Swaziland. The Kingdom. Land of a Million Smiles. Call it what you will, but this tiny country punches way above it’s weight when it comes to the utter bliss of family tourism.
At 200km in length and around 130km wide, it is a pleasure to negotiate, and unlikely many other African destinations, the people seems truly pleased to have you there. The easy amiability starts with the custom experience, and you cannot but help to think that the Swazi people must rate as some of the friendliest on the continent.
As the key conservation entity, Big Game Parks is central to outdoor tourism in Swaziland, and you have three destinations to choose from. The images in this album are but the tip of the iceberg of three days of play at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary.
We were spoilt to have some friends from Cape Town join us in order to play model, and Melusi Zox Dlamini and the team here in the Ezulwini Valley pulled out all the stops to make us feel welcome.
To me, the main attraction of Mlilwane is that you can hike, mountain bike, horse ride and trail run to your hearts’ content. (That is, as long as you avoid the flat dogs and hippos hanging by the big dam, generally after dark). There are a good 60km of MTB and off-road running trails, and outrides on horseback can stretch over five nights, with sleepovers in caves and under the stars.
This mini-Serengeti of a reserve makes for a quintessential family wildlife experience, and at a cost that is immenently suited to South Africans on a real-world budget. Do yourself a favour and go check out www.biggameparks.org
Click here to view the pics