Hiking 101

I needed it. It’s not that I’ve never hiked before (a two-week trip to Colorado in high school, more than a few trips up Humpback Rock during college, jungle treks during my year abroad before b-school), but it sure has been a while since I took a good long hike. Thus, my first performance in Swaziland was admittedly less than stellar.

A big group of expats had been out on Friday night, at a benefit concert at House on Fire (a cool music venue--think House of Blues, but in the middle of fields and mountains in the valley outside Mbabane). I probably did not return home until 2am, so when a 9am wake-up call for a hike the following (ahem, later that) day was proposed. Me? On a Saturday?? Seemed highly unlikely, but I managed to drag myself out of bed. A group of 6 of us started out from the backyard of one expat’s house (one which put my darling little cottage to shame—the places here are lovely and have the views to match), which sits just opposite Sibebe, the largest exposed granite rock in the world. We trekked some yellowed grassy fields towards the mountains strewn with boulders, rising out of the ash and soot of grasses burned by the clearing of winter grasses. The air was thick with dust and ash kicked up as we maneuvered up the slope. That and the altitude got the best of me, and just 15 minutes later, I was huffing and puffing, and very much bringing up the rear of the group.

But about an hour later (for me, perhaps 15 minutes behind most of the others), I reached the boulders perch on top of the mountain, and took in a 360 degree view. Completely worth it. After a few photo shoots (Exhibit A):

And snacks, water, and chatting, we made our way back down the slope (much easier!) and walked through the fields past a small series of waterfalls and pools (a must-return once summer fully arrives!).

I felt a bit sore that night, but decided to fight fire with fire. I was up at 9am Sunday morning, this time for a hike in Malolotja—a nature reserve an hour NW of Mbabane. The views were spectacular, and I was assured that they would only be more so in the coming months thanks to summertime. We set out on a trail in search of a large waterfall, and trekking down some boulder-filled mountains and across a small river, promptly lost any trace of a trail. Thus we spent the next one or two hours scrambling through dry and thorny brush, trying to get sure footing on the rocks. We finally arrived at an outcropping that looked out over a waterfall far below. After a snack break, we continued around the mountain to the other side for an even more death-defying view. There were four of us hiking, and I was still lagging towards the back, but it still felt a whole lot better than the day before. On the way back, we spotted more of a trail and ended up returning towards the car much faster than our way out. However, there was still what looked like a wall of small boulders on the final mountainside. The day concluded with a stop at the main lodge for some well-deserved beers matched by a peaceful and stunning view.