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Hiya everyone!! Hope alls good with you!!
Well after our fun weekend in Durban, we were on the road again, this time the bus journey was a lot smoother and less dramatic than the last time!! although it wasn't hard!! hehe! we were leaving South Africa and on our way to Swaziland!! By the time we were being dropped off, it was dark - the bus left us off at a few rural shops, which were obviously closed because it was so late!! so we were standing there in the dark, in the middle of the countryside somewhere - not quite sure if we were definately going to be picked up or not!!! Luckily for us a smaller mini van arrived about 15 minutes later and drove us along a dirt track on into Sondzela National Park, where we were staying!! yes we were staying in another national park, not as big as Kruger though!! but i bet you can all guess who chose this hostel!!! Hehe!! gotta love the animals!!
It wasnt until the next morning that we realised the sheer beauty of this place!! it is so remote and just surrounded by acres of green land and hills - its brilliant!! we decided to go into a nearby town of Manzini - so we walked out to the shops that we had been left off at last night, which hadnt seemed as far on the bus!! hehe!! however, we did kinda cheat a bit - as we got a lift from a man on the back of his pick-up truck for part of it!! the people are so friendly and always pull over and offer you a lift!! From here we got on one of their local mini buses - where they pack as many people in as they can - so that we were all like squashed sardines - pretty amusing!!! when we got to the town, we realised that there wasnt much there, so after a walk around, we headed back to get another bus back to the hostel!! i dont think i have ever been in such a crazy place - the buses were parked so closely together and there were so many people shouting at you to get on their bus - even though they were going in the completely opposite direction!! we eventually found a guy who said that they go in our direction and took us to his friend's bus!! after sitting on the bus for just over an hour, they had managed to squash enough people on it!! hehe!! However, while we sitting waiting i noticed that the driver, a few of his friends and the guy who had brought us to the bus, were clearly talking about us and laughing - i should have realised at the time that something wasn't right, but i just let it pass by as its not good being paranoid!!
Except this time i was right! they said that they would let us know when to get off - which they did!! it wasnt until we got off that we discovered that we were about 10km from the actual park, never mind the hostel!! hehe! so we started the hike anyway in the scorching heat, not realising at this stage how far we had to walk!! Fortunately though, one of the guides from the park was driving past and offered us a lift - he laughed the whole way there at the thought of us getting off the bus there and having to walk that far!! When we got into the park, (which was at the opposite end of the park to where we should have been!) he could only drive so far; instead he showed us the path to walk along, which would eventually lead to our hostel!! so off we started treking again, along a narrow path, surrounded by the acres of green land!! that is until we came across large groups of animals, including zebra, impala, wildebeast, buffalo, warthog, etc! of course we naturally thought that this shouldnt be right, as we learnt from being on safari that buffalo and warthog can charge at you and probably cause some damage!!! so of course when we saw the animals we kinda freaked out a bit and practically tiptoed past them!!!! it was so hilarious!!! although we were wondering why a guide, from the park, would send us down that path!!!
We found out later that there are no actual barriers or fences around the hostel and that it is pretty safe walking around the park!!
The next day, stephen went quad biking with a guy, Robbie (from Australia) who was staying in our hostel! so catherine and i decided to go on a horseback safari tour for an hour! it was so amazing!! not just being on the horse but being able to see all the animals close-up was so cool!! it was only for an hour, but i loved it!! After the horse ride we went to the capital of Swaziland, Mbanbane!!this time we were able to get a bus from the end of the road, so it was a shorter walk!! The bus journey was slightly longer, but it was worth it - we had loads of fun!!! the city was a lot cleaner, nicer and the people there seemed to be a lot more friendly than in Manzini!! i mean we even had a few marriage proposals!!! we laughed sooooooo much - it was really funny!!!
The journey was even more amusing! the bus that we got on by-passed the town that we were supposed to go to, and we ended up going to the same crazy town that we were in yesterday!! which was not good- considering it was only the two of us!!!! so to avoid the same diaster we got off the next bus slightly earlier!however we didnt actually realise how far away we were, until we started walking!!! it took us hours, and thats even with some guy giving us a lift for part of the way!!! hehe!! all in all i think that it took us 3 hours getting back to the hostel, but we had so much fun - even walked for part of it with 2 small brothers who were about 4 and 5, walking home from school (which i think must have been miles!!) holding hands - they were sooo cute!!! they couldnt speak english, but they were so funny - chasing our shadows and making sure that their shadows werent being run over by the cars driving past!!
Overall our time here has been amazing - even staying at this hostel is so cool, just being able to walk past all the animals, and having dinner beside the campfire - it sounds gay i know, but i love it!! - pure cheese! hehe!!
Anyway, ill talk to you soon, love u all,
Rach!! xxxx
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