MBABNE (Eswatini, formerly Swaziland)
11 December - 12 December 2017
11 December - 12 December 2017
When we arrived in Eswatini it was known as Swaziland, so in actual fact, we went to Swaziland. Why you ask?
Because we could!
A 3.5hr drive east of Johannesburg and you arrive at the frontier of a relatively unknown landlocked country, Eswatini. Being a British protectorate for a number of years, it regained its independence in 1968. Knowing absolutely nothing about the country we thought that we might as well go find out a little bit about it on our own.
Literally the only photo we took of Mbabne - Eswatini
This was taken near our hotel, so practically this photo is meaningless.
As a city, in all honesty, Mbabne is highly unremarkable. With a population just under 95,000 it would rank 20th on the list of largest cities in Australia, if of course it could be included on that list, but hey, anything can happen these days. With Australia in its 5th year in Eurovision and Japan constantly playing in the Copa America, why can't we adopt little Mbabne as our very own!? If we did it would nicelty sit between Bendigo (97,000) and Albury-Wadonga (91,000). Something to think about (or not).
Sitting on the Mbabne river and supported by the Mdzimba mountains, what Mbabne lacks in lustre and spark it kind of makes up for in aesthetic beauty. The mountains surrounding the town are quite appealing and I could easily imagine undertaking a few hikes in the area, with a bit more time to spare of course.
Still, Mbabne in Eswatini, whilst you're nothing more than an also-ran in the endless list of cities and towns on this planet, you are in fact a capital city, and that in itself can distinguish you into an elite group. Not even New York, Sydney or Rio de Janeiro can claim that.
