4th July
Eswatini- Maguga dam to Mlilwane via Malalotja nature reserve

I had been talked into taking a "canopy tour" at the Malalotja Nature Reserve this morning
I'm not sure why but I had in my mind that this would be along the lines of the Valley of the Giants walk at Denmark WA, you know, a rather sedate affair

I should have realised that was not what I'd signed up to when I was told I had to wear long pants and closed in shoes but, ever hopeful I went with it
Then I found myself in what seemed to be a demonstration of bondage gear


ummmm...

So in summary this was not a sedate affair in anyway, I discovered that I'm scared of heights, and I had been tacked onto a large group of Luxembourgish school kids, thus preventing me swearing half as much as was required.

The views however, were stupendous...when I stopped screaming and looked at them...




My least favourite part was definitely the incredibly rickety suspension bridge and all in all I was quite happy to be out of there


note loose plank where the cable ties holding it all together had come loose...

After leaving the nature reserve I steadied my nerves by checking out the pharmaceuticals aisle at a mini mart near the national parliament

Sea water from a landlocked country

Man juice, anyone?


My ultimate destination for the night was the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, more specifically Reilly's Rock Hill Top Lodge, reputed "up market accomodation"
I was slightly nervous as the non sedate canopy tour had also taken far longer than I had anticipated and I knew I needed to be there before sunset


I arrived with a bit of time to spare but the bloke in the queue in front of me was exceptionally verbose and took ages getting his gate pass sorted out


I made it through the gate just about in time and hot-footed my way through the park to the lodge. But of course I couldn't not stop on the way to take in the wildlife and views





It's one of those places that pictures can never do justice to, but the views were absolutely breathtaking

Arriving at the lodge I was sad to find the place absolutely deserted

Eventually I found some other guests who were somewhat baffled by my level of stress

Then some staff appeared and all was well again
This was booked via booking.com and I paid around AU$120, which included half board and I would classify this as worth every penny
I was given a room in the annexe, with the other guests being in the main building
There was various tea/coffee/snack stations around the various common areas. I had developed quite the taste for redbush by this point so enjoyed it very much
The room itself had a double bed, claw foot bath tub (although there's a drought on so they tend to discourage you from using it), and various nice touches, for example candles, bath robes, monogrammed slippers etc




I was instructed to be out the back at 7pm to see the bush babies, and to be by the fire at 7.30pm for dinner


As instructed, I arrived "out the back" at 7pm, where one of "the boys" was busy luring a family of bush babies
Much patience was required but eventually we managed to get them to play ball


At 7.30pm we were installed by the fire with old lady style bed tables
I only photographed the starter (vegetable soup), the mains was a buffet of various grilled meats, salads, vegetables etc, and for dessert a sponge pudding with custard. The fire was also rather nice as I was still freezing at this point (what is this "winter" thing?)