Day 9 10/20/10

Today day started early with a hearty breakfast at the Ardmore Guest House. We checked out the weaver shop and believe it or not wound up purchasing Christmas ornaments. We wanted to be sure to have enough time to see a few area sights and still have time to make it to The Kingdom of Swaziland before dark, and I am glad we did. On route to Swaziland we stopped off at Monks Cowl to take some pictures of Champagne Castle which is a mountain in the central Drakensbergs. It seems that at every tourist spot there are local craftsman. At this stop there was a gentleman selling hand crafted clay animals which are sun baked to dry. Will and I bought a giraffe and a rhinoceros. Even though we have a GPS we are quickly finding out what it means to be in the boonies as our GPS is having difficulties keeping a satellite connection, go figure. After taking a few pictures of the mountain we continued on our journey to Swaziland. We stopped off at what at first glance to be another local craft center the Thokozisia Lifestyle Center. We quickly realized that it was more a boutique center in some ways like Disney theme park shops. There were however a very large colony of weaver birds which were weaving their nests, almost like a Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom moment unfolding before our eyes. After leaving the shopping center we pretty much kept to driving stopping for gas and what seemed like the longest road improvement project in the world along the way. Will actually let me drive a bit. If he had hair it would be gray. LOL The first thing that happens is as I am watching a woman cross the street someone opens a their car door, Will’s first clutch the pearls moment. The driving went well for quite a few kilometers until while driving I swerved to miss one dog crossing the road when another one came out of nowhere and I swerved to miss hitting it, that was clutch the peals moment two. Back to driving minding my own business when while passing someone they decide to speed up and over the hill a car is coming at us both. Will took over driving after that! I really did a good job considering people drive like maniacs here and animals and people make for Frogger like driving conditions. We are both safe and Will didn’t have to change his underwear! Crossing the boarder into Swaziland was uneventful which is always a relief. After a few more loss of satellite (LOS) the GPS guided us safely to the Mlilwane Wilde Life Sanctuary. When we checked in we were told that since our rondavel was so far from reception and the restaurant it was advisable that to avoid the hippopotami which come out at night we drive to dinner or the bar after dark and remain in our room when we return. Though the booklet in the room says that there has never been an incident with the hippos I don’t want to make history and be the first. The park is beautiful and driving in we have already seen, impala, kudu, ostriches, warthogs, blue wildebeest and vervet monkeys. Dinners are served buffet style in an open air restaurant. Tonight I tried gemsbok for the first time, it tasted like deer, go figure not chicken this time! LOL You know because everything seems to taste like chicken. Our rondavel is a self serve with a kitchenette overlooking the valley and the mountains. I cannot wait to wake up to enjoy the view while having a cup of tea tomorrow morning. We will be here three nights and plan to not only see the park but also explore the craft centers outside the park.