Mlilwane Sanctuary, Swaziland

Drove out of Kruger Game Park through the Melelane Gate. Passed through cane, banana, avocado, and pineapple growing areas to Jeppe's Reef border. Had to pay 50 rand road tax when entering Swaziland for the rental car.

Drove onto Pigg's Peak the largest city in the north of Swaziland. Along the road some of the young boys started throwing stones at our car. I was able to wave my finger at a young boy who picked up a stone and was about to put it in his slingshot and direct it to us. I'm sure he could see this 'mama' was not happy with him and he put it down.

Stopped outside Pigg's Peak in a shady spot to have lunch and watch the throngs of people walking into town and out again. There didn't seem to be any children in the schools and a lot of people on the streets.

The motorway in to the capital city of Mbabane was pretty good and as the city was built in the valley it ran along the hillsides on the outside of the city with lots of exits leading off.

We headed for Ezulwini Valley and checked out a couple of backpackers. We didn't like either of them so continued onto Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. On the drive in we passed a big lake with hippo and crocs lying in the sun. The exact same scene is on all the tourist pamphlets for Swaziland even though it is only a small reserve. The accommodation place was pretty full but we managed to get a lovely rondavel overlooking the impala and zebras in the fields.

"Beehive' house in traditional Swazi style with no windows and a very low door way.

There were quite a few students in the backpackers who were doing various kinds of study. One guy was studying conservation so had to do some research on the parks. A girl was doing HIV research for Oxford University while a Swedish guy was interviewing people for his political science paper. Another Brit was doing research towards his PhD in clinical psychology. There were very few travelers staying more than a few weeks in Africa.

There were a surprising number of older French people who were not able to speak English and if you tried to communicate with them they fled as fast as they could. It always surprises me as to how they get by with such little English and of course no Swati.

We were able to rinse our tent and sleeping sheets in pyrethrum to help reduce our chances of getting bitten by malaria carrying mossies as well as catch up on some laundry and read a few books. It was quite nice to relax in the sun and chat to the other backpackers.

We visited the tourist office to get some information on the Reed Dance festival. They didn't seem very sure about how the 8 day event was going to run but told us that John was not allowed to wear a hat but I was because I was married. I also had to wear a dress and not trousers so I organised a tee shirt and my sarong. All the literature that we had read said that we needed to get permits to take photos at the dance but they didn't think we did as long as we didn't take photos of the King.

We had only planned to stay a couple of days in Swaziland and then head up to the north and do some trails but once we knew the Reed Dance was about to happen we stayed on for that and did some short trails around the sanctuary. We were lucky enough to be able to stay on in our rondavel too.

Over the 8 days of the Reed dance the girls meet then go out to different areas to pick reeds. These are given to the Queen Mother to repair the wind break that surrounds her royal residence. The only girls that can do this must be childless and unmarried. During the last 2 days the girls bathe in the morning before going to the Queen Mother's place and we saw many of them at the river near the dance arena.

The cell phone tower near the arena disguised as a palm tree.

On the second to last day we went as a group from the backpackers and sat in the dance arena ready for the start of the dancing at 2pm. The girls were waiting to place their reeds in a pile for the Queen Mother. A huge buffalo was slaughtered near the arena by a group of men and John got a photo before he was told not to film it. You can see the stack of reeds behind the men.

John estimated that there were about 10,000 girls. When the Queen Mother and King finally arrived the girls came into the arena dancing and singing in small groups all in different outfits.

The princesses were easy to identify as they had red feathers in their hair and there were hundreds of them. The Present King Mswati III has about 14 wives and 23 children. His first and second wives are chosen for him by a council and their sons cannot be kings. The King's successor is chosen by a council too and a wife of good standing is chosen and she must have a son and no other children as a King may not have any brothers or sisters.

