Deane's 2009 Motorcycle Trip
South Africa
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Deane's 2009 Motorcycle Trip South Africa |
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Nov 11, - Hazyview to Swaziland Day 5 - 290 Km (180) Miles |
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Today we rode into the country of Swaziland. This is a very small country, with its own King, and is completely surrounded by the country of South Africa. Getting through the border crossing between South Africa and Swaziland was interesting. First one had to show a passport to show going out of South Africa, and get a visa type of paper - these were just rubber stamps (literally). Then one goes over to the Swaziland side and first get a visa there, and give license plates for the bikes - more paper. Then line up for customs, which amounted to paying 50 Rand (about $7-$8) of the local currency for a "road tax". Lots more paper generated, with reams to be stamped Swaziland presented a somewhat different view of Africa, in that the land is quite mountainous, with really steep land that can't be used with typical farming. So it has quite a bit of tree farming, along with some sugar cane. It is very rural and probably of low income, though not real poverty. Just for a little sidelight, kids were going home from school and for the most part they had school uniforms. They looked quite nice. On the way, we stopped at a glass blowing factory, and were interested in the number of people that made up a team to produce the glass figures, vases, bowls, etc. It appeared that there were about 20 people on an assembly line system, with each operation quite quickly done with good discipline. Finally we came to our night's lodging, which is in tents, raised off the ground for wooden floors, and canvas sides with mosquito netting over the doors. The tour includes this as a cultural visit to the Swazi people of that area, and we think we will have a dance and music cultural event. Should be fun and interesting. (No Photos because of the loss of the camera.) |
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