The Kingdom of Eswatini is a land-locked country to the east of South Africa.
The name of the country is now officially eSwatini, and this is a reflection of the literal translation of the country’s name in Swazi language. ‘Swaziland’ is a name used by colonisers and was not chosen by the country itself, therefore really, it should be referred to as ‘eSwatini’. The King of eSwatini chose the name personally, and wishes it to be used officially.
Interestingly though, in the country itself, the name ‘eSwatini’ is rarely used and almost all of the local people still refer to themselves in English as ‘Swazi’ and to their country as ‘Swaziland’. We even asked several people which they preferred and they all said ‘Swaziland’.
It is almost entirely surrounded by the larger country, but also shares a border with Mozambique. I visited Eswatini as a extra exursion during my Mozambique trip. My first plan was to visit Maputo National Park in Mozambique. But if, like me, you don’t have your own transport, it’s the easiest way to see some of Africa Wildlife is to take a game drive in Hlane NP in Eswatini. If you’re renting a car, you can just drive there and pay your $25 for a game drive, along with the $3 entrance fee, and head back again or stay the night.
Swaziland, it’s a beautiful country full of friendly locals.
Hlane Royal National Park. It’s incredibly inexpensive compared to the cost of drives in its neighbouring countries, and as a bonus, you’ll most likely have the entire car to yourself.
The park constitutes the largest groups of big games in Swaziland, including lions, leopards, elephants, white rhino, as well as an astonishing birdlife including the highest density of nesting white-backed vultures in Africa. Other large mammals in the park include giraffe, hippo, zebra, marabou stork and antelope.
