Holidays & Visitors

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.