Back to the nature

This Saturday I joined a group of 2 other Finn girls and headed to Malolotja, beautiful protected Nature Reserve in the Western Swaziland, in order to do something I have never done before: extreme outdoor activity called Canopy Tour. Together with a lead guide and safety guide telling many stories about the rich fauna and flora, we had unique chance to glide through the forest canopy in one of the last mountain wilderness areas left in Swaziland. 2 and half hour Canopy Tour consisted of 11 elevated forest platforms, 10 slides and 50 metre long suspension bridge that crosses the Majolomba river.  We saw dramatic scenery encountered by striking rock formations, towering  cliff faces and views across the lush forest canopy towards the Malolotja mountain peaks. Malolotja has a wide variety of plants, mammals and bird life, including rare species such as the Forest Canary and Ground Woodpecker. Here's more info of the sport http://www.malolotjacanopytour.com/ 

After Canopy Tour, we headed up north in order to stay over night in Piggs Peak HhoHho region, where one of us is doing internship in an organization and homestead development programe called Vusumnotfo.  Vusumnotfo, whose SiSwati name means ''to restart the economy '', was founded in cooperation with traditional leaders in 1995. It envisions people empowered to improve their social and economic conditions on their own terms through sustainable methods such as savings and credit clubs, business training, and gardening. The aims are to build individual and organizational capacity so residents can identify and pursue their own development objectives then to assist progress by providing the technical land material support they ask for and increase community capacity and service delivery aimed at all children achieving ther physical, emotional, mental and social ECCD development milestones by a suitable age in its pre-schools. More info coming to this website soon http://www.vusumnotfo.org/ It was lovely to stay over night in the terrace under warm blankets surrounded by star ceiling (even mosquitoes and ants left us alone) and wake up together with the sun raise and roosters crowing to make a tour in the beautiful garden which was covered in mysterious darkness in previous day of arrival.

Sunday was a day of culture and art, with a visit to Yebo Art Gallery, Finnish Consulate and its restaurant and Cultural Village in Mantenga. Here you find more info about the art gallery http://yeboswaziland.com/ In cultural village me, my Danish roomies, Zakhele, Kevin and Barbara (nursing teacher and visitor from US building similar partnership than Diak has) learned some Swazi dances and songs and learned for instance that in traditional Swazi homestead the wifes had separate tents for cooking and bear-making, the girls tent was closest to the gate so that the enemy would be busy proposing the girls when trying to come surprize the habitants, the word of old grandparents was law and smoking marihuana revealed to men which direction to go hunting.