Country Information - Swaziland
TRAVEL TOOLS
GEOGRAPHY
The official figure of population occupying Swaziland is 985 000. Approximately 53,54 people per square kilometre. Swaziland is landlocked in the east by Mozambique and on the other borders by South Africa.
It is something of a topographical jumble. Within a roughly oval shape only 193km (121 miles) long from north to south and much less east to west, God has contrived there to be everything from peaks and upland plateaux, through rolling grassland in the middleveld to the hot, arid bush of the lowveld on the Natal border. Wherever you venture in the country's 17,364 sq km (6,783 sq miles) you will find something different. Swaziland is divided into four distinct regions which are easily explored without the need to travel great distances: the eastern Lubombo plateau; the low bush country of the lowveld; the hilly middle-veld or grasslands; and the mountains, forests and waterfalls of the highveld in the west. The vegetation varies according to the regions, from the high summer rainfall area of the highveld in the west to the dryer lowveld areas in the east. The altitude also varies from an average of 1 800m in the highveld to around 400m in the lowveld. Summers are very hot in the lowveld eastern areas but temperate in the highveld. Winters in the highveld are typically beautiful and sunny during the day with chilly mornings and evenings while the lowveld winters are always warm.
HISTORY
Swazis themselves are relative newcomers - as are most of South Africa's peoples, black and white - having been part of a migration from the Great Lakes of central and east Africa around 1750 when the Nguni moved down the east coast to Delogoa Bay and later settled between the Lubombo mountains (now Swaziland's eastern border) and the Indian ocean. Among their clan leaders was Nkosi Dlamini, forefather of today's royal clan. The Zulu and Xhosa took the same route and the Zulu expansion under Shaka later led to the Dlaminis crossing the Lubombo. At their high point of power the Swazi nation controlled part of the Gauteng and their kingdom was twice its present size.
The confederation of clans, which made up the nation was ruled by Mswati the first between 1840 and 1868, from whom the word 'Swazi' derives. But at the same time other influences were intruding: those of Boer farmers and English missionaries. The Boers were also interested because Swaziland blocked their way to the Indian Ocean coast. Then in 1879 gold was discovered and a torrent of fortune hunters arrived seeking concessions from the King for anything and everything, from refreshment bars to clothing shops. The conflicts of interest led to the British and Gauteng governments defining the north, west and south boundaries: and the Swazis losing much agricultural land.
For a time dual control of the territory by the British and the Boers was tried, but without success and after much political manoeuvring the interests of the Swazis themselves were to some extent preserved by the establishment of a British Protectorate in 1903, when the Anglo-Boer war was over. Successive kings tried to achieve independence, finally succeeding in September 1968 under King Sobhuza the second.
ECONOMY
Sugar, soft drink concentrates, citrus products and wood pulp are the major exports, mainly to South Africa from which Swaziland receives almost all (90 percent) of its imports. Tourism is one of Swaziland's biggest industries.
CLIMATE
Swaziland has a subtropical climate with summer temperatures of 15 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius and 5 to 19 degrees Celsius in winter. The rainfall at higher altitudes varies from 1 000 to 1 600mm while in the lower areas it is between 500 and 600mm. The country's highest point is Emlembe at 1 862m and the lowest at the Usutu River at 21m. The country has a wide range of habitats and great variations in flora fauna.
MAJOR TOWNS AND CITIES
Mbabane is the administrative capital. Manzini is the hub, situated next to Matsapha Industrial Estate. Lombamba is the legislative capital.
MBABANE
Lying in the northern end of the Ezulwini Valley, the capital city is an easy, attractive and safe place to walk around. There are large modern complexes that offer banking facilities, excellent shopping and the Swaziland Tourist Information Office. The Mbabane Market is nearby and has very reasonably priced authentic crafts. The fruit and vegetable halls next to it offer fresh fruit and vegetables and traditional Swazi medicines for sale. The largest granite rock in the world, Sibebe Rock, is on the outskirts of Mbabane. There are spectacular views of Pine Valley from here, and it is also an excellent picnic spot.
