The 23rd to the 25th February 2018 sees the return of the Swazi Xfest to the kayaking calendar. This year’s event will seek to optimise on water levels in both the Great Usutu (Lusutfu) catchment and the Komati River catchment. For this reason the get together will be based centrally in the Ezulwini Valley at …
Hip-hip-hooray! After a short break in May and June 2016, our white-water rafting in Swaziland is again open on the Great Usutu River. We are offering half-day and full-day combo trips from Tuesday to Saturday with guaranteed water releases from hydroelectric power generation ensuring that the river is flowing at a gentle but fun level. …
The opening and closing hours of Swaziland’s Oshoek Ngwenya border post have been changed fairly recently. As there is still a lot of old information lurking on the internet, please be aware that the Oshoek-Ngwenya border post now opens at 07h00 in the morning and closes at 00h00 midnight. [update April 2017: it was announced …
Opening hours for Oshoek Ngwenya Border to Swaziland Read More »
Swazi Trails is stoked to announce that we’ve opened a brand new white-water rafting stretch on Swaziland’s Komati River. Rafting the Komati in the northern Hhohho region is now a reality for adventure travellers with the trips taking place immediately downstream of Maguga Dam. For the past 25 years, white-water rafting has been concentrated on …
Rafting the Komati River – new adventure activity Read More »
Drinking and driving is a scourge that we would be very happy to see totally eradicated from our roads in Swaziland. It is estimated that as much as 50% of all road accidents are caused by abuse of alcohol, so its really a no-brainer that a major change in attitudes is required… and some committed …
The Great Usutu River hosted two legs of Expedition Africa Swaziland 2015 – a canoeing leg – which was undertaken in sit-on-top plastic canoes and a white-water rafting section managed by Swazi Trails. The river itself was running at a low level due to the onset of drought in Swaziland, with competitors being hard pressed …
Day 2 of Expedition Africa 2015 saw competitors in this 500km adventure race arriving at Swaziland’s Gobholo Caves. Believed to be possibly the largest granite cave system in the world, the Gobholo Caves remain 95% unexplored. To avoid competitors getting lost in the labyrinth of underground passages, Swazi Trails prepared a special marked route with …
Swaziland celebrates a number of public holidays each year and whilst these do not affect the tourism industry much, as we operate 365 days a year, they are worth noting by travellers for the impacts they might have. Important issues to keep an eye on are whether all shops will be closed or not. On …
We were reminded this past week that Africa is a wild place when one of our white-water rafting trips on the Great Usutu River was disturbed by a stray hippo. On Saturday the 31st January 2015, one of our guests was hospitalized with bite wounds to the upper leg after being toppled from his raft by …
Is there Ebola in Swaziland? Simple answer – “no!”. We are most fortunate to be very far from the area of the current epidemic. However, as Africa is often perceived to be one place by travellers who are unexposed to the vast nature of the African continent and because Ebola is fast becoming a major …