Swinging Swazi
Trip Start
Nov 30, 2005
1
4
11
Trip End
Ongoing
Matsapha,
Swaziland
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
And such a refreshing change from the bustle of South Africa. Am staying at Swaziland Backpackers (Matsapha) having got here by the trusty Baz Bus on a rainy Monday evening. After a few beers at the Lunar bar, it was up on Tuesday for some quad biking around the Ezulwini Valley where the former Kings of Swaziland are buried. We had a relatively early start enabling us to head up to the start of the quad biking trail where there was a good view of the 'Ezulwini' effect - that is, being above a thin layer of cloud blanketing the valley. Hence the name Ezulwini - the 'Valley of Heaven'. Then it was an hour of getting used to handling the quad bikes on the track surrounding Richard's house (Richard is the guy who runs Swazi Quad - check it out here at www.swaziquad.com) it was off for a full day's ride around the valley. Having the quads enabled us to go to areas impassable for other vehicles, so we got up to see traditional Swazi homesteads - no electricity, running water and subsistence farming - where rural Swazis live according to a traditional lifestyle relatively unchanged for centuries
Holly at work
. We stopped for cups of rooibos tea at a couple of the homesteads and got to have poke around the chicken coops, kitchen and living areas, as well as stopping for a quick swim at the River of Grief (home, legend has it, to a particularly dodgy seven headed snake although (fortunately?) we didn't manage to see it). The scenery from the mountains surrounding the valley is particularly spectacular - on a clear day you can see all the way to Mozambique. Olly, our guide, was really informative about Swazi traditions. One of the more interesting aspects is that polygamy is quite widespread (for example, the former king - Sobhuza II - had 100 wives and a phenomenal 600 kids). You can have as many wives as you can afford (paying your new wives family in cows). The 'price' of a wife depends on a number of factors - such as age, for example. Sadly, at an age where most Swazi women are already grandmothers, my mum would be lucky to be swap me for a scabby goat...After a dinner of chicken curry it was back to the hostel for a nightcap and an early night...I'm off to Mozambique on Friday (not sure about the internet situation) but should be back in SA for Christmas...