The dancing didn't begin until about 4pm and then they had to rush the groups through to get all the thousands of dancers around the stadium and presented to the King before dark. Some girls wore very mini skirts of beads and you could see their bare bums. They had cocoon rattles on their ankles and many carried a knife as a sign of virginity. Others carried cellphones and some had torches to show they had picked reeds at night and quite a lot had multi coloured synthetic dusters.

Some groups were well coordinated and uniform and we were told they were from the corrections department, military and other government groups.

We sat in the stands with our van driver but some official told them to move as the area was only for women. When we checked it out the only men were the foreigners in our group but no one asked them to move. Our driver gave the girls in our group who were wearing trousers a red African skirt and they had to take off their trousers of roll the legs up as it was not acceptable protocol to be seen in trousers

These woman are encouraging the dancers from the sideline.
The purpose of the festival is to provide tribute labour for the Queen Mother, provide solidarity for women and preserve chastity.

A married woman wearing a hat. These are also worn by Zulu woman and their hair maybe woven into the hat so in order to sleep they have to use a wooden pillow.

After all the groups had presented their dance the King came out with a group of men and raced around thanking the girls for participating and coming from so far for the dance. He also uses the opportunity to choose another wife and so the press follow him to get a photo of the girl he may choose.

All the King's men and the King. He is holding a gold triangle in the middle of the shot.

In 2001, to stop the spread of AIDS, he banned any woman under 50 from having sexual intercourse and then later broke his own ban by marrying a 17 year old girl. His penalty was to give her family a cow.

Life expectancy in 200o was 61 but in 2009 it was 32. 56% of the population between 25 and 29 have HIV and the population of the whole country is about 1.2 million.

Kruger, South Africa

It was a hot day as we drove through the mostly flat and dry landscape along the toll roads to Nelspruit, so it was refreshing to arrive at the avocado and pineapple growing region. We stocked up on some fresh vegetables and fruit at the huge new shopping centre in town and headed for Kruger through the Numbi gate.

There were many people, mostly women, dressed in their Sunday best going to and returning from the numerous churches in the small towns between Nelspruit and Kruger. Some had capes and others wore green badges with a star in the centre and someone had previously told us that they were Zionists.

We had booked a campsite by phone and they could only give us one night so we decided to take it and see if there were any cancellations.

Between the gate and our camp at Skukuza, we were fortunate enough to spot a cheetah resting in the shade of a tree. It didn't take long before we were joined by dozens of other vehicles all jostling to get a view and photos. It is so much more crowded than any of the other parks we have been to so far.

There are discounts for pensioners during the week so there were lots of retired folk with their caravans, motorhomes and huge tents. Many stay for several days. We were able to find a spot that could fit our tent about 20 times over.

We met our neighbour in the camp and he and his wife were spending two weeks in the park and visit the park twice a year. Arbie was a retired teacher and he taught in South Africa with Irene Van Dyke who lives in our area and plays netball for the NZ team. Irene and her family now live permanently in NZ. Arbie and Nonnie were very kind to invite us to join them for a braai by their tent. We showed them our books on the Bay of Plenty and NZ scenery and talked about many things over a glass of wine. They cooked boerwors and paps with a tomato sauce. Paps is a ground maize flour when cooked looks like lumpy couscous but tastes good. We had some delicious preserved quince for dessert. When we told them that we could only get a camp site for one night he offered to let us use his booking code as he was allowed up to 6 people on his site. That was such a relief. We had met others who told us to just stay and not worry about it but everyone has to have an exit permit to leave the park and we didn't know what the penalty was if we didn't have one.

One night we drove to Lake Panic Hide and saw lots of elephants eating grass from the lake and just as the light was fading we saw a leopard come to check us out.

On the way home we came across a pride of about 10 lions sitting in the middle of the road enjoying the hot tarseal as the day had been a hot 32 degrees. We were getting a bit anxious as the camp gates close at 6pm and if you are late you have to pay a late gate opening fee. Luckily the lions moved to the side of the road as dozens more vehicles came in both directions and we could take a decent shot of this guy under their headlights. What a sight!


