Swaziland in Photos

Have you ever heard of the magical kingdom of Swaziland? Well, it is sometimes called the Switzerland of Africa. It is small and mountainous and beautiful and peaceful.

Have you ever dreamed and dreamed of something then when it is actualized, it is not nearly as good as the anticipation? Well, I have always dreamed of going to Swaziland. i have always been of the mind that that little jewel of a country has to be magical. And this past week, i found out the it surely is!

Six of my pals from Little Holland and i rented a car and made the grand journey. This week was the King’s party and we were invited! To tell the truth, the whole world was invited, literally. The whole world. But, it still sounds cooler to say, “i was invited to the King’s par-tay!”

Along the highways, roads and tracks that you have to trek to git to Swaziland, there are plenty of large cattle crossing the way, monkeys bouncing about by the wayside and fine restaurants like this one:

As we waited in and around the car at the que for the boarder crossing, looking backwards, you can see the friendly welcome that the South African Police give arrivals from Swaziland:

As fierce as their saying sounds, it is not true. We were driving through a “Hijacking Hotspot,” as denoted by the state-sponsored warning signs. So they say not to stop when the police pul you over. Hijackers steal police outfits to make their job easier; if you speed past an officer who is trying to pull you over and he (or she) is lagit, they will git in their truck and chase you down. That’s how we roll over here.

Anyways, after the few-hour hubbub/smelly group hug that can be officially called a boarder crossing, we had our stamps and we were in Swaziland! We proceeded to drive around dirt roads in the mountains for a few hours looking for the hostel at which we had a reservation. They had only told us the region, not how to actually git there. Finally, after a few hours, we found found a paved road. We drove until we were lucky enough to find a person. A person! He drew us a map on a napkin and we were on our way (with a destination this time, although i was still humming an applicable Simon & Garfunkel song). Long, long after dark, we made it to our park. That was good times.

We had a fire and i experimented with all the snazzy settings on my little camera. This here is a long exposure of Thomas, the fire and the moon:

This here is tweaked white balance, some sepia, a super-short shutter speed and a wide aperture:

At night, we had seen little but stars and far-far off city lights. We had been surprised to come across Zebras and springboks in the dirt roads. Our backpackers’ hostel is situate right in the middle of a national park/wildlife reserve. When we awoke this is the view that greeted us in the morning (that’s Mandy and Thomas, tea-in-hand).

We found out on a hike that hippos, crocodiles and awesome turtles live in this lake:

We saw some o’ these:

Later on, we went to the capital city. It is tucked down in the nooks and crannies of massive mountains. The people were so amazingly friendly. We felt at home, and unlike strangers. The country is all about peace.

It seems that life is slow, in a good way. No hurry, just peace and mountains. At one point, i walked to an internet cafe’ i had seen earlier. i just wanted to shoot Lindsay a quick email to say happy birthday. The guy who was sitting out front said “It’s saturday. Of course we have no internet, just only between weekends.” i chuckled. True story!, Why should we need internet on Saturdays?

Later on, i saw the national Hyundai dealership. It was rather sizable. Check it out:

Later still, we saw a premier soccer league match. i mean, yes, we are from “Little Holland” after all. The King has his own team. They got massacred by the visiting team from the other side of the country (which is really not all that many kilometers away!) But matches are free and the location of the stadium is not so shabby. See for yourself:

That night, we had a concert around the fire at the hostel.

There was a raggae-singing girl named Saritah on tour from Australia. (Check her music out here.) About thirty of us gathered around the fire. It was an amazing time. Saritah and i took turns singing about ten songs each. Sometimes, other backpackers who were staying at the hostel would grab a drum or a harmonica and join in. There was a sense of reverence. There is something ancient about fire and something magical about music, and to combine the two of those with a moonlight Swazi night is just overwhelming.

After a couple hour nap that many would call a really short night’s sleep, we got up and went exploring. We saw lotsa these guys:

And these stripy horses too:

And some living telephone poles, i suppose they’re called trees:

Later on, we went to the King’s par-tay.

He and the whole country are celebrating because he is choosing a new wife (again!). He has 13 wives already, but that is obviously just not enough.

It is the custom to wrap yourself in a cloth like this one. i met this dude at the stadium where the King’s par-tay was held. There was so much excitement and tradition and many other good things in the air that it was hard not to be friends with everyone around.

Here are the prospective wives, all parading in front of the King. This is a celebration that lasts over a week. We were there on the day of the Reed Dance. It is traditional and sacred and wonderful. You should look it up and read about it. But on second though, don’t believe what you read. You should behold it with your own two eyes.

This year, 60,000 pure maidens presented themselves to the King. The main focus of the event is not a praise of polygamy, but a celebration of tradition, morals and chastity. Afterall, only one wife is picked from among the virgins by the King every year.

i think i will close this chapter of the Swazi adventures with the image i like the best. To be honest, i am quite proud of this picture. i saw a tiny little Dutch girl looking on in amazement and at times trying to join the maidens in their march into the stadium to present themselves to the King. This little girl in a fancy dress is quite the foil to all the perspective queens. It is a quite a beautiful contrast, i think.