I was offered a ride the Mozambique embassy in Mbabane to try and get a Mozambique visa before I go. Unfortunately, when I got there they wanted hotel reservations, which I don’t have so I wasn’t able to apply for one. Plus it would take 2-3 days to process. If I arrive at the border and get a visa I should get one automatically and they won’t ask for a hotel reservation. I’m not really sure what all the fuss is with applying for one at the embassy, but anyways. After trying at the embassy, I got dropped off in Mbabane to spend the day and have a look around. To be honest there wasn’t all that much there to see except a few markets and shops, and I spent most of my time searching for free Wi-Fi (which I didn’t really find).
I ended up buying a sim card for E10 ($1aud) and some data, which is significantly more expensive than in South Africa. The backpackers doesn’t have Wi-Fi though so I feel it is worth it. Mbabane was a 30 minute drive from Sundowner Backpackers, so I had to take a combi minibus back. The minibus rank was very easy to find, and upon walking into the area I wasn’t swamped by people asking me where I was going (much nicer than Antananarivo!). As such, I was walking around for a few minutes before someone took pity on me looking lost and pointed me towards where I would catch a bus to Malkerns.
Within about 15 minutes the bus was full and on the way. It took about an hour to get back, and the rain started bucketing down while we were in the combi, so much water was flowing on the roads. The guy in charge of the money had taken an interest in me and was trying to tell me that I was his wife. I had to tell him that I was definitely not his wife, much to the laughter of the rest of the bus. His friend who had hopped on the bus offered me some of the beer that they had been drinking, but I declined. The trip only cost E19 (no-one even tried to rip me off!) and soon enough I was back at the backpackers. I had chosen a good time to leave Mbabane because the weather really wasn’t all that great (storms and lightening).
Went to bed early that night and got up the next day to head to the MIlwane Wildlife Sanctuary. It only about 10km away but I wasn’t entirely sure how to get there. I ended up getting a combi bus to Malendela’s, a restaurant and tourist information spot, where I ate some breakfast (avo and mushroom on toast) and organised a taxi to take me to the park. It cost E150 ($15aud), and then a E45 ($4.50aud) entrance fee into Milwane. There are no “dangerous” animals in MIlwane, such as elephants or lions, so you are free to walk and drive around as you like. There are hippos and crocs in the water though, and my taxi driver let me know that if I felt like committing suicide today I could just go and hop into the water!
I rented a bike for an hour for E120 ($12aud) and I was allowed to go on any path that a car could go on. I basically went in any direction though, but somehow ended up in some very hilly area where I got very, very tired. I hadn’t seen much wildlife until about 30minutes in , when I saw a group of wildebeests. They got a bit spooked as I came nearer though. Also managed to spot some springbok, but that was about it on my ride. As I came back closer to camp I spotted some zebra and warthogs near the huts.
Headed back to basecamp as I was tired and my hour was nearly up. I somehow took a wrong turn though and ended up in the opposite direction that I wanted to go, and somehow downhill which meant I had to go back uphill to get back to camp. I got back very sweaty and very tired, and was also 15 minutes late, but no one questioned me bringing the bike back a bit over time. It looked like it was about to rain so I hung around the restaurant area for an hour or so as the rain came and went, and when it got sunny again I ventured back out.
Although I had gotten the number of my driver, ‘Taxi Tom’, I decided that I should just walk back to the main road and save $15. The camp was only 3km from the entrance point, and from there it would be another 5-6km to the main road. It was on 2pm so I set off, and got to spot a few more wildebeest, springbok, zebra and warthog on my stroll. It was rather pleasant and the first bit of my walk went by quickly. After I had left the sanctuary, a car with a Swazi family pulled up and offered me a lift. They took me to the main road, but they were headed to Mbabane, the opposite direction of where I was going. I said good bye to them and then headed off to wait for a combi van to pass by.
I felt pretty ridiculous waiting by the side of the road looking for someone to pull up, and I got a few honks from random cars, but eventually a bus did come and stop and I was soon back at Sundowners backpackers. Just as I was getting back it began to rain again, this time very heavily, and as I was in the kitchen making food the four dogs came inside to join me. The biggest one was under the table whimpering about the thunder.
It is still raining heavily outside and the power has just gone out … hoping it goes back on soon but I might just head to the lodge next door to get something to eat (if the rain stops for a bit).
One more day in Swaziland, not entirely sure what I will do, but then Friday morning I’ll catch a bus to Maputo, Mozambique!
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