We visited Mlondozi Dam and saw more hippos.

Every night this hyena with his partner would walk along the fence behind our camp. Someone told us that people feed them so that's why they come around although there is a huge fine for feeding the wildlife.



Saw quite a few birds at the Orpen Dam Loop including the large secretary bird and a green parrot.

Our binoculars fell apart after about 20 years of use so had to invest in a new pair. Luckily John can still use half of the old binoculars as he can't see through his left eye anyway.

In the picnic areas many South Africans cook up a big lunch on the gas barbecue plates that the park supplies. It was popular to have bacon and eggs with bread and tomatoes. The food stuck on the barbecue plates when they had finished cooking attracted dozens of thrushes and monkeys and they were a real nuisance. Some of the aggressive monkeys grabbed at peoples' cool boxes, and even cameras. Other monkeys tried to snatch food from peoples' hands coming from behind where they couldn't be seen. Even though there are signs telling people not to feed the animals it seems impossible not to in the picnic areas.

We left the park in the direction of the Malelane Gate heading for Swaziland.

Pretoria, South Africa

Piet Retief looked like a pretty comfortable town when we drove through it in daylight.

We headed for Pretoria as we had to pick up Lil's new passport from the NZ High Commission there.

Managed to snap this shot of a sign on the highway on the outskirts of Joburg that says "Hi jacking hot spot" it didn't seem a good place to stop and take a decent photo.

Saw this cell phone tower disguised as a tree on the way into Pretoria.

Found this one in the grounds of the Pretoria Girls' High School. The pole is even textured to look like bark. We passed it as we walked to get the passport.

We checked into a backpackers near Loftus Stadium and caught up on laundry and managed to order a new stove at Hiker's Paradise at Centurion on the outskirts of the city. In the evening we were able to find a sports bar and watch the All Blacks rugby team beat South Africa albeit in the last few minutes.

The backpackers had a lot of Peace Corp volunteers and several students from different countries doing internships or courses at Pretoria University. There were also several young men who were going to watch their favourite team play rugby at the stadium.

In the morning we bought some groceries for our trip to Kruger National park.

Mkuze, South Africa

We woke early in the morning at Hluhluwe (pronounced shle shloowe) with the vervet monkeys throwing seed pods on our roof after they had eaten the seeds. We headed for Mkuze (spelt in dozens of different ways) Game Reserve not far away.

The road to the park was marked on our map as a sealed road but it was a potholed dusty road. There were a few small settlements along the road and the children were sitting in the shade trying to sell wood for braais. The park was really dry and usually it is a favourite place for birdwatchers. We asked the ranger where was the best place to see the wildlife and he directed us to the only two places in the park with water.

The first was a hide at a watering hole and it was full of female students studying eco tourism. They must have been in the hide for quite a long time as several were asleep while others were getting text messages on their cellphones and disturbing the animals coming to the waterhole. In my mind I had created several observation worksheets for them to do to keep them interested but no one had a pen, or book or piece of paper to record anything. The teacher had the only binoculars and he was in his own little world oblivious to the snorers... he was in survival mode!

It took a while to spot the turtles that were the same colour as the mud and never moved as they soaked up the sun.

This handsome nyala brought his harem down for a drink.

The only other watery place was where we had lunch by the Nsumo Pan. This is me looking at the flamingos on the far side. While we were eating we could hear the hippos roar and see crocs sunbathing near them. It wasn't long before we were joined by the eco tourism students.

On the way to Piet Retief we passed these guys chilling out in the back of the van on the motorway.

The road to Piet Retief was being widened and repaired and it took us 2 1/2 hours to travel 100kms as every few kilometres there was only enough road for one way traffic. We queued with dozens and dozens of trucks carrying coal from the dozens of collieries in the area. We could see many railway wagons taking coal out and several coal washing industries as well. The whole area was very smoggy and hazy not only from the coal powered power stations but also from the grass burning. Scattered amongst these were large beef grazing farms and I would be worried about the meat being contaminated.

