5th July
Mlilwane-Sibebe Rock-JNB
I was awake quite early as the night watchman, while very reassuring (but I suspect not that required) made a fair bit of noise tramping around the wooden boardwalks around the lodge
However, as a non-morning person it is important for me to take in a dawn/sunrise from time to time
The power went off as breakfast was being prepared and thus we were limited to "only" the continental options (including yummy fresh fruit and home made yogurt), and anything that could be cooked with gas (eggs, sausages, bacon). So the only thing really missing was toast (the humanity!)
The bird life during breakfast was phenomenal
It was time to hit the road, but of course I had a fair bit of time to take in some more of the reserve
Mlilwane is easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, I will surely be back at some point
I wanted to take in Sibebe rock today, the world's 2nd largest rock monolith so I'm told
On the way back towards the border, I couldn't help but stop and take a picture of this billboard
The Swazi king has stated his intention to make Eswatini the first (sub saharan?) African country to eliminate Malaria, which I can only describe as a proud and noble ambition
The reverse trip through the border was much more straightforward, although the queues to enter South Africa were long and also bizarre (there was a border guard randomly pulling certain people out of the general line into some kind of express line- old people? people who looked local? not sure what the criteria were. Someone with a diplomatic passport rocked up at one point and was a bit unimpressed that there was no DYKIGADP? queue open
Transiting the road of potholes was also a lot easier in reverse
I made it to OR Tambo airport in good time. The most challenging part of the day was navigating to the airport petrol station for a top up!!