crossing the TZ border and walking about 1 km, we got on a vehicle of Chinese origin that I do not feel can be correctly classified as either bus or minibus – but somewhere in between.  We took this what-what from the border post to Mbeya and the trip was about 2 hours.

Our first minibus experience with all our crap was in Botswana – and it was pretty comical since we all have about as much stuff as we can carry.   The minibuses there don’t have any space for luggage in the back so you have to hold everything on your lap – and the laps of whatever people happen to be unlucky enough to be sitting beside you in the front row.

The minibuses we rode in later had room in the back for our packs.  Not that this meant they were any more comfortable….

Add : Space for luggage

Subtract : leg room between rows, all seat padding and consequently all feeling in one’s ass after about 30 minutes.

Trucks

Don’t worry Mom, it isn’t exactly the same as hitch-hiking…not all the time anyway

Nata (Bots) – Livingstone (Zam) : 8 hrs

Chitimba – Livingstonia (Malawi) : 30 mins

Following a 3-4 hour bus ride from Maun via Nata, Botswana we arrived at a petrol station in no-man’s-land only to find there was no connecting bus to the Zambian border…

Meghan, our intrepid little negotiator arranged a lift for us in the back of a man’s pick-up truck all the way to our final destination in Livingstone, Zambia.  Our fellow traveler in the truck was a lone Japanese man who appeared out of  seemed somewhat out of place without the usual gaggle of sun-protected, picture-snapping countrymen.

Sun protection was something my friends and I all could have used a bit more of on this leg of the trip.  Pigmently-challenged Nora covered herself with every article of clothing she could manage to grab out of her backpack at high speed, while I arrived partially sunburnt (failing to re-apply Block appropriately).  Meghan, who generally laughs in the face of sunblock was burnt to a crisp and subsequently peeled in a bizarre pattern which gave her the appearance of suffering from a rare skin disease for several weeks.

Ferry Boats

We haven’t had to take very many of these so far.  The first trip was pretty short and uneventful by itself

Bots – Zam border crossing, Zambezi river : 10 mins

The second trip from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar Island (4 hours) was a bit more interesting due to high waves and barfing children.  There was no barfing Amber though – Thank God for seasickness pills!

We head back to mainland TZ today from Zanzibar…so we’ll be able to add a few more hours to the ferry total!

Jo-burg to Nairobi Itinerary

Actually if you want to get technical it’s really Durban – Nairobi, since I’m leaving Durban once and for all on September 30, 2007. My next stop is good old Pretoria where I have to finish-up things with PC officially – this includes closing out my SA bank account and a lengthy medical exam that requires three consecutive samples of my POOP. PC, it is all yours. 🙂

Joburg is a good starting point for any overland trip, as it’s a big regional transportation hub. It also works out well for my PC friends/travel companions and I since Joburg is only about 30 minutes from PC-HQ in Pretoria.

As I related in the previous post – I’ve been extremely bored at work lately. This been good in a way, as its inspired/forced me to do some planning and come up with an itinerary for my trip after PC. I’m hoping to set out on October 6, 2007 and travel for a little over 3 months.

THE ITINERARY
Botswana, October 6-15

Gaborone, Palapye (to visit Emily B!), Okavango Delta, Rhino Park

I should probably tell Emily I’m coming.

Zambia, October 15-20

Victoria Falls, Lusaka

Sadly we’re going to go through Zam as quickly as possible and might not see much there other than Vic Falls.

Malawi, October 20-31

Lilongwe, Nkhata Bay, Likoma Island, Livingstonia, Manchewe Falls, Mzuzu

I’m really excited to get to the Lake, but nervous about The Lake Worm, Malaria and Dengue… I have read about some of the spots in Southern Malawi that are supposed to be really nice (Mt. Mulanje, Monkey Bay) and depending on time maybe we can make it to that part of the country.

Tanzania, November 1-14; 21-28

Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Serengeti National Park, Ngorogoro Crater, Kilamanjaro/Moshi

Yea Tanzania! There is so much to see and do there, the biggest drawback is that the park fees (to get into Serengeti, etc) are so expensive! To climb Mt. Kilamanjaro for example it can cost around $750. Supposedly it can be done for cheaper (like $550) but then you’re either risking your safety or skimping on your guide’s (required) salary. So climbing the actual mountain is sadly not on the itinerary; hiking around the park, however, is. I’m also pysched for Scuba on Zanzibar.

Rwanda, November 14-21

Kigali, Parc National des Volcans (Mt. Gorillas!)

