Beyond the border: South Africa's near neighbours

South Africa is well known as a holiday destination, but its neighbours Mozambique and Swaziland are less so. Penny Batchelor took a 4x4 jeep tour to cross South Africa’s borders and explore two very different neighbouring African countries

When the tarmac road changed to a dirt track after crossing the border from South Africa into Swaziland it was clear that in those few hundred metres we had entered into a very different country.

Here’s a place where a few vehicles share the road with cows and donkeys leisurely ambling across. Swaziland, at around the size of Wales, is the second smallest country in Africa (after The Gambia). Whilst it is relatively poor its friendly people hold education and its traditional culture in high esteem. English is taught in schools and is almost universally spoken, although a schoolteacher I met said that the government wants to move to teaching American English and use their exam system.

During our journey through the country I saw two different sides to daily life. The King is polygamous and has 14 wives, and some of his subjects still follow this traditional way of life. These Swazis live in congregations of little huts, including one for each wife, one for cooking and sleeping huts for children separated by gender.

The wives have to prepare a bed each night for the husband in case he decides to sleep there. If he’s feeling frisky he knocks five times on the floor to let his wife know his desires. They traditionally have wooden pillows (so the man won’t cover his ears when sleeping and will hear any invaders) and these can be used as a weapon to attack any invaders. The man sleeps nearest the door to protect the women and babies.

At the reed ceremony each year the King can choose a new wife. He chooses his wives with political motives, ensuring he includes the different communities in the country – and that they will all owe him allegiance.

At the yearly reed ceremony, unmarried virgins who choose to take part gather for the King to pick a new wife. It’s not just a cultural and political choice for the King himself – the women are interviewed and have virginity and HIV testing. Tragically, due to HIV a Swazi man’s average lifespan is 32 and a woman’s 34 to 35. 50 per cent of the population is HIV positive.

Many Swazis have abandoned polygamy and take just one spouse. They live a relatively Western lifestyle in flats and houses, particularly in the capital city of Mbabane or the town of Manzini. One town we drove past was enticingly called Piggs Peak. This was a place where gold was found and it was named after prospector Mr Pigg who married a neighbour’s daughter – Miss Hogg.

One of Swaziland’s main tourist attractions is, at 43,000 years old, the world’s most ancient mine. At Ngwenya mine Stone Age San people mined haematite for ochre, using it for personal decoration. I couldn’t walk up the steep hill to see it but there was an excellent, accessible visitor’s centre with a mini-museum and a fabulous example of Stone Age art. The guide told us all about the history of the area.

The next day, driving back over the border into South Africa, our 4x4 vehicle got a flat tyre. Our guide, Felicity, got the jack out to fix it, but by chance the regional manager of her tour company happened to drive past us and stop to help. We must have looked a sight to the local young schoolchildren walking home from a day at the chalk face.

I stayed in the car and began to realise that I was receiving as much attention as the tyre-changing shenanigans. Our guide explained that in local culture folks are scared of “little people” – I’m 4 feet tall – going back to legends such as goblins and elves and the like. For a joke she asked me to scare them so I made a roaring noise. I’m obviously not very frightening – they found this very amusing!

The Mozambique border teemed with life, proving to be much busier than its Swazi counterpart. As well as cars and trucks there were women crossing over, balancing large loads on their heads and clutching carrier bags in their hands. One entrepreneurial man carried three ironing boards over.

Our first destination was the capital, Maputo. It is home to what is called the most beautiful railway station in Africa. At over 100 years old, the bronze dome on the top of the station was designed by Gustave Eiffel, now more famous for his tower in Paris. Part of the Hollywood movie Black Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed in the city.

In the capital a house made of steel for a previous governor is now a museum. He wanted it built in steel as he was scared of wild animals (now long gone from the city) but in Mozambique’s hot climate the house proved too hot to live in.

Driving round the city I regularly saw physically disabled people including amputees using crutches and people using three-wheeled wheelchairs powered by a hand cycle. The civil war in Mozambique, lasting from 1977 to 1992, disabled many people caught up in the fighting.

We took the passenger and car ferry across an estuary to the other side of Maputo. Here the road turned into a dust track and we stopped by a tree to eat the Portuguese dish of piri-piri chicken and chips. Women and children walked alongside the edge of the road carrying water containers on their heads. Children as young as four are taught to play their part in going to the well to help fetch the family’s daily water.

Driving deeper into the countryside we passed land that had been a cooperative rice project shut down during the civil war. The fields near the river then grew over. The project is now starting up again on a small scale, providing food and a living for local people.

We made our way through a national park and looked out for wildlife, spotting birds and yet more cows. There are only a small number of elephants left in Mozambique. Many were killed for their ivory during the civil war. It’s not just an old wives’ tale that elephants have long memories - the remaining elephants won’t come near the road and are frightened of humans.

The last few miles to our hotel at Ponta Mamoli were off road. Ponta Mamoli is a magical, small resort on the Indian Ocean. Accommodation is in wooden one-roomed chalets with a large, crisp, white, mosquito-netted bed, a shower and a loo separated from the bedroom by a curtain. Outside is a decking area complete with hammock overlooking the ocean.

Ponta Mamoli is not specifically a disability hotel but has lots of ramps and I found it very accessible. During my stay there was a wheelchair-using guest, although the resort is so quiet we only tended to come across other people at meal times when we sat down to a delicious three-course European meal with a hint of a Portuguese accent.

After all the travelling I relaxed in the warm outdoor pool which, amazingly, I had all to myself. The resort is owned by Mozambique and building work is going on to turn it into a five-star establishment. Sadly our chalet will be knocked down to make way for something swisher, and probably more expensive.

As the country continues its recovery from the civil war it is turning to tourism as a major economic driver.

I, for one, would love to return.

How to get there:

Penny took a Virgin Holidays package trip flying to Kruger Airport in South Africa via Johannesburg, then visiting Mozambique and Swaziland on a 4x4 jeep tour. The Over the Borders tour can also be booked separately through Thompson Tours in South Africa.