Days 72 thru 74

(Dan’s comments are italicized)

Upon leaving Kruger, we had decided to drive ourselves to the coast…but it seemed foolish to drive around eSwatini instead of going through it! And so, we now find ourselves in one of the lesser-known African countries.

The drive here was interesting…or should I say that the route Dan had chosen was interesting! It started off well, driving up a mountain (what was, we later realized, the tallest mountain in the kingdom of eSwatini!) The views were stunning! The road cuts through the Barberton Greenstone Belt, some of the oldest exposed rock on earth dating back over 3.5 billion years! Most of earth’s crust was molten, so rocks would sink toward the core, but the stones here got trapped on the surface.

However, things took a turn at the border. The good news is that we were the ONLY people crossing this border post so there were no queues. The bad news is that not only wasn’t there a queue, but also there wasn’t a road!!!

And this is our little 2×4 rental car!!!!

As we drove by loggers, they’d stop what they were doing to stare at our little car with bemusement believing, I’m sure, that they’d be rescuing us later on!

But we forged ahead on the path…

For 20 kilometers!

Everyone who learned which border crossing we used to get into the country has burst out laughing while pointing to our car and guffawing, “In that?” Suffice to say, I won’t be blithely leaving the route choice to Dan in the near future 😂 This just goes to prove what a GREAT DRIVER I am! I successfully navigated a road that even the seasoned locals shy away from. Look for my performance at a future rally car race.

Things started looking better when we hit a gravel road…I’ve never been so grateful to see gravel in my life!!

And things looked decidedly wonderful when we arrived where we were to be staying…

We thought things would look different the next day as the horrendous road situation was behind us.

And we were right…as the fog had descended!

Windy roads full of potholes in fog don’t make for the best road conditions.

But we were undeterred and off we went! We visited a glass factory which was WONDERFUL…

… because it was so warm on the observation deck! Needless to say, we stayed there a long time!

Then we visited the oldest iron mine IN THE WORLD!! The Bushman from 45,000 years ago would mine the caves for the iron oxide. They used this mineral for painting the body, for rituals, and sun protection.

Dan and Mr.K, our guide, climbed to the top of the mountain while I stayed at the bottom taking photos of dew-laden cobwebs.

We found a dam to visit…

…and a craft market. If only I had more walls in our house needing decorations…the batiks were exquisite!

And my arthritic hands ache just watching the jewelry makers hand-thread each individual teeny, tiny bead!

For a cold, miserable day, we ended up having a lot of fun! Then it was off to Mbabane, the capital city in search of more local culture…fingers crossed!