Crossing the border of any country can be harrowing. Keep in mind that depending on the day and the time, you may zip right through or being in a hotbox hell in a one room customs hall. We zipped through on this occasion to arrive in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland. This is a kingdom still, and pictures of the king and queen (rather odd pics, actually) are everywhere.
A lot of conservation efforts have occurred in most wild game regions including drones for anti-poaching, shoot before you ask policies for poachers, separation of certain species to regrow populations such as rhinos. The country itself derives it's newer name from a 19th century king. Overall, Eswatini is a very poor country with a high rate of maternal mortality/infant mortality, and one of the highest HIV rates in the world. It is situated between South Africa and Mozambique and is landlocked. While the country has made recent strides in alternative reneweable energy as an economic booster, there is still a high prevalence of men who spend months away from families to mine in South africa for diamonds and fossil fuels.
On arrival to Hlane game park, we were greeted by nyalas and impala at the gate as well as very enthusiastic gate keepers. We set up camp to go on a sunset game walk. I have too admit that I was nervous at the idea of walking down a rhino path to encounter the beasts by foot, but our guide, Mosi, was very confident that we were in little danger (after you sign a waiver that you won’t hold the park responsible if you encounter an untimely demise.)
The nature walk was fantastic. The sense one gets of walking a few meters from a massive herd of huge rhinos is not easily described. You should be terrified, but rather entranced with these giant bulldogs with horns. They are so easy to watch and make up stories about the conversations they are having. Apparently the dominant male claims a region by shitting on it. This is only slightly in contrast with human activities of course. The ladies come by and sniff the poo, thereby deciding if the bloke has good genes. If she’s down for some action, she poops on top of the previous pile. A calling card of old with a twist, I suppose. Gives a new meaning to swiping right and left on people doesn’t it? The follower rhinos, aka the entourage of the hippo in charge, poo all around it to assert his supreme judgement to claim an area. If a male poops on another males poo, well that’s going to start some scandalous shit, no pun intended. See later pictures for that tense encounter when the poo pile is challenged.
The giraffes were all standing across the trail at one point, 7 of them, watching the spectacle of our tired dirty asses walking down the road. Two zebras also couldn’t help themselves but to unabashedly stare at us. I could only imagine if giraffes could talk what their observations would be. Perhaps they would have a proper Zulu accent declaring 'what oddly dressed animals with ballcaps and binoculars?" We were able to get quite close to them as the sun started to drop, producing a surreal backdrop of orange sky and giraffe silhouettes.
Returning to camp we enjoyed the hippo noises from the nearby watering hole, an iced drink at the reception bar, and a few Eswatini traditional dances. Again, Somkhele worked her wonders in the open kitchen, creating a beef stew with local herbs and some corn dish similar to polenta, called Pap. Pap looks like mashed potato, but tastes like polenta and soaks up all the sauces. I may get some to experiment with instead of rice or to thicken some stews.
Day 8:
Game drive central was underway. This was my first encounter with a male elephant in must that scared me so much that I may have tried to remember one of those prayers from childhood. Mosi to the rescue, though, as he was able to back the vehicle up enough that the elephant gave up on his mission to ensure not such a good day. The incidents of elephant attacks have been on the rise, especially as their numbers climb. Clearly we were more fortunate, but elephants have had an unfortunate benefit from extensive conservation initiatives that have left them more destructive and in larger numbers. Zambia has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany as an F-U for unrelenting attempts to make the population massive. This has resulted, in Zambia, with towns being trampled and the timber industry compromised.
We saw hippos in water and grazing and since they are my favorite, I sat in a safe place for a long time watching these amazing sausages with legs. I’ve always been fascinated by how such an odd looking pudgy animal could be one of the most dangerous animals in the world not only to humans, but also hippo babies if the dad feels threatened by his cub. He will gore the crap out of the thing. They were incredibly fast at 30k ground speed max, and they swiftly bounce through the water if needed, making odd laughing noises as they bathe. We also learned that hippos rest in pods, which means they make an overlapping circle with the larger ones only touching the ground not unlike a floating hippo raft. The
Hippos and rhinos are almost predator free in these environments, but they still meet a sad end. Rows of teeth fall out at a specific pace, so when old, they can no longer chew the herbiage and just lay by the watering hole waiting for death. So emo, isn’t it?
Have you ever wanted to be stalked by a lion? Well here’s your chance. It is quite a large pride at Hlane, and where there’s one, there’s often more. Early morning drives are best. We had a dominant male see our truck and then calmly walk toward us as we backed up for seemingly an eternity. They had just returned from their hunting party and were not in the mood for brunch guests apparently. Again, it’s fascinating outside of the bubbling fear in the pit of your stomach that he could tear your throat out in one swift move. Alas, I’m still writing this and do not have ptsd, so we were fine.
Also, breakfast and tea with rhinos...on FOOT. Rhinos right in front of you while you sip tea and eat corn muffins. It is truly an unreal experience and a privilege.
I really enjoyed Hlane in so many ways, especially a slower pace of venturing that allowed me to obsess over bird photos and follow rhino beetles around. The outdoor lodge area was quite relaxing and the wildlife seen from the other side of the fence was fascinating. Wildlife inside the fence included the antelope and monkeys as well as a rather large colony (yes this is the correct term) of bats.
Other daily events…been awakened by a monkey peering into the tent, and occasional startling night time group noises from the nyalas who were thinking they had a predator nearby anytime something disturbed the silence. This sounds like grunts coming from all directions, similar to a pack of coyotes making themselves known.
Words of wisdom. Book the private tours and spend the money on a good guide everywhere you can. When safe, do the on foot walks as it is so very different to experience animals on foot.It boosts the economy and unless you are a zoologist, they certainly know more about the animals. It isn’t much compared with things in the states, between 400-800 rand per person which is 20-40 dollars. Tipping is customary, at least 10% for the guide. I know some places do not have gratuity culture, but a job well done needs compensation.