Don’t worry Mom, it’s safe! Rwanda is very peaceful now and you have a better chance of tracking down the mountain gorillas in the Rwandan park than in the Ugandan one nearby.

Kenya, November 28 – December 14

Nairobi, Masai Mara Reserve, Mt. Kenya, Lake Bogoria National Park

Two of my traveling companions are shipping out on or around December 14th, so I’ve been looking at how to fill my time between Dec 14 and Dec 27th. Any suggestions?

I’ve looked into going to the Seychelles or the Maldives, but those are are pretty expense options since they cater for the resort crowd, with resort budgets. The flights aren’t cheap either despite already being on this side of the world. I’ve also looked at going to Lamu, which is a Kenyan beach town.

India, December 27 – January 12

More on that later.

Cape Town

South Africans call Cape Town “The Mother City” as it was the first place in the country settled by Europeans. The origninal inhabitants were the Khoisan, a group of people living in Southern Africa since the days of the caveman, if not before.

Cape Town has a rich history as a sea port and place where cultures from around Africa and the world have mixed for decades, beneath the majestic backdrop of towering Table Mountain.

Day 1

I flew from Durban on cheap but inefficient Mango Airlines, South African Airways low-priced alternative carrier created to drive the other national low-fare competitors, like Kulula.com, out of business (although SAA heartily claims otherwise of course).

When Mango was launched last year I vowed never to fly with them on principle. I guess that died an early death. Cape Town International is TINY (I think maybe even Durban’s airport is bigger) and undergoing a crapload of construction at present which makes it all the more charming. Luckily I didn’t have to hang around there long, since my Backpackers, Big Blue, arranged for free airport pick-up. Yea!

Big Blue is one of the nicest Backpackers (hostels) I’ve ever stayed at- and I’ve stayed at a few! It’s situated in a refurbished colonial mansion with wide halls and a banister that you could slide down, although I didn’t try to myself. It’s also CLEAN and in a location that’s convienent to some restaurants and shops (Greenpoint) and within walking distance of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The only drawbacks are the small kitchen, and when I was there, a few of the other guests.

After checking in I met up with my friend Jessica. Despite living in a rural village in Limpopo Province for the past two years, and working with several HIV/AIDS community-based organizations there, Jess had already been able to visit Cape Town. This worked out well for me because she could show me some of her favorite places. We also managed to do a few new things as well….

That night we met-up with my friend Charlie, who’d recently moved down from Durban, and headed to Long Street – one of the happening nightlife areas. We ate dinner at an African restaurant (possibly called Mama Africa) that was authentic enough but not outstanding in my opinion. Charlie would want me to note that when visiting said restaurant do not attempt to request olive oil for your salad. They don’t have any and will try to trick you into settling for canola oil instead. After dinner we all proceeded to nearest Irish pub (the correct name of which is also fuzzy) and listened to some live music.

Day 2

Jessica and I were up bright and early to fetch our rental car from Aroundabout Cars. Being over the age of 23 goes a long way with Aroundabout – a company that offers super-low rental rates but with only minimal insurance coverage available. On the plus side, they don’t ask alot of questions either…The order of the day was to head fabulous Cape Point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, one of the most scenic routes in South Africa if not on EARTH.

Cape Point

We drove out of Cape Town via the Seapoint Waterfront and the ritzy neighborhoods of Clifton and Camp’s Bay – reputed to be some of the highest-priced real estate in all of Africa. Then on to Hout’s Bay, which kind of reminded me of Aspen- except with alot of sailing instead of alot of skiing – if that makes any sense. Jessica, who lived in Aspen for a year, would want me to note her strenous objection to this particular thinly drawn parallel.

Outside of Hout’s Bay we picked up the Chapman’s Pass road which is a real cliffhanger (har har)! I think I got vertigo just driving on it – and there are guardrails most of the way. It would be a great spot for a dramatic movie car chase or something.

Hout Bay from Chapman’s Pass

At the end of Chapman’s Pass we emerged along the coast of Cape Point itself and headed towards the National Park area. When we arrived we climbed up to the Lighthouse so I could get the obligatory photo with one of those signposts with the different signs pointing to cities all over the world. That accomplished, we went back down and drove to the end of the Cape of Good Hope and fought a horde of Italian tourists for a turn to get the obligatory photo there. On the way we saw an ostrich.

Simon’s Town

Jess and I stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town on our way back. Simon’s Town is a cute little New England-esque seaside hamlet which is the home of the South African Navy, and much more interestingly, a colony of African Jackass Penguins. Yes, that is their REAL name! I guess the Jackasses didn’t make out so well in the name department, unlike the Emperor Penguins for instance. But on the other hand they live in Africa – not Antarctica.

