Last of the travels through South Africa and Swaziland

From Durban we went did a short drive to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi National Park for the first experience with going on Safari. Entering the park we were immediately greeted by some Zebra and Giraffes. It was a great sign of things to come.

That evening we went on a night safari which was cold. We saw early on a bunch of animals, in particular a bunch of elephants and a hyeana. Then we ended up driving around for awhile and it got really cold but were rewarded with my first sighting of a leopard right by the road which was exciting to see.


The next morning we did a self-drive around the park and ended up seeing a bunch more of elephant feeding by the road and also encountered some a spooked elephant herd that crossed the road frantically in front of us. One of the elephants stood behind and made sure everyone was safe before marching off. It was interesting to see.

After that we drove into Swaziland. The border was a bit of a mess but crossing over it was clear that Swaziland was a more relaxed place than South Africa. People constantly waved at the car as it passed by, which never happened in RSA. The place we stayed in Mbabane was a cool place with a great hike up the mountain behind it. From there you could see for miles around at sunset and it was a amazing site to see.

The next day we went to a wildlife sanctuary in Swaziland but a good portion of the park was closed down because they were having a dirt bike race through the park. It was an interesting sight to see. On one side would be a bunch of impala and then next to it would be several people biking past.

After that we crossed the border into South Africa and made our way to Barberton. It’s a sleepy small town, with a nice small town vibe. It was a mining boom town , where the boom was brief but left a lasting impact. It was interesting to see the old buildings and to do a quick drive into the mountains south of town to see some amazing views.

From there we went to safari right next to Kruger but I am going to update that post on my photojournalism blog http://www.douglaszimmerman.blogspot.com/ where you can see all the (stock) wildlife photos I took at Sabi Sands as well as posts about the World Cup as well.