A Long Birthday Weekend in Swaziland Part 2-Mlilwane

In my previous post I wrote about the first part of our trip to Swaziland and our stay at Hlane. Our last 2 nights were spent at a different park, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary located a little more than an hour from Hlane. In part 1 I mentioned that the original plan was to spend all 3 nights at Mlilwane however when we called to finalize our booking, we were told that the camp was booked out for the first night for a private function. When we arrived at Mlilwane we discovered that this private function was in fact a celebration of 50 years of conservation in Swaziland with the King of Swaziland in attendance to unveil a commemorative statue. I wonder how many people can say they got bumped because of a King and on their birthday no less, haha.

ImpalaImpala grazing in Mlilwane Camp

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A Long Birthday Weekend in Swaziland Part 1-Hlane

It is somewhat of a tradition for my birthday (July 11th if anyone is taking notes) that instead of lavish gifts, we try and celebrate by taking a trip somewhere, long or short, whatever we can manage that year. When we lived in Europe, as my birthday was smack in the middle of summer, this usually meant some time spent on a beach. Greece, the Amalfi Coast, Croatia… just some of the fabulous places I have spent my birthday. This being the very first year I would be spending my birthday in Africa (and in winter now to boot!) I absolutely wanted to keep with our tradition and sneak in a little birthday excursion.

Hlane ReceptionHlane National Park Reception

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An Artsy Afternoon at the Turbine Art Fair

The 2nd annual Turbine Art Fair was held from July 17-20 2014. This was a fantastic opportunity to view the talented work of a selection of South Africa’s top emerging artists. One of the emphases of the fair was accessibility of the artwork and for those attendees looking to add to their art collections or to get one started, all items were priced under 30,000 ZAR.

Turbine HallTurbine Hall

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