In Simon’s Town there’s a fenced wooden boardwalk that allows one to walk through the Jackass nesting ground and to a little beach where (for a small fee) one may frolic unfettered with the Penguins. The childish glee inspired by this opportunity, and of course by the Jackasses themselves, made it the highlight of my day!

A Couple of Jackasses

Next Jess and I went back to Hout Bay to meet up with some friends of hers who live on their boat in the harbour there. Jess met Gavin and Vanessa and their two kids on her last trip, and they were nice enough to invite us for a sail out from Hout Bay to Seal Island, and then for dinner afterwards. It was great to be able to see the town and nearby Chapman’s Pass from the sea, plus there was yet another animal encounter with the Stinky Seals of Seal Island.

Boats in Hout Bay Harbour
Day 3

On my third day in Cape Town I set out for the Kirstenbosch Gardens with my parnter in crime. The Kirstenbosch is nestled at the base of “the other side” of Table Mountain – that is the side not facing the ocean – and is one of the oldest cultivated gardens in Africa as well as a UNESCO World Hertiage Site.

Kirstenbosch is more than just your average botantic gardens; it strecthes on for what must be acres and provides access to some lovely vistas of Cape Town and numerous different hiking trails. Jessica and I decided to take a stroll along one of these not realizing that it led directly up the mountain. As we walked, the incline gradually became steeper and steeper until we got to a point where the path proper disappeared and was replaced by ladders and climbable rocks.

Normally, Jessica I and would be up to the challenge, however, on this particular day we found ourselves without the requisite equipment – namely shoes other than flip-flops and ballet slip-ons. Assuming it was called The Skeleton Gorge trail for a reason, we turned around.

The Mountain We Climbed Halfway

Next Jessica decided that she wanted to visit Cape Town’s most famous mall – Century City. South Africans love malls and there are some doozies in all of the big cities. The only problem with Century City, we soon discovered, was getting there. It shouldn’t have been hard – when looking at a decent map (unlike the piece of crap WE had) the route between Kirstenbosch and Century City is not all that complicated.

The combination of Crap Map and some rather vague, and probably not very closely listened to, driving directions from a kind stranger earlier that morning, resulted in a tour of some of the Cape Town sights off the typical tourist trail – namely Khayelitsha and the Fish Packing Section of the Industrial Park beside the Airport. But we perservered and an hour and a half after leaving Kirstenbosch we got to the mallm which wasn’t all that impressive – definitely not worth the trip!

Day 4

On Friday we headed down to Long Street again, but this time during the day, to take a look in some of the funky little shops. From there its only a short walk to the historic city centre where one can find Parliment and some other equally old and colonial-looking buildings, and the business district. That night we went to Observatory, another part of the greater Cape Town area for dinner and drinks.

Day 5

Saturday Charlie drove us out to the winelands! We were joined by Jessica’s friend Colin and had lunch in a really cute French-like restaurant in Franshoek, behind the Huguenot Museum. Due to a late start, and much internal squabbling over the itinerary, we only managed to get to one winery – Rickety Bridge – for an actual tasting. We also tried to go to one called Tokara near Stellenbosch, but by the time we got there it was closed. I didn’t realize that pretty much all the wine estates are closed by 4pm!

Rickety Bridge Wine Estate, Franshoek

Day 6

The highlights of my sixth Day in Cape Town were Table Mountain and Robben Island – which are on the top of most CPT visitors’ Must See lists. Unfortunately it was too windy that day to take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain, which was a little disappointing. There is the option of hiking up from the cable car point, but we didnt have time since we already had tickets to Robben Island that afternoon. There’s still a nice view of everything from the cable car station though, which is pretty high up the mountain already.

The departure point for Robben Island is the Victoria & Alred Waterfront, which is full of restaurants and shops and of course has its own mall. Tickets must be purchased in advance and sell out quickly, as there are only a limited number sold each day. Robben Island is located about 12km offshore from Cape Town in Table Bay; the boat trip takes upwards of 30 minutes. It’s about 1km in diameter and has had a variety of uses since colonial days including a supply stop for passing ships and a leper colony.

But Robben Island is most famous for serving as a prision during the apartheid era. Nelson Mandela was held there for 18 of his 27 years in prison, along with numerous other important Struggle figures. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is overrun with rabbits.

Watchtower at Robben Island Prison

Mandela’s Cell

Day 7

My last day in Cape Town was rainly and miserable, which I didn’t really mind too much since I’d had great weather the entire rest of the week (save the day I arrived). CPT is known for its unpredictable and often wet weather – people claim that you can sometimes experience all four seasons in one day.

