Summerfield Botanical Garden Manzini

... on the way. Zen was a very cool guy who was basically a black version of my friend from Limoges Brad - Very bizarre!<br><br>We got to Richard's house to get the quads and then off we went. Going around Swaziland into the most remote of places was absolutely amazing. Kids were running towards us to greet us and everyone was waving at us as we rode passed. People are so respectful and polite it is scary but such a nice feeling. We stopped a couple of times and Zen was ...

... of the road was used for crops which, I noticed, were guarded by the army. The other thing that surprised me is that there was litter everywhere - I really expected Africans to be very respectful of nature but I must say it is not the case. Littering is a real problem in the parts I went to.<br><br>I also noticed that school kids have to wear a school uniform - I learnt later that this makes it even more difficult for parents to send their kids to ...

... interior is 8.16 Rand per liter (about $1.15 Can). The cost on the coast is a little less, 7.61 Rand (about $1.07 Can.).<br><br>We arrive at the border of the Kingdom of Swaziland at 11:20 AM and are cleared within minutes. Our guide is pleased as apparently it can take several hours to process visitors. The 365 sq. km. (142 sq. mi.) Kingdom is surrounded on three sides by South Africa and on the fourth by Mozambique. It is ruled by an absolute monarch, at present ...

... and a good glimpse into yet another side of South Africa. We had experienced the European style of Cape Town, the Americanized waterfront of Durban, the white rural area of Oudtshoorn, the black townships of almost every city, passed the black villages of Zululand with the occasional rondavel, and Hluhluwe was the first small town of blacks that we had actually stopped in.<br><br>From there we drove less than an hour to the ...

... got to interact with the patients one on one and run the show. HIV care is so specialized that there is no way I could just do it on the fly or without some training. I saw a kid with TB that went to the back of her ear and was draining pus. The kid needed tb treatment b/c she had a 2 cm hole in the skin behind her ear. The problem is for some reason the mom was not convinved of it being TB and did not seem like she would give the ...

... have signficant brain damage that may not be reversible. Not a good situation. In a first world country, it is likely this kid would have had surgery to stop the bleeding, but there is only so much that you can do here. Patient 3: This 5 month old baby was admitted the day prior b/c of shortness of breath. The child was having significant difficulty breathing and moving his chest wall back and forth. A chest x ray was taken and it showed what is called a pneumothorax (where air ...

... of years, the virus has mutated so quickly that he is resistent to so many medications. Very sad situation. That is why they check adherence to the medication regimen so strongly; they count the pills the pt has and how much he/she should have at each visit to make sure they are taking them as prescribed. Also they have to go thru extensive counseling along w/having others in the house who can administer the meds for the child besides the ...

Our Second day in Swaziland was our attempt to see the last few sights of the country before we left. We spent the morning at the Swaziland Museum where we got to see the previous king's tomb (although his body isn't there) and the symbolic eternal flame (which was extinguished at the time). Very good. In the afternoon we drove up to Pigg's Peak, which gives the most amazing ...

... Valley which we have great views of from our tent, this is also where all the past kings are buried (once they've died, that is). Much of Swaziland is only accessible in a car, so on the first day we blagged our way into the nearby 5* Royal Swazi Hotel, not that it's hard to do. Here we sat by the pool and sunbathed, enjoying the fact that we hadn't paid a cent for anything. So as not to spend a complete day in absolute luxury we did walk along ...

Whilst I was working in South Africa in 2006 I took a holiday to Swaziland. I traveled to Joburg and from there I got the Baz Bus through to Swaziland which had some stunning scenery on the way before we stopped off at Manzini, Swaziland's second largest town. I stayed at Swaziland backpackers where I meet an American guy called Jamie. Jamie was cycling all over the world on a tandem bike and ...