Time is flying by and as I'm trying to make the most of my days off, I've been very lucky to see some beautiful parts of southern Africa. I've heard it several times, but now I understand, "You can leave Africa, but it will never leave you". I've seen the sun set and rise with incredible views, and it is truly something I can't put into words.
A few weeks ago, I was eager to get to the beach, so Mozambique (a portugese speaking country) was next on the list. It was about a 4 hour drive to the coast and though when we arrived, we found out there were cyclone warnings, so only got a glimpse of the beautiful white sandy beaches, and a touch of the warm Indian Ocean. Maputo was chaos. Any type of item you would want to buy in the store was sold on the streets. Every time you stopped at the lights or stepped out of the car someone would be trying to sell you something, anything. The city was jammed packed so we decided to drive north and enjoy the stormy weather in a place close to the Xai Xai district. Highlights were being entertained by an Africa grey parrot, the Indian ocean, and tasty seafood (not to forget about getting stuck in dirt roads -4x4 needed when venturing through Africa -and of course, google maps showing roads that only half exist!)
Over Easter and my birthday I was spoilt! We rented a fine Toyota Condor and drove south, first stopping at one of the most beautiful parks, Golden Gate (in SA). It's an enormous area with stunning views of the Lesotho mountains and incredible sunsets and sunrises. Was a great spot for a bit of hiking (close to 3000m hike AND I saw my FIRST SNAKE- which was probably more terrified of my scream than I was seeing it under my feet!!), and of course..wining and dining. Next stop was Lesotho. Though similar in size to Swaziland, it was much colder, even more mountainous and likewise people were incredibly friendly. The first thing I noticed were the hats and warm blankets almost everyone wears. The different vibes you get across all these countries is hard to explain, but is definetly deep rooted in the vast history of this continent. On the way back we stayed in Mkhaya game park back in Swaziland. A park with many endangered animals including 4 of the big 5! Surrounded by 5,000 volt fences the park was incredible- elephants, giraffes, rhinos (white and black), birds, hippos etc etc.. Spending the night in the middle of a 10,000 acre game park, (after a tasty wild kudu dinner) in an open air lodge, listening to creaky trees and all sorts of wildlife, was pretty neat.. What an incredible trip!
29 years old..the more I see, the more I want to see... better get back to work! Lots of love from Swazi - XOXO (and thanks to Chu for photo credits ;)
