Sarah's mom and aunt (Pam's gift for Janette's 60th birthday was
this trip) came to Africa for three weeks over the holidays. Arriving just a
few days before Christmas they barely had time to settle in before we headed
out to explore. I think our desire to make sure people have a good time can
lead to some over-scheduling, but Pam and Janette hung in there and we saw
some amazing things.
New to all of us was Christmas in the southern hemisphere.
Although songs about snow still played in our house, we spent Christmas morning
opening presents with the doors to the front porch wide open, looking across
sunny skies to the rocky green hills on the far side of the river from our
house. A midday hike along the Sibebe trail left us overheated and we quickly climbed
down, submerging ourselves in the pool for the rest of the afternoon as we
snacked on mangos and passion fruit. A recently arrived French couple live in
the same valley and also spent the holidays in Swaziland, so we stopped
by in the late afternoon for some coffee and wine, watching
the sun go down across Pine Valley. It was a good, cocktail filled
Christmas that we won't soon forget. And, hopefully, Janette won't ever forget her stocking for Christmas-timed travel again.
A couple weeks earlier, Sarah and I made two trees out of dried
aloe vera flowers, spray painting them gold and stringing them with lights
before hanging the few ornaments we brought along and those we’ve picked up
from local handicraft makers.
The next morning we left early for Kruger National Park. Upon
entering, everyone listed the things they most wanted to see. Armand quickly
named two -- a Bateleur Hawk and Wild Dogs -- and we stumbled upon both within
the first thirty minutes. Instead of turning around and going home, though, we
pressed on, logging some serious car time and wonderful animal viewing over the course of three full
days. While everyone had their highlight, there are roughly 300 Wild Dogs, a
highly endangered species, in Kruger, a park roughly the size of Israel. That we saw a pack of them within a few
feet of the car within our first hour is a sign of just how magical
this place can be.
For the first time, we stayed outside the park, at a lodge along
the Sabie River, which marks one of the park's borders. Hippos played in the
water and we stayed alert for other animals coming to the river to drink as we
ended each day with a cocktail on the deck.
It is challenging to pick just a few highlights from any trip to
Kruger, and for the full recap I think Pam has put together an
intermission-worthy slideshow, but here are a few:
A rhino, grazing as rain poured down.
Two lionesses, startling us all by leaping directly in front of
our parked car.
And, of course, the elephants. One of the few animals in the park
where being in a car doesn't necessarily feel safe.
We were also reminded that vervet monkeys can look cute so
long as they aren't eating our apricots
Two nights back in Mbabane to catch up on sleep and laundry and we
were off again, this time to St. Lucia, about four hours away, tucked between a
croc- and hippo-filled estuary and the pounding Indian Ocean. The area spans
five ecosystems and was South Africa's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The
town itself felt quiet and walkable; a small mix of residential streets, nature
paths, and a single main drag with a few shops and restaurants. Mostly, though,
we tried to adhere to the name of our unexpectedly wonderful B&B, Serene
Estate.
Our rooms faced a wildlife preserve, protected from the hippos by
this small fence (hippos are not good jumpers).
We spent New Year's Eve in St. Lucia, starting the day with a boat
ride through the estuary where we spotted crocodiles, hippos, egrets, herons,
and so-called Jesus birds (they appear to walk on water).
We spent the afternoon at the beach, reading and relaxing as kids
played and adults cast lines into the sea.
After a surprisingly good wood-fired pizza, we filled our water bottles
with white wine and hopped into an open air vehicle for a night drive through
iSimangaliso Wetland Park, where our driver's superhuman vision and
encyclopedic knowledge had us just as excited by the small reptiles of the park
as the hippos, rhinos, bush babies, genet, and hyenas that we spotted
along the way.
We made it back with just a few minutes to get a bottle of
champagne open and toast the new year. A very active, unique new years eve, that was also one of our best.
The next morning, we pressed on, heading north into Mozambique and
staying two nights just outside of Ponto do' Ouro, a secluded beach town
reachable only by 4x4 through unmarked sandy roads. It was tense getting there,
but we quickly relaxed into this beautiful setting and our confidence grew each
day as we became more adept at navigating the maze of winding beach
paths. We swam and read, ate prawns and looked at the stars.
On our way home we stopped at Tembe Elephant Reserve, which boasts
the largest elephants in the world and a pretty amazing "hide" for
animal viewing around one of the reserve's few watering holes. There's even a
webcam.
Our final week in Swaziland was spent gardening, cooking, working on a quilt that Janette passed on to Sarah. Started by Sarah's great,
great, great grandmother, Pam, Janette & Sarah reinforced the work that had
already been done -- strips of flowery cloth mixed with fabric from old sugar
bags -- and added a backside with fabrics from Mozambique.
It was a wonderful few weeks. We were able to show more family the life we have here and some of the beauty of the region. Pam and Janette got to tour around Mbabane and see the clinic where Sarah works.
More than anything, though, we were able to spend some good time here with family, which made Swaziland feel even more like home.
