Another fine day

Hello, Bonjour and Sawubona from Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, eSwatini (former Swaziland). Shortly after I had left Mkhaya Game Park I wanted to overtake a big, slow truck that was in front of me. Think well before doing such a maneuvre in this little African kingdom!

After a while I tried the maneuver on a hilltop ignoring the double solid line on the road indicating that there is no overtaking allowed. Here it happened. My luck was gone and the police car was just waiting at the border of the road waving me to the side. Oh oh, not good as I knew I committed a fault of driving – nothing I wanted to do in Southern Africa, as the arbitrariness of the police is already bad enough. Here I was now, unsure what was going to happen.

The officer was friendly, telling me that I was driving recklessly and he will charge me for this offense. 120 ZAR should I pay after showing my license and following him to his car. He gave me a receipt and suddenly decided that he just wanted to have 60 ZAR, I had no idea what made him change his mind but I was happy with his decision and the charge. Unsure if it was all correct and legal but it definitely seemed reasonable and the officer was kind, so nothing to complain about. It seems that eSwatini has some well mannered police officers.

Another hour of driving passed by without any problems before I reached my destination: Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. Happy to have arrived, I chose a nice campspot under the trees and enjoyed a braai evening. Next day started slow with a game drive on my own through the reserve. My way led me up the hills to the ridge trail where I started a short hike along the ridge up to the summit of what I assume was referred to the execution rock. The view was splendid, I could see a huge part of the park. 

From here, I was walking back to the car to spot some zebras, wildebeests, nyalas, kudus, crocodiles and beautiful birds. My goal was now to reach Reilly‘s rock where I had to drive through a protected area, this was the roan antelope project and I spotted my first roan antelopes here in eSwatini. Beautiful animals but severely endangered, unfortunately. Here they can breed in a protected environment together with waterbucks and even some springboks. For my very first time, I spotted plenty of blessboks. A nice, little reserve but somehow it didn’t fascinate me like the other ones. Well it’s going to be my last day and night in eSwatini so I might be ready for the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg now.

Early next morning I was on my way to Joburg, South Africa to stay at a friends house that I know from my volunteering time in Zimbabwe where I stayed at Cawston Wildlife Estate. Again, shortly after I started my journey a police officer waived his hands at me; I needed to stop. This time I got caught speeding. Oh oh, he said I did 92 km/h instead of 80 km/h. And again it was a fine of 120 ZAR that the officer was reducing to 60 ZAR before I could drive on. Lucky me, in eSwatini the fines are not too bad, the corruption level seems to be lower and the police officers are very friendly. All in all a very positive experience in this beautiful country.

After crossing borders easily, I continued my journey back in South Africa heading for Joburg with mixed feelings. But everything went just fine – at least for me, not for everyone. After having crossed the border I saw a bad car accident that must have just happened. One SUV was turned upside down with the driver standing outside, the front passenger had no chance for surviving. The whole scene was mind-disturbing. Once I passed the car a few minutes later the ambulance crossed my way, I knew already they are coming too late this time. I still hope this man has a pain-free life in heaven.

Some hours later I arrived in the big city and I stayed in a very gorgeous area, happy to meet up with friends and enjoying some amazing lamb shacks for dinner. It’s my last night in South Africa, tomorrow my flight for Mauritius will bring me a step closer towards home. I am not yet ready for this stunning journey to come to the inevitable end but I guess I have to.

I hope for some sunny and relaxing days in Mauritius, where I can reflect about all the fascinating travel experiences I had during the last few months and who knows what is to come next…

May your choices reflect your hopes not your fears.

Nelson Mandela

My new lessons learned during my travels through eSwatini big game parks:

  1. Be prepared for dancing – every evening you can join a traditional eSwatini dance at the restaurant lodge;
  2. The ridge trail is a nice hike offering a splendid view on the reserve;
  3. Roan antelopes used to be extinct in eSwatini – due to a conservation project you can now find lots of them, which originally were donated from Cologne Zoo (way to go, Germany!).

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives – bye bye, salut and sala kahle ∞

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