Tuesday, September 9, 2014

A Swazi Safari and Other Adventures

I know I just came back from my relaxing trip in Malawi, but I want to see as many African countries as I can while I'm still in Mozambique.  So my friend Tram (also an education volunteer in Mozambique) and I decided to explore the small but beautiful country, Swaziland.  Our adventure lasted from August 29th- September 1st.  

Take a look at some pictures of our fabulous trip:

Sibebe is the national beer.  It was good.

Mexican food? Well, not quite.  More like Cali-Mex and it was delicious!

Cheese Enchiladas
Dancing Marionettes

While we waited for our Safari adventure, we met some friends

Tram with the kids


They wanted you to see their cute faces

My new friends and me
Tram gearing up to see some animals

Tram and I entering the park

Meet our guide named Africa

Complimentary passion fruit juice and water before the ride

African Fish Eagle
Warthog.  We found Pumba!
Mother and son white rhinos.  Apparently, the black rhinos are almost extinct and white rhinos are endangered because of poaching. So sad.




Antelope




I love the way giraffe drink water

Hippos taking their afternoon nap





Our lunch that was included in our day tour

Dessert time!

I had two bites of the mousse and later had a headache.  It was delicious but too rich.


I love this photo of the mother and her son/daughter




Failed attempt at trying to take a picture of the rhino behind us

The king of Swaziland is on all of the bills

Sushi dinner and wine with Swaziland volunteers after the safari
And then a bonfire

Rise and Shine! Tram and I go for a walk


Can you see the huts?  This is a beautiful village near the backpacker's we were staying at called Legends
Can you see the little waterfall in the background?  Probably not.
The first time I've been in a mall in a long time.  It was a little bit overwhelming, I'm not gonna lie.

When was the last time I was in a Pharmacy like this?  This is too fancy!  They had medicine for acne. I'm done!

Wait, am I already in the U.S.?


We bought ingredients while we were at the grocery store to make avocado sandwiches.  That was the first time in two years that I ate multi grain bread. Yummy!
Here are young women getting ready to dance for the king in the annual Umhlanga or reed ceremony
The  unmarried and childless girls from all over the country shave their heads and dress in traditional attire




It's a full house at the stadium.  The ceremony was supposed to begin at 12pm and it was already 4pm and we couldn't stay for the event because we needed to catch a bus back to Mozambique.  The king still hadn't showed up by the time we left



We were sad that we couldn't witness the event.
Although we didn't get to see the reed ceremony, Tram and I were able to talk to some of the young women about their part in the event and about their culture.  I think that was just as valuable as seeing the event.

We really enjoyed our trip to Swaziland.  It would be great to return in the future.

Also, I added some more pictures to my Malawi blog.  If you're interested, click here to see them: http://mozampaz.blogspot.com/2014/08/maisuri-masala-and-mancala-in-malawi.html







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