by Pete Barba

The joy of travel is it gets you out of your usual routines, allows you to experience new cultures and beautiful lands, and sometimes greets you with surprises that even the best laid plans don’t anticipate.  When you’re really lucky, all those components come together in symphonic harmony to create a perfect travel day.  Swaziland was that day.

Let me rewind, if you’ve read our tentative plans post, you’ll note there is no mention of Swaziland.  We didn’t plan on going there, it wasn’t even on our radar.  After looking at our local maps and talking to a local guide, we realized that we could easily get another passport stamp and see another country with a 1 hour drive from our Airbnb in eastern South Africa.  (Please note the links below are for information only and are not affiliated with Vivid Travelers.)

Eswatini/Swaziland is a small country mostly surrounded by South Africa, similar to how the Vatican or San Marino are separate countries inside Italy.  It is about the size of New Jersey, and has its own currency, government, laws, etc. Swaziland is an absolute monarchy, and has been a separate country since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.  In 2018, King Mswati III changed the official name of Swaziland to the Kingdom of Eswatini, to mirror the name commonly used in the Swazi language. The new name hasn’t stuck yet, judging by road signs and conversations.

We set off at 5:15am for a day trip to Swaziland.  We wanted an early start to pack as much adventure in one day as possible.  As we drove through the mountains on the way to the border, the sunrise beautifully lit up the scenery around us.  We got to the border at 6:30, not realizing that borders aren’t open 24/7 (rookie mistake), thankfully this one opened at 7:00.  After clearing the border, we drove quickly through the mountains, racing to get to our first stop: zip lining at 8:30am.  Along the way, school children gave us the biggest smiles and waves, speed bumps nearly destroyed our car (who puts unmarked speed bumps in 60 mph road areas?), and the morning sun on the mountains glistened in our eyes.  Drew exclaimed, “I didn’t know Africa had mountains”, and truthfully, we didn’t expect them here either.

We made the zip line tour just in time. As told by Drew….

“We arrived at the Malolotja Canopy Tour at 8:30 and went on a bumpy 45 minute drive to a small lush canyon. We went on a quick walk through the beautiful forest and arrived at the first platform. One of the instructors went first and the other clipped us in. The first two (zip lines) were short but the rest were long and stretched across the canyon. It was an incredible experience! As you zoomed across the valley, with the wind in your face and the ground one hundred feet below you, it seemed as if nothing else mattered. You felt free. Once you got close enough to the platform, you used your gloved hand to brake and then the instructor clipped you onto a rope attached to the rock. We went on many zip lines and each one was more exhilarating than the last. Near the end there was a thin rope bridge that went all the way across the gorge. It swayed and wobbled as you walked on what felt like a safe tightrope. The instructors (Marcus and Happiness) were super nice and always helpful. The experience was incredible and I would repeat it if I had the opportunity.“ – Drew

After the tour, we continued to weave our way through the mountains to our next stop, the Ngwenya Glass Factory, where artisans make glasses, sculptures, decanters and other works of art by hand and mouth.  The factory was started in 1979 by a Swedish Aid group.  For 2 years, master Swedish glass blowers taught locals the skills of glass blowing.  Since 1987 the factory has been continuously operating, initially starting with 4 employees and now employing over 70 locals.  The factory uses 100% recycled old bottles, collected by the people of Swaziland.  For many of the old people, bottle collection is their only income.

We spent an hour watching the craftsman make a model of an elephant head.  First they blew a globe of glass, stretched and modeled it into the shape of an elephant head, then added a winding trunk, followed by tusks and eyes.  Each small step required reheating the glass in a 2400 degree furnace, and then gently and carefully stretching or adding new pieces of red hot glass to the original blown globe.  Watching 8 men, delicately and purposefully work on a piece of art in burning hot conditions, left us in awe. (check out the video here)

Of course we had to buy some of the artwork, but despite the temptation to go crazy and buy a huge masterpiece, we had to settle for something small we can send home with our next visitor.  So we now have a beautiful elephant wine stopper for our next dinner party, after we return from our travels. Kate also picked up some handcrafted paper earrings at one of the other shops in the adjacent craft market that is also worth a look!

Our final stop on this perfect day was also the highlight.  While we went to eDladleni Swazi Restaurant to have our stomachs filled, we left with nourishment of our souls.  eDlandleni is an elegant yet humble establishment that strives, no rather, succeeds in highlighting local southern African cuisine.  The owner is Dolores Godeffroy, a vivacious woman who is a perfect blend of a scholar, artist, chef, and activist. 

Dolores comes from parents who were also ahead of their time.  Her father was German and her mother was Zulu.  At the time they fell in love, they could not marry because of Apartheid rules against interracial marriage in South Africa, so they moved to Swaziland. Dolores grew up in Swaziland, but traveled the world in her younger years: picking oranges in Florida, working as a DJ in South Africa and selling records in Germany.  For the past 20+ years she has settled back in her homeland, with the singular goal of popularizing southern African cuisine, not just to tourists, but more importantly to locals. 

Unfortunately, Swaziland, like much of the world has become enamored with western cuisine and the results have been disastrous.  Diseases that were once rare such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, have now become common, largely due to dietary changes.  In addition, because western food has to be imported, food prices have gone up, leading to an increase in hunger and malnutrition.  Local farmers now grow sugar cane and palms for oil, both of which are exported.  It doesn’t seem to make sense to export what they grow and import what they eat.  Dolores explained to us that if her people knew how wonderful their traditional food is, and the farmers once again grew local foods, food prices would fall and western diseases would regress. 

While I am not smart enough to predict if her theory is correct, her logic does seem to make sense.  What I can say with certainty is that her food is exciting, fresh and incredibly satisfying.  We started with Tindlubu Rolls, which are similar to little bean burritos but healthy and with incredibly flavored local beans.  Then we moved on to a buffet of different stews, each incredibly tender and flavorful, plus plates full of healthy veggies. The surprise highlight was Imbuya a la ola, which is like creamed spinach but uses pumpkin shoots as the greens and omits the cream.  The flavor is impossible to describe in our western culinary language, but suffice to say, it was absolutely outstanding.  Gwyn and Drew especially loved the sweet potato which was sliced thin, steamed and then lightly pan fried with warm spices.  To quote Drew, “it is like a warm, healthy snickerdoodle cookie”.  The kids finished the meal with the simplest yet most delicious dessert.  Perfectly made vanilla ice cream with local honey and fresh guava.  The rich vanilla flavor, combined with the floral sweetness of the honey and the freshness of the guava was perfect.

After dinner, we had a chance to chat with Ms. Godeffroy and learn more about her success, dreams and goals.  Imagine having a conversation with Michael Pollan, Gloria Steinem, and the Dali Lama, all embodied in one person.  That is Dolores.  She is brilliantly smart, passionate about her country, people and culture, strong-willed beyond compare, and yet incredibly approachable, caring and loving.  Our conversation probably only lasted an hour, but it filled my head with ideas for days.  Thank you Dolores for one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

After our meal it was time to head home to South Africa.  Our quick visit to Eswatini was only 14 hours long, but the day was filled with memories, and thought provoking ideas and conversations that inspire us.  It goes to show that sometimes the unexpected is greater than you could ever have imagined, and sometimes wonderful things come in small packages. 

Thanks for reading to the end!  Next up: animal adventures in and around Kruger National Park, South Africa!  Don’t forget to check out our past stories and subscribe for future articles as well.  Find us on Facebook and Instagram for bonus content!  As always, if you are planning a trip to any location we visit we are happy to provide more details and opinions, so feel free to contact us.