Swaziland

From the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho we head straight for the Kingdom of Swaziland -- one of the smallest countries in Africa, landlocked between S. Africa and Mozambique. Whatever Swaziland lacks in size it definitely makes up for it in its rich culture and friendliness of its people. Ancient traditions here are not mere objects of tourists shows, but are a matter of daily life. Western clothes are worn alongside with traditional garments, often complimented with shields and other weaponry .

We were incredibly lucky to find ourselves in the country days before the king’s marriage… to his 14th wife. Ohh yes, it is also one of the last absolute monarchies in Africa and the king does wield unprecedented authority over the country’s matters (for better or worse). We managed to get into the royal court and were promptly seated among the dignitaries, army generals and local chiefs wearing animals skins and feathers. And then the dancing and other traditional ceremonies began… and they continued for a long time. After 5 hours we couldn’t sit still and snuck out as quietly as we could.

We loved driving through Swaziland -- green rolling hills, good roads, agreeable climate, everyone waves at you. In fact, I was so taken back by the friendliness of Swazis that I asked to be dropped off at a small village and continued the rest of the day’s journey hitchhiking and using public transport. By the time I reached my destination, I spent time riding a school bus singing Swazi songs, chatting with a local mechanic about the trials and tribulations of his daily life and riding a minibus squeezed between two lovely, albeit large ladies selling delicious fried snacks.

We stayed at Milwane Wildlife Sanctuary, a beautiful park set among green hills with herds of zebras and lazy hippos in a lake. I tend to wake up pretty early, ie as soon as the first sun rays turn my tent into a steaming rice cooker. On one particularly beautiful morning I got the urge to go for a run around Milwane’s lakes and meadows. It’s hard to describe the surreal feeling of running among the herds of impalas, zebras, kudus and wilderbeast… who were either running with me, or from, or maybe even after me. It was magical. I got somewhat lost and pretty soon ran into fresh hippo prints at which point I got a second wind and promptly turned around and ran in the opposite direction (supposedly hippos are responsible for more attacks on humans than any other animal in Africa).

Swaziland is a wonderful place, full of rich history and beautiful traditions. Unfortunately, like many other countries on the continent, it also has been devastated by the scourge of HIV/AIDS, with adult life expectancy at abysmally low 37 years. The flip side of a society passionate about its ancient culture is its reluctance to accept the progress modern medicine, instead sticking to highly respected and feared traditional healers and witch doctors.