Some would also say that due to the general unpredictability of the weather I was taking a big risk visiting during the winter. I think it worked out well though since the usual Must See spots weren’t completely overrun with other tourists – which I hear can be the case in the summer. I can’t imagine what the city will be like during 2010 when its hosting one of the World Cup semi-final matches. It just doesn’t seem big enough to hold all the people that are likely to show-up!

Cape Town is beautiful, clean, well-maintained, laid-back and well-worth visiting. It hasnt managed to completely escape the top three scourges of South Africa – poverty, HIV/AIDS and violent crime – but only to push them back from the city into the sprawling townships and informal settlements of Khayelitsha and others along the Cape Flats. It’s easy to forget those things, the even the rest of South Africa, exist when you’re in Cape Town. It kind of feels like a world of its own.

Cape Town from Table Bay

Road Trip: Swaziland

Swaziland is a small southern African country surrounded on three sides by South Africa. Its eastern border is with Mozambique. Although Swaziland is an independent country, culturally it has a lot in common with certain South African cultural groups like the Siswatis (who are basically Swazis living in SA) and the Zulus, who some would argue have their origins in Swaziland as well. Also like SA it has a huge rate of HIV/AIDS infection.

The only monarchy in southern Africa is found in Swaziland; currently it’s led by King Mswati III and his mother the Indlovukazi or “Great She-Elephant”. King Mswati III has 13 wives – a new one is selected each year during the Reed Dance ceremony and added to the group. The Swazi Royal house is situated in Mbabane, which is also the nation’s capital. A king wouldn’t be a king in Africa without a crapload of livestock and the Swazi King is no exception. Everytime I drove past the Royal Residence on the brand-new modern 4-lane highway there were a few cows and goats wandering along beside the road.

I arrived in Mbabane after a six hour drive from Nelspruit, South Africa – which was in itself an adventure! I left Nelspruit in a rented Volkswagon Chico (see above for how it looked at the end of the trip!) around 1pm and headed for the Lebomba border post.

Earlier that day I read on a map hanging the Backpackers that this particular border post closed its doors at 4pm or 16h00 to be precise. I enquired about this before leaving and was informed by Nitto (Backpackers’ employee, guide and boyfriend of my friend Debs) that that was not the case and this border post was in fact open until 8pm or later. So I took his word for it and headed off figuring no matter what I would get there before 4 anyway.

After I was on the road less than an hour when things started to get interesting. There was tons of construction which slowed me down, steep and windy mountain roads which I was expecting – but the best part was that the last 40-50km of the journey was on unpaved roads. Surprise!

Unlike many other countries in the region, South Africa has very good roads and you basically have to be pretty deep in the boondocks to come across one that isn’t paved. When I arrived at this particular section workers were actually in the process of paving, or starting to anyway. I was confused to have so suddenly found myself off the asphalt, and I asked them if I was lost. They thought that was funny.

The road was pretty bumpy in some spots – much more so than in the photo – and my Chico was not exactly built for going off the beaten path. I was worried that any second I was going to lose a tire – or worse. So it was slow going. It was also pretty isolated, as it went through a timber farming area and no villages were to be seen even anywhere. I think I passed a total of three other cars going either way the whole time. The lack of traffic gave me a sneaking suspicion that the border post did close at 4pm after all – since this road ended there.

I rolled up to the border post office at exactly 4:10 to find the gates closed and locked (picture a tiny little building in the middle of the wilderness with nothing else around for miles). So it’s probably not hard to imagine how happy I was to see an SA border guard emerge and unlock the gate. He also confirmed that they did close at 4, and I had better hustle over to the Swazi side before they all went home. He didn’t have to tell me twice.

The Swazi border officials told me a car that passed me on the road told them I was on my way, so they waited for me! I thanked them and apologized profusely for making them stay after work. Then I discovered that I didn’t have enough money to pay the entrance fee. Ooops. They were really nice about this too and just let me in, giving me a map of Swaziland and a look that said, “you’re gonna need this.” I guess my planning for this trip was less than stellar…

The next leg went pretty smoothly until I got to Mbabane, where my luck ran out and I became hopelessly lost trying to find my accommodation – Grifter’s Backpackers. See a lot of Mbabane’s roads have recently been renamed, so when I stopped with my out-of-date directions printed off the internet, no one I asked had ever heard of any of the streets! Eventually I got there, but I was lost for a while. And in retrospect, I should have known better.

