We have enjoyed the fun South African social tradition of ‘braai’, or cooking over the fire but skipped a few of the other food traditions such as biltong, salty dried meat sold along the road or next to every liquor store.  ‘Mashonzha’ is a dish made with the dried worms or caterpillars of the emperor moth, mainly eaten in the Cape.  Wondering what to serve for dinner?  Drop by the frozen meat section for a bag of “walkie-talkies “(chicken beaks and feet for stew).  All can be served with a dash of fiery ‘peri -peri’ chili sauce or a lethal favorite black Mamba hot sauce.  A couple of fun establishments we drove by were the ‘Snorting Grunter’, ‘The Pig & Whistle’ and the ‘Nip In Pub & Grub’.  Food is the fascinating centerpiece of culture worldwide.

Durban is an old coastal city, hub of trading for the Arab dhows, Indian merchants, and European sailing ships for centuries.  Downtown resonates with history at every bend and has some of the best authentic Indian food and spices in South Africa.  The waterfront and expansive white sand beach received a smart facelift for World Cup 2010, with pools, walkways, and restaurants stretching over 5 kms. from the Sun Coast Casino to UShaka Marine Park.  At UShaka they resurrected a 100 year old ship, complete with original furnishings.  In this ‘haunted’ ship it is possible to have a fine candlelit dinner only inches from a school of sharks (behind glass), guaranteed hungrier than you are.  We met Mr. ‘Sausage’ while fishing at the lake, (where we also met the friends of Mr. ‘Chicken’).  He told us to just park in the secure parking lot of the Durban’s seaside Casino.  We drove in, paying 10 rand and drove out 5 days later, walking miles and miles around Durban in between.  By the time we left we had made friends with all the security guards and maintenance workers, not spending a penny on the slot machines but buying a few meals in their expansive complex.  (Like McDonalds, great bathrooms.)  Life is a gamble, that’s all we need.

Lesothoho and Swaziland are inselbergs, or countries completely surrounded by the neighboring country, South Africa.  Embedded in South Africa, Swaziland is one of the smallest countries on this massive continent.  The people are happy and relaxed, with little racism or crime to worry about.  Music and dancing are a big part of their cultural pride and all it took to get a full on performance from the kids was to start singing and moving.  They were a party waiting to happen.  We have started returning the performance with a little adlib Hawaiian hula, our favorite being “Going to a Hukilau”.  What we lack in precision we make up for in intention and the crowd usually goes wild. 

Looks of amazement greet us as we travel along.  A house on wheels?!  In remote villages the kids would flock to the van, curious at the rolling anomaly to appear in their little world.  We often give guided tours to wide eyed youngsters laughing at the water squirting from the sink, etc.  Besides peanut and raisin treats or an orange we will often give a group of curious youngsters one of the glossy magazines put out by the tourist bureaus along the way.  We have seen them sit quietly for over an hour going slowly page by page, looking at the vibrant pictures of far away lands (which may be only on the other side of the hills).  Swaziland is bordered on either side by mountains, with pretty fertile valleys in between, Ezulwini  means “Valley of Heaven”.  They are proud of 4 major parks, including Hlane Royal National Park (Big 5), with increasing numbers of animals due to better management.  Hard to put money into animals when the people are hungry – but it is a draw for tourism and makes good business sense.

We chose to visit the out of the way game reserve Miliwane Wildlife Sanctuary.  Small but pleasant to stop by, the main animals are hippos and crocs at the pools, nicest being the observation deck off the restaurant.  Zebras and deer abound but unfortunately all rhinos have met their demise due to poachers.  A display showed over 20,000 snares founds over the last 25 years and the skulls of hundreds of poached rhinos from the area.  A new idea in wildlife preservation is to cut off the horns of the rhinos to save them from being killed.  The wicked poachers have now started killing rhinos with sawed off horns so they don’t have to track them again!  This plan only works when all the rhinos, in an entire park, are dehorned.  This has been done in one park, to date, with success.  In the park’s informative display there was a tribute to a memorable Park ranger, who after infiltrating the ring of rhino poachers, found it was composed of flunkies right up through top government officials.  Once found out he was lying on his bed sleeping when he heard the glass of his window shatter.  Almost lighting a match to see the size of the rock, he stopped short as the fumes of gas filled his room.  An unexploded gas bomb lay at his feet, slowly leaking petrol onto the floor.  Not intimidated by further threats he went on to expose the criminals, slowing down their operation and saving the lives of hundreds of rhinos.  Poaching resumed and while out making rounds he was ambushed and stabbed in the neck, missing the jugular vein but striking his spinal cord.  Paralyzed he collapsed onto the ground where his assailant stabbed him in the chest 8 times.  Against all odds he recovered fully.  Unfortunately it was too late as most of the rhinos were killed.   Once a natural resource is gone – it is gone!

Our friend Fleur in Kwazi Natal recommended we stop at Phophonyane Falls, just past Piggs Peak.  A long, bumpy road led to a magical little conservation reserve surrounding the falls.  We spent an quiet afternoon hiking the lush trails, looking at the falls (where 12 people have fallen – 2 fatalities), sharing a stir fry dinner by candlelight and sleeping next to the roaring river in a tree top safari-type luxury tent.  Waking up in the canopy to the singing birds was a unique treat.  Phophonyane Falls Nature Reserve and Lodge is a place to put on your list while visiting Swaziland.  Guaranteed your batteries will be recharged in the serene, natural surroundings.  

Swaziland this proud mini nation, is led by King Mswati III one of the last 3 monarchs in Africa.  This well loved monarch’s reputation is starting to tarnish as his spending and lavish lifestyle consume the people’s money in a country with 26% HIV Aids rate, high unemployment and a life expectancy rate of 37.  Crowned at 18, the 2nd of 67 sons, he has ruled the country with his Mother at his side.  He currently has 13 wives and over 200 official offspring.  He seems to be oblivious to the extreme poverty surrounding him.  “Let them eat cake!”  As with monarchies worldwide, change is in the wind.

And so it goes…………………………………..Next month Mozambique. Until then let’s try to find our passion in life and go for it!  You never know where it leads.  Glad you stopped by.  Thanks for sharing our website with all your friends and family.  We are going to have a get a bigger suitcase with over 80,000 joining us on our trip each month!  How fun.  We love sharing the world with as many people as possible.  Take care.  Keep smiling.  Keep in touch