We arrived at the city of Piet Retief when it was dark and pulled into the first accommodation place we could find on the edge of town. We managed to get the last motel unit as the place was full of engineers and other people working for the road construction companies.

Our neighbours in the motel were a White family of 6 from Zimbabwe. There were the parents, a son, the daughter and her husband with their daughter. They live in Bulawayo now but used to have a game lodge until they were chased off it. They drive to the South African border and leave their vehicle there as the South African police hassle them if they use their Zimbabwean registered car in South Africa. A South African friend lends them a small ute and they had it loaded up with bedding and some furniture. Two people fitted in the cab and the rest of the family squashed in the back. They were cold calling on businesses in SA for their boss in Zimbabwe. They had a twin bed unit like us and it must have been a squeeze for the 6 of them
although we would have both paid the same price for the room. When we told them we would like to go to Zimbabwe they recommended that we didn't as we would be ripped off by the Black people. Life is pretty tough for them as they try to make ends meet.

Hluhluwe, South Africa

Hluhluwe is in the same park as iMfolosi but in the north part. It was too big to see both parks in the same day so we arrived early and set out to get around the north part and then find accommodation nearby. Whenever we can we pick up pamphlets on accommodation places and then turn up.

This is how dry the park was.

The highlight of the day was seeing this guy cross the road in front of us and head off into the bushes. We stopped the car and turned off the engine and then we were rewarded with him crossing again in front of the car back to the other side of the road. Several people passed us but never saw him. The leopard has such good camouflage when he is is the trees. At first we thought that he had gone away but he stood so still and blended in and when he flicked the end of his tail we were able to see him.

We were delighted to see a hornbill as the first time we had ever seen any was when we were in Thailand and then we had to trek for hours through the hot leech infested jungle and we could only see them through a high powered telescope. This guy was happy to entertain us eating the fruit off a fig (ficus) tree.

After seeing all the usual animals, except lions, we stayed at a bush lodge outside the park and not far from Hluhluwe town. The facility was terrible. The evening was cold and there was no where to sit in our dimly lit cabin except on the bed. The room was constructed out of poor quality materials and very similar to a building in an informal settlement but more waterproof. The kitchen was open to the elements on one side and poorly stocked with a couple of bent and buckled cheap aluminium pots. We had to eat at a table in the wind and dark as there was no lighting. Even the bar area was dark and open. The only redeeming features were the camp fire and the feeding of the bushbabies in the evening. It was a lot more expensive than any place we have stayed so far and definitely not worth the money. There was a family of 4 from France and us in the whole lodge so it was pretty quiet and the family didn't speak English.

Bushbabies are primates and related to the tarsiers that we saw in the Philippines. Their eyes in their sockets don't move and they have to move their heads to see anything but they are real cute.

Imfolosi, South Africa

There were no camp sites at Imfolosi National Park and only really expensive tourist lodges and
four star hotels so we decided to stay in St Lucia and drive to the park. Luckily we were able to use our Wild Card here even though it was run by the same group as iSimangaliso Park where we couldn't use it.



We had a great day driving around for about 7 hours.







We bumped into this guy not far from the roadside.

Our first sightings of giraffes and there were dozens of them.

This white backed vulture was preening itself in a tree up a 'no entry' road but we were able to sneak a short way in and watch it.

iMfolosi was really dry. Most of the waterholes were dried up and one hide was closed for repairs but we enjoyed seeing an enormous bull elephant and various other animals coming to drink at the Ngotsha Loop hide. These covered lookouts seem to be built from donations from groups or sometimes individuals and are wonderful to see all sorts of goings on. Sadly a lot of people just can't keep quiet for very long and disturb some of the animals and you can see them getting really jittery.

Warthogs, like some of the other animals, like to wallow in the mud and then rub off the ticks and other parasites that bother them.

