swazi hiking (ezulwini and shewula, swaziland)

We took a couple of nice hikes and walks while in Swaziland.

Up in Shewula, we spent New Year's Day on a long hike down the local roads to an overlook with December, our camp's guide. We enjoyed seeing everyone in the community out and about celebrating the new year. December grew up there and knew just about everyone we passed in the road, and got us comfortable saying hello properly: "Sawubona! (or Sanibonani! if you are greeting a group)" "Yebo!" "Kunjani?" "Siapile, kunjani?" It took us a while to get it.

We also saw a soccer game and dance group at the end of our walk.

And further down in the post, you'll see a few photos of a hike in Ezulwini, up Sheba's Breast. Beautiful!

We enjoyed a few minutes of birdwatching at this water hole in Shewula.

An abandoned plow at a family's old homestead. They still plant here, but the house was at the end of a long dirt road (it took us about 3 hours to walk there from our lodge, already 10km down the road from the highway), and too far for the family to live in any longer.

A view to a large dam in Mozambique.

December takes a look over the valley

Cool tree frogs!

A New Year's local celebration: soccer and music at the field.

Some local guys had started a dance troupe, and everyone was watching their performance.

Capturing the night sky.

View over Swaziland with morning clouds. We walked down to the river you can see in the middle of the photo.

Our campsite in Ezulwini. 

Jim was excited to find these plants, they are apparently very old in terms of evolutionary change. He'll have to elaborate :)

Feeling accomplished on a morning hike in Ezulwini!

Looking out over Ezulwini valley.

This hill is called Sheba's breast. We're sitting on one "breast" and looking at the other.

A few minutes in forest...

A vervet monkey being mischievous near a picnic site in a different park in Ezulwini valley.

Close up of a kudu! This lady was not too worried about us.

Falls in the park with a muddy river. We were worried about crocodiles!