MAJOR NATIONAL PARKS/ GAME RESERVES/ AREAS OF INTEREST
HLANE ROYAL NATIONAL PARK
Covering some 30 000 ha in northeastern Swaziland on the western border of the Lebombo Mountains, Hlane National Park is the largest conservation area in the kingdom. It also flanks the site of the annual Butimba - a week long royal hunt led by the monarch, after which slaughtered game is presented to him. 'Hlane' means wilderness and that's what it is, a vast expanse of acacia and broadleaf savannah plains, peppered with bushveld of knobthorn, stunted thickets and dry riverine forests. Looking down on the wilderness today from the peaks of Lebombo Mountains in the east, the landscape stretches out in a tapestry of undulating greens and yellows, intersected by the Black Mbuluzi and Mbuluzana rivers. It is difficult to imagine that amid the pristine beauty and seemingly timeless tranquility of this lowland animals died in their thousands in poachers' snares; or that game rangers risked their lives trying to prevent the wholesale destruction of game. Between 1950 and 1960, during the laying of the railroad to Maputo, poaching started in earnest and Hlane's once teeming herds were either drastically reduced or eliminated altogether. Sensing total destruction, the owner of Milwane Wildlife Sanctuary, prevailed on King Sobhuza to intervene and was appointed official custodian of the park before it was proclaimed in 1967 - a position he holds to this day.
MALOLOTJA NATURE RESERVE
Hikers who have ventured deep into the heart of Malolotja Nature Reserve get starry-eyed and breathless when they try to describe its hidden treasures. For this pristine mountain wilderness is ranked amoung the most scenically beautiful places of Southern Africa. Here soaring peaks surge skywards above a cloak of undulating, flower-covered mountains whose folds conceal kloofs, ravines and gorges fringed with rich, riverine forests. The valleys and gorges were eroded in the dawn of time by scores of rivers and their tributaries racing down the enigmatic mountains of Malolotja. In their rampant journey to the low ground such rivers as the Malolotja, Nkomati and Yingayingeeni have laced this mountain wilderness with ribbons of white water cascading down 27 different waterfalls. For visitors to Malolotja the waterfalls and their magical pools, surrounded in some places by amphitheatres of rock, tree ferns and secret forest glades, represent the very tabernacles of contentment - the closest man can come to true tranquility in the wild.
Malolotja Nature Reserve itself is relatively close to civilisation, just 15 km from Oshoek-Ngwenya border post between Swaziland and South Africa, and 35 km north of Mbabane, and the country's capital. It covers 18 000 ha of Afro-montane forest, riverine scrub, bushveld short grassveld. The highveld terrain ascends two of Swaziland's highest places: Ngwenya Peak (1 829 m) in the south, and Silotfwane Peak (1 680 m) in the west.
Sometimes shrouded in morning mists, at other times sweltering in the summer sun, this landscape is garlanded by a profusion of wildflowers and plants throughout the year. No less than 1 000 plant species - cycad (including the woolly cycad and Kaapsehoop cycad), aloe, protea, red-hot poker, orchid, amarylid, disa and Barberton diasy. They bring extravagant colour combinations to the mountain slopes and grasslands, which lie between 615 m and 800 m above sea level. The reserve was named after Swaziland's highest waterfall, the Malolotja Falls, which plummet 90 m into the Nkomati River gorge.
MKHAYA GAME RESERVE
Bone-jarring thuds reverberate through your body as the open Land Rover bumps through the bush of Mkhaya Game Reserve. You hang on grimly and duck as the branches of acacia trees and sickle-bushes swing towards you with their needle-sharp spikes seeking soft skin. The vehicle dips down into a donga, hurtles up the other side, surmounts the crest and brings you face-to-face with two tons of raw menace. The black rhino right I front of you snorts, shakes its head and veers off at a canter into the undergrowth.
This is the heart of Mkhaya Game Reserve, an unforgettable bushveld paradise in eastern Swaziland, where you can get close to the large mammals that you can literally touch them. More importantly, however, Mkhaya is one of Africa's great refuges for endangered species, a sanctuary where you are more likely to see black rhino than anywhere else in the world.
The reserve is the brainchild of world-renowned conservationist Ted Reilly, who started it in 1979 as a sanctuary for purebred Nguni cattle, threatened with extinction because of crossbreeding. The programme was so successful that Reilly, backed by the Swaziland Monarchy,The South African World Wildlife Foundation and other foreign bodies, decided to develop Mkhaya into a fully-fledged game sanctuary.
THE TEA ROAD
The Tea Road winds its way to the top of the Mdzimba Mountains, burial place of the Kings, from where you will see, hundreds of metres below, the magnificent panorama of the Ezulwini Valley spread out beneath the twin peaks of Sheba's Breasts, referred to in Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines.
MANTENGA NATURE RESERVE AND SWAZI CULTURAL VILLAGE
This is a small and protected area of natural bush vegetation in a secluded corner of the Ezulwini Valley. It is thickly forested with indigenous varieties such as the Waterberry and Kiaat. The Swazi Cultural Village nestles next to the little Usutu River in a clearing below the Mantenga Falls. Authentic Swazi beehive huts have been constructed as they would have been 150 years ago - where visitors can experience true Swazi culture. Traditional Swazi dances are performed twice a day.