It seems surprising that the zebra has not been domesticated and used to carry water or other heavy loads that we see the women carrying.

There were hardly any people in the park so we enjoyed being able to watch the animals with out the queues.

We headed back to St Lucia just before the park closed.

St Lucia, South Africa

We followed Connie and Rupert's directions from New Hanover to the coast and St Lucia. We passed through many cane farms and were able to identify which had been frosted and which were not after visiting New Hanover. Previously we would have just seen cane stalks!

There was also a lot of forestry and the land looks pretty fertile and in full production. As usual we have to keep a watch out for cows, goats and sheep grazing on the sides of the road
and people walking from place to place. Many of the local villages have no running water so they carry huge plastic containers in wheelbarrows or on their heads to the communal taps that are set just off the road side and varying distances between the settlements. Sometimes they have to fight with the local stock for a place to fill up, do some laundry, wash themselves or take a drink. It seems it is also a great place to catch up with the local gossip. Getting water seems to be the woman's job but there are often young boys at the tap too but they use the wheelbarrow while the girls put the 20 kilo plastic drums on their heads and walk home singing!

St Lucia is the town in the National Park known as iSimangaliso Wetlands Park. Even though this is a busy tourist area we were able to get a cheap motel without having made a reservation. It was right in the main street and with two bedrooms and a fully equipped kitchen we were happy not to have to resort to a backpackers. Some backpackers have poor quality kitchen equipment and not enough for all who want to use them.

The days were warm at 25 degrees and the sky blue. We could not use our Wild Card at this park but the entry fee was not too expensive and we have now more than covered the year long card bought in Cape Town. We drove the 33 kms to Cape Vidal and meandered all the side roads
looking for animals. Saw hippos, rhinos, zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, kudu, crocodiles, dung beetles, warthogs and even a squirrel.

The dung beetle needs dung to lay its eggs in.

Bumped into a couple from Australia who are traveling Africa in a converted Land Cruiser. They had both retired and Bob had fitted out the 4 wheel truck with a lift up roof bed and they were headed up to Egypt, across the Middle East to Europe. We spent some time chatting by the ocean and then met again while out walking in town. Who knows we may bump into them again along the road as we head towards Kenya.

We walked through the town one day to the ski boat club and were able to see dozens of hippos in the lagoon and crocs in the river.



There were lots of birds in the town and at the park so we enjoyed trying to identify as many as we could. It was quite quiet at the park and sometimes we were the only ones looking at the water holes or dams and didn't have queues of people all trying to do the same thing.

I found a fruit on the ground that looked like a round avocado and about the same colour. I asked a couple of local guys what it was and was told it was a 'monkey apple'. Inside it was like a melon and the hard shell is dried and then used to hold candles that are sold in the craft shops. When I asked if I could eat the monkey apple the boys assured me that I wouldn't turn into a monkey after!

New Hanover, South Africa

When we left Elaine and Rodney in PMB we told them we were going to stay with Connie and Rupert whom we had met at Monk's Cowl. Instantly Elaine knew who we were talking about as she had known Connie through some prayer meetings. Unbelievable! We think NZ is a small place where everyone knows someone who knows someone that you know etc. I guess in SA there are not so many white families and as they mingle in life, through school, boarding schools, university, work, and church, they get to know other white families.

We arrived at Connie and Rupert's on dark and after a lovely dinner we chatted in front of the fire. Rupert's family had owned the farm for 150 years and 5 generations. Originally the farm had beef. In recent times the fences were ripped down and the stolen iron posts sold for money. The cows were also stolen and as with many African tribes the cow is wealth and a status symbol.

We saw a short video segment done by a German film crew and featured the family members. Rupert's family originally came from Germany and have been on the farm since. Hence his first language is German, followed by a German dialect spoken by his family, then English, followed by Zulu which he used as a boy talking to the Zulu helpers, and then Afrikaans which he had to use when he was in the army. He and Connie speak German in the house.



