Timbali Lodge Ezulwini

... a dance and singing presentation put on by the waiters and servers. The presentation highlights four key areas for Swazilanders – the king, the Queen mother, the flag, and the warrior (representing protection of the country). Quite entertaining.

The presentation ends at 9 PM and our eyes are heavy from the day’s drive and activities. Honey, come home, and so it’s off to our bee hive we go. And just like a honeycomb, all is safe, warm and comfortable.

... village and learned more about Swazi culture. A swazi man could marry as many women as he wanted as long as he could afford it. A virgin bride was worth 17 cows. The men married at about 30 while women married at 18. There were many more interesting facts. We also learned more about the King of Swaziland who can marry as much as he likes. The last King had 100 wives and 600 children. The next King is chosen under the following rules...He must be the youngest of the Kings sons ...

... Mlilwane Game Reserve we were treated to nearly nonstop viewing of impalas and blesboks. Everyone seemed to have a good time at Mlilwane. I led a long hike to the top of Nyonyane Peak (3750’), commonly called "Execution Rock", and resembling a rounded Matterhorn when viewed from Mantenga. The map from the park headquarters was almost useless, and the trail markings of black footprints were not extremely helpful as they were painted on loose rocks, easily ...

... stories with our group that had gone in the other vehicle, and they excitedly told us they had seen not only white rhinos, but the much rarer black rhino as well. I wasn’t envious, but was happy to hear of their good luck. There was a lot of luck involved with spotting game in parks like this. Our driver/guide on the game drive said that he had spotted all 5 of the Big Five on 3 occasions during the four months he had been working at ...

Our first stop after the capital was Mlilwane which is Swaziland's oldest protected area, owned and managed by a non-profit making trust.

Formerly a productive mixed farming operation, with extensive tin mining in the low foothills of the Nyonyane Mountains, the ...

... admitted. so we round on some of the patients in the hospital, make our way to another wing about 1 hr later and bam...guess who we see wandering aimlessly in the hallway next to the parking lot....this mother with her baby...who smiles at us again and tries to talk to us. that is when i knew that not all things are right with this lady in the head. clearly she has some mental health issues or has some mental retardation. she was just wandering around with this sick kid in her ...

... patients and looked under their tongue and NEVER saw the yellow stripe. He definately had it!! In the states, we would admit this guy to the hospital to monitor his liver function. but here the hospital is a major incovenience and not practical for a lot of things. So instead, we gave him 1 liter of IV fluids, told him that he needs to go home and drink as much water as possible, stop his TB meds (we actually took them from him), and then come ...

... amazing. The Swazis are very helpful. I went to the bus station and asked some guy where the bus for Manzini was and he personally walked me to the bus. I then got on that bus and switched to another bus and got help from someone else for that. Then when i got on the bus, i spoke to the workers on the bus and they personally told me my stop and got me to the right place. Furthermore, I struck up an amazing conversation with this man next to me ...

Dave and I decided to head to Swaziland next. Swaziland is a small country to the north of South Africa. We stayed at Sondzela, which was a gorgeous hostel located on the Milwane Nature Preserve. As I was sitting by the pool, an ostrich came up and started trying to mess around with my stuff. There were also tons of zebras just outside of the fence. The view from the pool and my room encompassed not only the animals but the beautiful mountains as well. It was amazingly beautiful. We ...