Milwanwe Reserve, Swaziland to St. Lucia, S.Africa: Chillin' Like a Hippo

Ahh it is all a blur of expensive internet, backpackers and buses, but we will provide the recap, as it has been a while since we last posted....

So, from Kruger we jumped the Baz Bus and headed to Swaziland. To our surprise, we were the only backpackers on board. We had taken the local buses along the coast, but because there are a lot more backpackers on vacation along the coast the Baz Bus was always so hopping and busy, so we were surprised to be the only ones on board. The drive was nice though, and crossing the border was very simple. Swaziland is a seperate country, a Kingdom infact, within the borders of South Africa. It is one of the only true Kingdoms left in Africa.

We stayed in a great backpackers within a reserve there. There were a number of animals within the park, and we got up close and personal with an ostrich (it stole our cheese and cracker lunch one day!) and we enjoyed the warthogs nibbling at our feet. But, for the most part, we just chilled out and relaxed poolside with the mountains of Swaziland and the wild impalas and zebras grazing nearby. Sometimes you need that!

In hindsight, Swaziland is one of our first countries to make it on the list of places to go back to. With a car or a little more time there are a lot of remote areas to visit and a very rural population that differs from some of the more developed parts of South Africa. As an interesting note, the backpackers that we stayed at was almost entirely populated by Canadians. Go figure, no one really talks about travelling South Africa back home, and here they all are.


Our next stop was St Lucia, back in South Africa. St Lucia is a estuary zone that is recognized as a World Heritage Area. The town is really quite small, and the main street is said to have once been a Hippo trail. Seemed far fetched, until we were called out of the hostal on our first night to see the Hippos that were out of the water and in a small grassy area directly across from our hostal! It was amazing. You were able to get really quite close, and there were also some safari vehicles there that lit them up with spotlights allowing us to get a very good view of them. Hippos have very sensitive skin that burns and they only come out at night. Getting close to them is rare, and they can be very agressive, so we were quite lucky to see them, and right in the town to boot.

The next day we decided to visit a Zulu village in the area. We were guided through the modern village and visited a traditional healer. The village is said to be one of the fastest growing in South Africa. The people there were displaced by the government during the apartheid, but have since moved back as the farming in the area is superior to the inland. The issue is that more people are migrating than the area can sustain.

At the spiritual healer, we had our fortunes told. Not to be too much of a non-believer, neither of us really were overwhelmed with the insight. Chris heard that he would have a good life, he didn't need to worry about his future anymore, and would have two boys. Justine is in the lucky (she was repeatedly told this), she is going to have a good life, a long life, but she needs to stop drinking cold water as she has kidney problems, and should only drink warm water. She will have a big house and again be in the lucky. Nothing was said about her kids, and she had a water bottle sitting beside her during the entire fortune reading.

We ended the day with a tour of a recreation of a traditional Zulu village. We ended up investigating the traditional homes, dressed in traditional clothing, and finally watched and participated in some traditional dancing! Children roamed the streets, fetching water from wells and playing with created toys. Most of the houses were traditional made of either mud brick or woven thatch, while some were more modern out of concrete block. It was an interesting experience, as we felt a little singled out as the only outsiders, but having a local girl as a guide, allowed us to feel welcome and gave us insight into their lives and beliefs.