Hiking in Swaziland

Start from Bus-about South Africa

Baz Bus dropped me at the Royal Swazi Sun Hotel, Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland. A van from Sondzela Lodge was already waiting for me as the Baz Bus driver had alerted them of my arrival.

Sondzela Lodge was located inside the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary in Ezulwini valley. It was well furnished in ethnic colours and designs and surrounded with aromatic trees like lemonwood, eucalyptus and lavender. There were self-contained thatched cottages, beehive huts, timber dorms to suit all pockets. I got a comfortable room for only $10.

Many birds were perching around in the hope of food offerings by the guests. A feeling of peace and stillness pervaded the area.  It was just the place to relax after a twelve hours bus journey from Pretoria.  But I was not for relaxing.  I was in South Africa to have a taste of everything the country offered, here I planned to do a self-guided walking safari.

In the evening a fire was lit and everyone had a chance to meet after dinner while listening to the call of wild animals.  Handsome and colourfully dressed locals joined the guests engrossing us tales of lion kills and elephant charges.

Walk or Not to Walk

    The lodge provided a well-sketched route map & a guidebook were provided against a small deposit. One area was well publicized as Hippo Trail. Bathing or paddling there was declared hazardous. Now I became concerned with my age, high blood pressure and weak stomach. My initial response was not to go alone.

 But I thought that for fee of only $ 3, they could not afford to have a dangerous trail. Besides, white footprints marked the way,  Also, a fluttering flag and a flashing light at the stare point were visible from the trail.  One had only to look back to seek guidance. There was absolutely no harm going up there for a trial run.

Next day, a cold & crisp morning, I set foot on the trail. I had a daypack containing biscuits, water bottle and some medicines.  With pent-up energy, I forged ahead confidently towards a guard post half a kilometer way - uphill.  In a few minutes, however,  I was obliged to catch up my breath every few meters, stopping to  wait for the palpitations to subside. Many trekkers, some carrying rucksacks, waved and then overtook. I thought I was victim of altitude sickness or chill factor.

A guard post Makama Dlamani introduced himself, proudly saying that he belonged to the famous clan, Dlamani, descendents of King Sobhuza. 

There is a good chance of meeting a prince in Swaziland as the old king had nearly 400 wives.

Pointing out the figure-eight contour of the trail, the guard advised me that at the mid-point, I could continue or turn back. He looked at me as if to assess my conditions and added, "If I did not see you back by the late after noon, I would send someone". That gave me a boost, and I resumed the walk.

 For quite some distance, it was downhill. That gave me time to notice nature. I saw giraffe, kudu, red rock hares and young warthogs suckling at their mother. Black eagles and Lanner falcons circled above. 

Then the  trail took a turn and faced a water hole. I saw springbok ram standing gracefully on the edge, its image glistening in clear water. A little further, an excited impala took off in a series of stiff-legged bouncing leaps. Then .... uh, the honeymoon was over.

The path started climbing and became steeper and steeper.  Like an old ox-wagon, I went up creaking, jerking and tilting. High trees shaded the path. On both sides, a green wall of creepers,  willows and weeds formed a corridor as in a dense jungle. The walk became a little frightening.  All senses were on the alert, hearing, sight and smell. Eyes darted perpetually from point to point sizing up everything that stirred. The ascent became sharper, at many points forcing me to assume a crawling position. 

At long last, I saw the sky. I was fully exhausted and practically lying on my stomach gasping for breath. But  I could see almost whole of sanctuary in one majestic panorama. I looked around over rolling hills of different colours and shapes.  It was so refreshing that I literally felt pleasant waves passing through my body.

By afternoon, I at last reached the mid-point, having covered only four km. I thought of venturing into next phase but good sense prevailed and I decided to return. The back trail followed a stream. Soon I was walking on a well-worn path made by the passage of hippos over many years. Fortunately, there were at the lake, busy feeding on bottom vegetation and surfacing only occasionally to grab a breath of air before plunging again.

Beyond hippo trail, the terrain became quite interesting. There were many bridges to cross, ladders to climb and walks along the cliff edge but all-safe and pleasant. Soon the Main camp was in sight. I reached at about 2:30 p.m. 

It was a miserable performance by trekker standards, but for me it was an experience that fed my soul and challenged my spirit. And it was the best time of my thirty-day journey across South Africa by Baz Bus.

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