Zip lining at Malolotja Nature Reserve

January 8, 2017

Zip lining at Malolotja

We went to Malolotja Nature Reserve to see if the Canopy Tour would happen in the rain. The tour was on and there were with 6 physicians assistant candidates from Kentucky who went on the tour with us. They were in Swaziland doing a clinical rotation at a local hospital and were surprised to learn that I also went to graduate school at The Univeristy of Kentucky 

Our guide told us that the tour will go in any weather if the visitors are willing. In the winter, he says there is sometimes a thin layer of ice in the morning on a bucket of water left outside. He said he has never seen snow, however, except in the movie "Home Alone" (1).

The tour has 10 zip lines over the Majolombo river canyon plus a suspension bridge. I think the scariest parts of the canopy tour were the platforms (with no railings) screwed into the rock on the sides of the canyon. The whole tour was a blast. (Official overview video here: https://youtube/ps_jUttg50Y).

After ziplining, we had planned to visit the Nsangwini rock art site (2) and spend the night at Bulembu Lodge (3) with a hike to the top of Mount Emlembe (Swaziland's highest peak). Both of these places are at the end of long dirt roads, which we were advised against driving down due to the recent rains. So, we returned to South Africa instead and spent the night in Witbank.

(1) The only place you're likely to see snow in Africa is the High Drakensburg mountains in Lesotho, where there is actually a ski area called Afriski. Wool Basotho blankets are an important part of Lesotho culture and are worn wrapped around the body for warmth.

(2) There are cave paintings located here dating back 4,000 years.

(3) There was an asbestos mine at Bulembu until the early 1980s. After the mine closed, the town was abandoned. Subsequently, the town was made into an orphanage for Swazi children whose parents had died of AIDS. Staying at the Lodge helps to support the activities of the orphanage.