From South Africa, the roads to Swaziland are not straight forward; they twist and bend, wind around mountains, and in general seem to take an indirect approach at reaching the kingdom. It feels like a final frontier here, and the nature is amazing; the slant of light is even more dynamic than Vancouver, and the way the clouds slowly roll over the crumpled stone hills is spectacular. The evergreen trees that are slightly different than the ones in the northern hemisphere, the puffy clouds that complement the landscape rather than obscure it; I like this place. A hole in the wall, a place of refuge from the monolithic politics and society of South Africa. This is a great place to wind down after what has been an amazing journey.




The light down here among the scattered clouds gives me a sense of regret, of a leaving-us attitude. This is the end; this is the other side.
And yet still connected to the outside world. This is definitely a fringe; a fringe of Africa, a fringe of society, a political fringe, wedged between two massive countries called South Africa and Mozambique. But nature dominates the mood here. The sky and the mountains are unavoidable personalities. Swaziland is a place of solace and introspection; a back door to its neighbours. And also a country and personality in its own right.





Manzini & Mbabane
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