Cycling with giraffes was all the reward we needed!
Lavumisa – Mbuluzi Game Reserve – Manzini – Malkerns – Mbabane – Pigg’s Peak – Namaacha
16-27 Dec 2022
533 km cycled
Switzerland or Swaziland?
The first time Kurt came across Swaziland was some 40 years ago in a post office in India. His 10kg parcel home only cost him half the price because the postman mixed up Switzerland and Swaziland! To avoid such confusion, Swaziland changed its name to Eswatini in 2018. Now there is no more room for such a mistake, since the two countries have very little in common anymore except that they are both landlocked. While Eswatini is an absolute monarchy, Switzerland has an absolute democracy. Eswatini has sugarcane, Switzerland has sugar beet. It’s feral cats in the Alps, as opposed to lions in Africa. Eswatini is less than half the size of Switzerland and has a population of about 1.2 million.
A little history
Like Lesotho, Swaziland started relatively late as a monarchy, became a British protectorate, and then gained independence in 1968. Both kings tried to obtain absolute power but only the Swazi king succeeded. While he entertains his 15 wives in numerous palaces around the country, his subjects live mainly from subsistence farming. He is famous for massive projects. The recently built international airport has three daily flights to Johannesburg, and his unfinished conference centre is big enough to house the United Nations.
Economy
The income from sugar and tourism is not enough to support the king’s prestigious projects and his country has been on the brink of bankruptcy for years now. We saw more signs marking foreign aid in Eswatini than we have anywhere else on this trip so far. Incidentally, The Kingdom of Eswatini is one of the 14 states that recognises Taiwan as an independent country.
An invitation we couldn't turn down!
Once across the Lavumisa border, we made a B-line for the Mbuluzi Game Reserve. After all, we had taken those rides in South Africa to see our friends before they would leave at Christmas. Mike and Tracy were part of the South African mountain bike group that came to our rescue in Namibia when we’d reached the wall! With promises that Darina would be able to cycle with giraffes, we just couldn’t turn their generous invitation down.
En route, we passed through the Hlane Royal National Park, where the road sign warned cyclists and pedestrians of lion and elephant crossings and reminded us that there would be no fence for the next 60km. We did see wildebeest and a few giraffes along the roadside, but the wildest creatures were a few truck drivers with Namibian B1 & B2 vibes.
Let the excitement begin!
We turned off this main road into the Mbuluzi Game Reserve and from the gate, we had a 7km cycle to the lodge. After a long hot day on the bikes, we has absolutely no idea what awaited. Just as we turned the first corner, a couple of chilled giraffes sauntered across the track in front of us!
We continued into the bush and a lone zebra looked on as a herd of female nyalas analysed the situation before taking up their viewing point at a safer distance.
The warning signs for crocodiles were a tad disconcerting as we forded a couple of streams inhabited by said carnivorous reptiles.
The crocs are there alright; sometimes very visible and other times just lurking around searching for dinner!!!
And then we wondered what it was we should know about warthogs and wildebeest, as they appeared ahead. Perhaps we should have paid more attention to Jungle Book!!!
Such is life in the laid-back Mbuluzi Game Reserve, where we spent a few days mingling with all sorts of wildlife, chilling at the pool and recharging our batteries. This was going to be a hard act to follow.
Vegetation
Although we were just a day’s ride from the Mozambique border, we decided to do a loop of the country to see what lay outside the national park and game reserves. Our route brought us through acres and acres of sugarcane and pineapple plantations, before climbing through eucalypt and pine forests to the green velvety hills of Piggs Peak.
Christmas in Eswatini
Our Christmas treat was at the colonial themed Forresters’ Arms Hotel, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Christmas day started out well, but by lunchtime in Mbabane we had a very spectacular hailstorm that put an end to cycling for the day. Some of the roads turned into a right muddy mess, which was not only challenging for us, but for all motorised traffic without exception. Darina had a couple of near encounters with a minibus which skidded up the hill sideways, and then came back at full speed head on to terrorise her properly. This, of course, did little to enhance her Eswatini experience.
First puncture of the trip!
Although we had cycled 6,500km through thorn bushes, cactus gardens and gravel roads without a single puncture, the abundance of broken beer bottles on the roadside in Eswatini put an end to this wonderful statistic. Christmas was most certainly at play in this equation.
Food
Food was similar to what we had experienced in neighbouring countries. Grilled ribs and steaks were plentiful and were generally served with fries or bap (maize porridge). We did enjoy two pleasant alternatives during our stay: oxtail and ox tongue. And Kurt wasn’t disappointed with the frequency of malva pudding on restaurant menus!
Friendly locals
A couple of wild children throwing stones were in complete contrast to the pleasant, laid-back welcome we received from the friendly Swazi locals, who were all interested in where we were headed.
The verdict!
Would we recommend a visit? Well, if you are in the area, go for it and be sure to include a game reserve on your itinerary. Of course, if you are an avid country collector, it’s on the “194 countries to see before you die” list! 