Their two boys recently went to Germany on an school exchange programme and thoroughly enjoyed their time there.







Rupert and Connie have built houses for their workers on their properties and supply them with electricity and water. The workers also have contracts stating the conditions of their tenancies. Currently they are having a few problems with some of their tenant workers. The original tenants being the grandparents now have their children staying with them and these children have their children. Some of these grandchildren have now made claims that the land belongs to them and they have increased the land about their house and fenced it are taking the farm owners to court to claim it. There are several rules now governing the conditions of farm workers and Rupert and Connie abide by those rules but are still dragged through the courts along with many other farm owners. The government covers the cost of the tenant but the landowners have to pay for themselves.

While we were there a member of the African National Congress party came to help mediate between the two parties, but of course no decisions would be legally binding but their appearance would help the party get more votes. However, Rupert was happy with the way the discussions went as both sides of the discussion were heard but it will still have to be settled legally.

A different tenancy problem is that the retired grandparents have to continue to work as their children have died from AIDS and they have to work to support the grandchildren that have been left behind and some of these children have HIV.

Connie told us that she had spoken to one of her kitchen girls about getting tested for HIV. The girl wanted to know why she should because if she was HIV positive there was nothing she could do about it. Not long after the talk she quit work. This makes me wonder about all the money that is given to African countries to 'fight AIDS' and how will this money change such attitudes! The girl couldn't see that if she knew her status she could prevent her partners getting it and any future children being infected.

The original farm house built by Rupert's ancestors is still used by him, Connie and their 3 children but both his parents live in a new house beside them and they are in their 80s. His dad, Walter, still likes to do odd jobs around the farm and is interested in how things are going. He had picked a huge bag of pecans that he spent his spare time cracking and gave us a whole lot to take away.

We woke to a crisp frosty morning on the farm and then drove around some of the 3600 hectares. They grow sugar cane, which is processed at a nearby factory. Some of the cane fields are prone to frosts and some cane fields have to be mulched back in to the ground. The canes are on a two year rotation. We were able to watch the cane being burnt and then harvested by machines. Compared with farming beef, there is a lot of machinery involved and they have a full time mechanic/engineer who services all the vehicles and who also designed and engineered some of the machines they use.

We only ever saw a bird caught in the flames but sometimes there are enormous cane rats fleeing the flames.


250 staff are employed and we saw many busy clearing firebreaks, hoeing, and gathering cane stalks that missed the harvester, as well driving the machinery.

There are also pine, wattle, and eucalyptus plantations. Some pine is used for poles while the eucalyptus and wattle is used for pulp in the paper industry. The wattle bark is used in the tanning of leather.

Rupert built a huge fire tower and they have someone 24 hours a day keeping a watch for fires. They also have to have firefighting trucks and equipment. Some of the disgruntled workers have threatened to burn the farm so it is a constant worry at this time of the year in a drought. With most of the neighbours having cane and tree plantations there is the added worry of fires from their properties spreading to Rupert and Connie's.

New Hanover is a small village and the German speaking residents are fully involved in the community. There is a lovely small church in the primary school grounds. Connie teaches music at the school once a week.

There is also a preschool in the grounds and they have the owl as their logo. We were able to see an owl and her babies in a tree overlooking the preschool. The three children, Rupert and Connie play in the local brass band at church.

The 3 children are at boarding school not too far away and if they don't have sport or music activities on the weekend they are home. As Connie also teaches at the boarding school she can visit the children, pick up their laundry and bake for them. She has an enormous pantry stocked with lots of homemade produce and when we left we were given some delicious homemade bread, fig jam, and honey from their hives. What a real treat for us!

I am always fascinated by the variety of portable braais we have seen and this was Rupert's and Connie's one on the farm.

Rupert can see that the farm will not be able to make a decent living for the next generation of his family and if he could sell it he would. We had a wonderful time learning so much about farm life here and thoroughly enjoyed our time with Connie and Rupert and thank them for opening their home to us.