BEST TIME TO GO
As in most Southern African reserves, the best game-viewing months are in winter (May-August), when the vegetation is less dense, and animals are more easily spotted. Birdwatching, however, is best in summer (November-April) when the migratory species are home.
BORDER POSTS
Lavumisa Border Post
Mahamba Border Post
Gege Border Post
Sicunusa Border Post
Sandlane/Nerston Border Post
Oshoek/Ngwenya Border Post
Bulembu Border Post
Matsamo Border Post
Mananga Border Post
Lomahasha Border Post
BANKS
There are four commercial banks operating in the country: First National Bank of Swaziland, Nedbank Swaziland, SwaziBank and Standard Bank Swaziland. In addition to the commercial banks there is one development bank, the Swaziland Development and Savings Bank. The Central Bank of Swaziland establishes and implements monetary policy in Swaziland. Banking hours are normally from 08H30 to 14H30 Monday to Friday but on Wednesdays until 13H00 and 08H30 to 11H00 on Saturdays.
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Malaria is a risk in the Lowveld areas. Avoid swimming in still or slow-moving dams and rivers as bilharzia is also a risk, as are crocodiles. Yellow fever and cholera certificates are only required if you have come from an area where those diseases are endemic, but yellow fever inoculation is advisable anyway.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Medical services are available and doctors and hospitals expect immediate cash payment for health services. There are six main hospitals, including ones at Mbabane and Piggs Peak.
CURRENCY
The unit of currency is the Lilangeni, plural Emalangeni, divided into 100 cents. (E1 = 100 cents). It is par with the South African Rand and Rands are freely accepted everywhere. It is however wise to change Swazi currency back into Rands before leaving.
LANGUAGE
S Siswati and English are the official languages although English is used extensively in government and business. Siswati is used every day by the majority of the population.
CULTURE AND RELIGION
The majority (80 percent) of the people are Christian and the rest (20 percent) have indigenous beliefs.
You are likely to see many Swazis dress in colourful costume, featuring toga-like garments - the mahiya. The women sport the traditional 'beehive' hairstyles. Two major traditional ceremonies are held in Swaziland annually: the Incwala and the Umhlanga (Reed) Dance. The Incwala is the sacred ceremony of Kingship, a mystical rite of powerful spiritual significance for the nation. The Incwala begins on the new moon closest to the longest day. A certain clan is sent to sea to fetch water and on their return, rituals are performed, part of which involve the singing of sacred songs and performing ritual dances. Young men are dispatched by the king t fetch special branches which are used to decorate the king's private sanctuary where the secret parts of the Incwala are performed. The sanctuary itself is within the enormous cattle kraal of the nation at Ludsidzini. The Incwala is the most sacred annual event and spectators are permitted, but not encouraged. The climax of the Incwala is the fourth day, during which the King ceremoniously eats the first of the new harvest. The Umhlanga Reed Dance is an occasion where all the unmarried maidens (tingabisa) of the country gather together to collect reeds (Umhlanga). The girls, in their teens and early twenties, wearing the colourful traditional costume of the unmarried maidens, walk long distances to collect reeds and bring them back to the residence of the Queen Mother who is known as the Indlovukazi, the 'She Elephant'. The final days are the most spectacular when thousands of girls return to the kraal. Refreshed after a night's sleep, they arrive in the Royal enclosure the following morning, dancing, singing and ululating, to deliver their bundle of reeds. The reeds are used to rebuild the windbreaks of the Queen Mother's residence, and symbolise the loyalty of the maidens. Photography is usually permitted but it is essential to obtain a permit from the Ministry of Information.
SHOPPING
Dolls, kaftans and skirts, baskets, mats, soapstone carvings, tapestries, decorative glassware and even solitaire boards are amoung the products of Swazi crafstmen and women, whose work retains a skill now rare in more commercialised African countries. Amoung quite a number of craft centres a few off the beat en track are Tisheshwe Cottage Crafts in the Malkerns valley, Swaziland Tapestries at Phumalanga and Ngwenya Glass.
LOCAL FOOD AND WINE
There are a variety of local dishes, most of which are based on traditional recipes such as samp and meat.
ELECTRICITY
Swaziland uses 220V AC, 50Hz and three pin plugs are used with round terminals.
WATER
While water is probably drinkable in the larger centres, it may be worthwhile sticking to bottled water. All water gathered from streams and rivers should be boiled before consumption.
