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We've had 3 nights in Swaziland but again, it would be great if we could hang out here a little longer and just relax. The bus got us in around 6.30pm and we were collected by Sondzela Backpackers. The backpackers is in the grounds of Milwane Wildlife Sanctuary. You can go out for walks in the reserve but we haven't. There are plenty of different antelopes, zebras, warthogs & wildebeest hanging out around the house. The most dangerous animals here are the crocodiles & hippos so you just need to be careful if you are near the water.
They cook a meal here each night and we had that our first night, too tired to cook. Afterwards, they took those who were interested up to the main lodge to watch some dancing. It was OK but it seemed that they really didn't want to do it. On Tuesday we had a completely relaxing day, staying in bed reading and then after a late breakfast walked up to the Baobab Batik factory to see how they make their wonderful batiks and then spent the rest of the day hanging out on the lounge reading and chatting with others. A nice storm rolled in during the afternoon and we were glad to be inside - some good lightning.
Yesterday we had booked a tour for the day to be taken around the craft centres & a cultural village. We started at Gone Rural, an enterprise where ladies use grass to weave different items like baskets, bowls, placemats & coasters. The ladies get paid for collecting the grass and delivering it to the workshop. They then take the dyed grass home with them to make their products and they get paid per piece. They can also work at the workshop for the day to dye the grass if they want. They also get scraps of different things for decorations, including the scrap material from a t-shirt factory that they also use to weave with. The company puts the profits back into their different communities, providing them with medical care, clean water and paying school fees for their children. They had some beautiful items.
Then to the craft markets where we bought a small giraffe, about half the size of the one I bought last time. We visited Matenka Cultural Village to find out a bit about Swazi culture. We met Albert, the chief of the village. He made mum wife #1, another lady with us wife #2 and I was the daughter and that is how we went around the village. We each had our own huts which were made out of the same grass that the ladies weave with. It makes the houses watertight, cool when it is hot outside and warm when it is cold outside. The oldest & youngest son stay in the village when they get married but the rest leave when they get married. After our tour we watched a performance of dance and song which was great to watch. You could see they really enjoyed themselves.
We went to view a waterfall which was in a beautiful setting before heading to our lunch spot. We pulled up in front of a butcher and couldn't figure out where we were going. We went to a building out the back where there was a platter of beef, chicken, sausage & pork that had been cooked along with salad and the traditional dish of Mealie Pap. It was a place that tourists wouldn't know about, which is a shame because it was the real thing and the meat was really good!!
Off to Swazi Candles to see how they make their candles in the different animal shapes and checked out some other shops that were in the grounds. Swaziland is great for crafts and very easy to spend money. We got a milkshake from the cafe and a brownie as we were told they were the best around - they were pretty good. That was the end of our tour. They returned us to Gone Rural where we had to wait for the backpackers to pick us up but we had another look around the shops that were here. We had hoped to use the internet cafe that was here but the power went out. We met a lady who said it was 'TIA'. We asked what that meant and she said 'This is Africa'. Sounds about right!!
Back for a quiet night in the hostel and to repack our bags once again with all the goodies we've bought and back onto the Baz Bus this morning heading to Nelspruit where we are now, our gateway to Kruger tomorrow. Let's hope we see lots of animals!
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