Swaziland Continued

Hlane is the main game park in Swaziland and the only one where you can see Lion. We arrived around 5.30pm and to our delight we found the campsite empty. As we were putting up the tent we noticed that a White Rhino was grazing just outside the camp perimeter fence so we wandered over to get a better look.

There was not a soul around and we were amazed to find the camp gate was in fact open and the Rhino was slowly moving  towards it. It was unbelievable that here was what is probably the most closely guarded animal in Africa, which normally comes with electrified fences and armed guards, just mooching feet from us with no one around to protect it or us for that matter!  

It was one of those unexpected moments you get in Africa, just us, a couple of beers and a White Rhino mooching feet away. Luckily Rhino's have very poor eyesight relying on smell and sound so as we were downwind providing we kept quiet then we could enjoy the moment in relative safety. As it was he came right up to the open gate and then as if there was some hidden barrier slowly turned away and wandered off - magical!

The camp site at Hlane is not particularly brilliant and the water is a disgusting brown colour (we were thankful for our water filter here) but its great for birds (especially kingfishers) and the staff are very friendly. If you want to see the Lion you have to take a guide as they are locked away in a fenced enclosure.  We went to see them one morning but wished we hadn't as the pride we found looked in poor condition, with many scars probably from fighting over the small territory they have to live in.  

Nowadays sadly there are no wild lion left in Swaziland, we were told by one of the game scouts that the last one was shot in the 1960's South of Hlane. It seemed he used to lie in wait at a place called Hunters rock and ambush the game that came along but unfortunately the King at the time liked to sit there also and entertain his guests so he was chased South and eventually killed - but not before he had become very aggressive and killed quite a few people on the way!  We drove out to Hunters Rock and it was a lovely spot next to the river, we even found an old skull of a Wildebeest, maybe one of the old lads last victims?

That night we were woken at 3am by the Lions roaring away, they sounded so close that Sue was convinced for a while that someone had forgotten to lock the gate to their enclosure and visions of the Rhino came to mind!

That day we left Hlane and drove North to cross the border back into South Africa, just stopping en route at Simunye to do emails and website updates. We had really enjoyed Swaziland, the people had been very friendly, the parks better than expected, especially the walking trails and although it is a small country and in the shade of its larger neighbour it has a lot to offer the visitor - just a shame about the Lions though.

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