Day 6: Travel to Swaziland

These were some of the sights encountered on the drive to Swaziland (eSwatini). It's an independent country within the borders of South Africa. After our morning game drive through the Imfolozi game reserve, we stopped at this handicraft market for lunch.

This was lunch. A nice salad and vegetable tremazzi for Motzie and a deluxe Swazi burger and fries for me. Those are onion rings piled on top of my burger. That's how they roll in the bush so who am I to argue.

This was the view across from the market. The natural beauty of the S. African countryside is pretty special.

Produce stands such as this one dot the road sides throughout the country. The main mode of transportation for most S. Africans in the countryside is walking. A lot of them walk along the roads so these stands serve as "fueling stations" for the pedestrians. In the morning, women will have open fires going with pots of food cooking to sell to weary passerbys. A favorite is pup corn maize which is similar to grits. We were right at home with that. Note the never ending man made forest in the background.

A typical scene from window was free roaming cattle, chickens, goats, etc.. As our tour guide, Shawn, put it. Everything is free range in Africa. You don't pay a premium for free range meat in Africa. It's the norm and better tasting in my opinion. Oddly enough there's not a lot of cattle theft. The law of the land is typically obeyed and people and livestock coexist in harmony.

Only in Africa.

Swaziland is a monarchy so we learned a lot about the royal family. For example, the king has 15 wives and they each have their own palace and luxury cars. We saw a number of the residences as we drove through the country. This is one of them.

A bustling marketplace in one of the towns along the way. Again, a lot of foot traffic. There are no bikes. You're either in a car or on foot. If you're in the country and walking, then its probably barefoot as they don't have a lot of money and can't afford shoes. Ironically, the poorer Africans in the countryside are in great health due to their lifestyle and diet. They eat fresh produce and meats since they don't have the luxury of refrigerators. Their teeth are very healthy because the diet is devoid of preservatives and sugar. It's a simpler life, but there are lessons to be learned.

A mom carrying her infant in a papoose on her back. You won't find a stroller in these parts of Africa.

This is what government housing looks like in Swaziland.

African women can walk miles balancing a load unassisted on their head. It's pretty amazing to witness. School kids may walk 5-10 miles to school with no adult supervision.

In the distance, another royal palace for one of the king's wives. One interesting anecdote that stuck out to me was the process to determine the heir to the Swazi throne. It's not simply the oldest male child which is customary but rather it's the oldest male child to a mother with only one child. As soon as one of the king's wife has multiple children, then her children lose their birthright to the throne.

Elementary School

This is a post office with the royal seal. There's a black lion which represents the king and an elephant which represents the king's mother so even kings are a "momma boy". The country does have a thirty member parliament. Twenty people are elected by the people and ten are appointed by the king.

The Mountain Inn hotel lived up to its name and was located in the mountains with a spectacular view of the valley. I never knew that Poinsettias could grow as trees, but that's exactly what we found growing in front of the hotel.