After the previous day’s driving adventures (and like 8 total hours driving) I was not excited to start again the next morning. But the handicraft shopping in Swaziland seemed just too good to pass up, and you need a car to get around to the various market spots in a reasonable amount of time. First I set out for Ngwenya Glass Factory, a locally owned and operated enterprise that manufactures hand-blown glass products, although I soon discovered I’d taken a wrong turn. Luckily this was not a “train-smash” and I ended up finding some good stuff at some roadside markets on the way back towards Mbabane. AND I also almost ran over what I’m pretty sure was a Black Mamba as it was crossing the road!

The Black Mamba

Eventually I found Ngwenya Glass Factory which was pretty cool, in my opinion, and definitely worth finding! Ngwenya Glass was started as a Swedish development project intended to benefit the local people by training them in glass-blowing and manufacturing skills which they could then use to earn an income.

And it actually worked – Swedish artisans came down, trained a bunch of people, helped them run the factory for a while and then pulled out leaving the whole thing to the Swazis. The factory has changed hands couple of times since the Swedish left but is now predominantly owned by the workers. They make all kinds of glass items from the usual wine glasses to various African animal figurines. Everything is done on site with recycled glass.

The next day it was back out on the craft trail again but this time in the opposite direction on the highway towards the Ezulwini Valley. I hit a few more roadside markets and Gone Rural, a local women’s cooperative that sells handwoven grass items like bowls, rugs, baskets, etc. Somewhere in that general area is another weaving co-op called Rosecraft, which specializes in wool products. I didn’t make it to the actual factory but did see an“outlet” or two and they had really nice stuff. The road through this part of Swaziland is probably the most “touristy” area I found. It was full of hotels – from backpackers to five star – spas, restaurants and even a golf course. The atmosphere in this area is quite different than in the rest of the country.

Donkeys in the Road

I left Mbabane about 10am on the following morning to begin my drive back to Durban. It took about 3 hours to get to the Swazi-SA border post, Lavumisa – almost going from one corner of the country to another. At Lavumisa one can cross into northern Kwa-Zulu Natal. Overall it was a pretty easy drive; the roads don’t have too many holes, there’s not a lot of traffic, and no where to get lost since there’s basically only one highway. There are a number of villages and small towns that the highway goes through, and instead of stoplights or stop signs to slow cars down – they have speed bumps – sometimes appearing out of no where with no warning whatsoever. BAM! I hate speed bumps.

Swaziland is a nice place to visit especially if you’re in the market for African handicrafts. I saw alot of what the Mbabane-Ezulwini area had to offer but there were some other stops up near Piggs Peak that I missed which (according to some of the local PCVs) are great for stuff like jewerly, silver and batiks. But in addition to the shopping the country is attactive as its people are friendly, helpful and easy-going with a real sense of pride in themselves, their culture and history. It’s a good kind of pride though – as opposed to the annoying obnoxious kind that I’ve often encountered among some South Africans or Philadelphia Eagles fans. In addition, it’s easy to get around (minus those pesky name-changing streets) and bit less expensive than South Africa despite the currency being pegged to the Rand.

Blyde River Canyon

The Blyde River Canyon area of Mpumalanga province features a number of picturesque tourist-friendly stops that can all be visited on a day-trip from Nelspruit. Mpumalanga literally means, where the sun (langa) goes out (puma) in Zulu and is often translated as “land where the sun rises” or something similiar.

The northern Drakensberg mountains give the landscape some of its dramatic features along with the Blyde and Sabie rivers that have carved out a number of canyons and gorges. Our first stop was the Mac Mac Falls waterfall followed by The Pinnacle; a rock tower jutting out of a deep gorge making it appear to almost hang in mid-air. Then it was off to a stop along the route where one can walk to the edge of part of the Blyde River Canyon with the help of a number of bridges.

Blyde River Canyon

Then at the bottom of Blyde River Canyon are…

Bourke’s Luck Potholes

I failed to get clarity on how these rock formations got their name – the Bourke’s Luck part I mean – since the potholes part seems like a no-brainer. If I had to guess, I’d say that the first part has something to do with the gold prospecting which went on all over South Africa back-in-the-day. After the Potholes we went on to God’s Window, a lookout point that rewards hikers with a panaorma of the whole valley below. Finally our last stop was the Three Rondavels which are rock formations high above the canyon wall that bare an uncanny resemblance to the traditional African dwelling of the same name. At Three Rondavels the Blyde River seems to stop and form a pristine and isolated lake.

The Three Rondavels

Near The Three Rondavels

And of course no South Africa journey would be complete without encountering at least one of these.