After spending so many nights and days outdoors in the desert under the blue skys and stars, it felt weird being in such an artificial environment as Sun City. Hundreds of one arm bandits and roulette tables, people being hypnotised by the flashing lights of the machines. We didn't stay long and seeing as we had 2-3 weeks to spare we decided to head to Mozambique to get a sense of "real" southern Africa.
The reason we had come to South Africa became apparent as soon as we reached the South African Mozambique border. The queues were long and no real systems were in place. As soon as we started driving to the capital, Maputo, we were flagged down by the police. After carefully searching our documents to find a way of receiving a juicy bribe, he hesitantly let us go.
Maputo was an interesting experience and the rough and ready atmosphere was found everywhere, the feeling that is not as wide spread in South Africa. Not much can be said about the capital. Finding the hotel was a challenge due to the absence of road signs. Beggars were few, but when one approached us Sheetal asked for money from the kid just to be cheeky and he actually gave what he had!
The street sellers were great in that the freshest loaf of bread could be bought for less than 5 pence, and a whole array of tropical fruit could be bought cheaply.
Due to bad roads, bad weather and hassle from the police we decided not to stay in Mozambique any longer and headed back to a few of our favourite spots where we had not spent enough time in in South Africa. We headed back to Swaziland, that circle of a country surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique.
This time we stayed in another National Park called Royal Hlane. We didn't expect to see any animals, we were just looking for a place to camp as we had driven all the way from Mozambique. Yet the one animal that we had not see in all of the safaris we had been on and the one Sheetal wanted to see (one of the big 5) came to us in Royal Hlane. Sitting by the watering hole, eating juicy mangoes from Mozambique, one by one the whole family of rhinos came the drink along with ostriches and elephants. The sight of these just a few meters from where we were sitting was absolutely awe-inspiring. A huge ostrich planted itself where we were camping and Sheetal thought it was going to make a nest there.
As we were observing the beautiful african wildlife we were approached by a very friendly man who introduced himself to us as Kanubhai Sharma. Meeting other Gujaratis in Swaziland is a very rare experience for Gujaratis residing here and he kindly invited us over to where he was relaxing with his family. We gratefully accepted and it was nice to talk with people with thom we felt so at home with, as if we were talking to our own uncles, cousins, aunts etc. It was a feeling we had not felt for a long time and the time spent talking about our travels, life in Swaziland and South Africa was brilliant.
After spending an enjoyable afternoon with the Sharmas, they invited us over to their house for dinner. As Dr Sharma had travelled extensively during the 80's, he knew how it felt to be away from home for so long. Although we felt uneasy imposing on people who were indeed strangers to us, we were unable to decline an offer so warmly and heartily given. Several people during our travels, particularly in Pakistan, invited us to dinner, but as Kanubhai himself said "Jya Gujarati thya Gujarat".
So we went for dinner the following evening, and it was extremely pleasant experiencing the lifestyle of the Sharmas in Swaziland and sharing stories through the evening. Discovering that one of the daughter-in-laws of the family, whose name is also Sheetal, was related to me through my mum was a huge coincidence and very suprising! The meal was delicious, and we were treated to a variety of dishes we had missed for a long time.
The evening passed by quickly and although we assumed that we would be heading back to our tent (it was raining heavily that night), the Sharmas very generously arranged hotel accomodation in the finest hotel in Swaziland for us. We were speechless and couldn't thank them enough. After a blast on Anish's 600cc quadbike we left for the Royal Swazi Sun hotel and stayed up as late as our eyes would allow us to appreciate this rare treat.
We then headed to the Kraal, a campsite in the middle of nowhere on a cliff overlooking the beach. The rolling hills looking over the turquoise crashing waves was spectacular and photographs do not do it justice. The free loan of bodyboards was a huge bonus and we didn't waste any time taking up the opportunity. Swimming out as far as it was safe we allowed the contours of the huge waves to take us back to shore, and then swam out again to get more! This was a remarkably fun experience and a must do for all.
With 10 days to spare and being exhausted from continous travel, Sheetal discovered a fantastic chalet overlooking Banana beach. Having some indoor creature comforts was sweet and jumping in and out of the biggest waves we had ever experienced was awesome.
South Africa and Namibia were so different yet equally amazing. The native South Africans are very friendly and many are living in poverty. They keep the country running more or less like clockwork and do not get the thanks that they deserve. Every cent they receive is greatly appreciated unlike the ungrateful individuals we have encountered in India. The respect they showed to us was huge and most of the people we met were very hardworking despite their post apartheid predicament. We had a fantastic time in these countries and were really pleased we had made the very abrupt decision to visit them.
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