Our new life in yet another Country! ~Eswatini~ (Swaziland) June/July 2025

The countdown had begun...the last few days were a bit of a blur. We had to get our house 'Airbnb ready' and pack to drive to our temporary life in Swaziland- with no idea what to expect.

As we were packing up my meniscus dislocated and I had to finish the packing on crutches. There's no good time for that but really!!?? So the drive was pretty painful because if my leg is bent it gets incredibly stiff, and the brace that keeps it straight is not very comfortable at the best of times let alone in a car (with FOUR kids!) Still wrapping my head around that one! 

We ended up only leaving at 5pm even though we had planned to leave by 12! It worked out well though, we got the kids dinner from Macdonalds (don't judge!) and set off, Joel fell asleep at 6 and slept for the whole trip, Lils fell asleep after 7 and Lou fell asleep at around 8. We arrived in Bloem close to midnight and had a cosy nights rest in a little farm cottage. 

The next morning we set off at around 8:30 and then stopped for a quick lunch at Wimpy (don't judge!). After lunch Joel fell asleep and he only woke up again when we reached the border at around 4:30!! From the border it only took an hour and if you ever want to go through a border without being hassled- pick Swaziland!! It took us about 20 minutes from start to finish with absolutely no issues. Never have I ever! We didn't even have to show any car papers. What a pleasure!

We arrived at our airBnb by 6pm, detached the trailer and found the closest KFC for dinner (don't judge). The house is great, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, GREAT host who lives next door, crisp bedding, a little garden. We had finally arrived!

We started to explore pretty quickly, managed to line up a meeting with the principal of a little farm school that had opened up close by as an alternative to having to send the kids on a bus every day to the bigger international school. The little school we visited couldn't have been a more perfect fit. There are only around 60 kids so each class has 6 or so kids, everyone is lovely and friendly- amazing teachers, sweet environment, great friends...so we tried to get them in ASAP because they had already been on holiday for 3 months. We also discovered the sweetest little farm down the road- Nyanza. My kids fell in love with it instantly and even started horse riding lessons a few days after we had arrived!

Joel loves the animals and sat fearlessly on a horse!

There are also Jersey cows that are milked twice a day, so many things remind me of my best childhood memories from Zimbabwe. 

We explored a little park called Milwane on the weekend, it is only 10 mins from our house and just beautiful! We found this little pool that comes from a hot spring so the water is warm. There were some big crocs up the road but luckily the pool is crystal clear so they wouldn't be able to hide in there. The kids enjoyed swimming next to the 'DANGER crocodiles' sign though.

At the camp there is a fire that had been burning for 60 years!

We also found a grand old hotel called Forester arms, where we stopped in for a delicious buffet breakfast. There was a lovely view, great jungle gym and even a zipline for the kids to play on. After our breakfast, we went for a nice little walk. It reminded me a lot of Nyanga, where my moms parents lived.

For Joel's birthday, we decided to book a pony ride for him. He adores the horses and has no fear at all despite being calm and cautious in demeanor! I guess there is just something special about horses.

Happy birthday big boy!

We went on another day trip to Hlane National Park, all the animals come to drink at the dam right in front of the camp, so we actually didn't even need to go for a game drive! The best part is the rhino's that walk past so close to you, in all their majesty.

The rhino's, just lying down in front of camp. There was a pitiful little fence between them and the camp, but just so awesome to experience.

We had to move out of our Airbnb for a week because they had a couple of bookings lined up when we moved in and so we decided to move to Nyanza for the week. The kids were thrilled.

The staff all love the kids and get them involved with the daily tasks. Lils likes to help with taking the horses temperatures, and Joel likes to feed the chickens. They all enjoy giving the calves their milk and walking the horses to the paddocks to graze. It was so lovely to stay there in a safe farm environment. I hardly even saw them!

On the last weekend of the month there is a 5km/10km fun ride/run. The kids did so well that they each won a free breakfast.

Morning snuggles with 4 kids means that the adults end up getting pushed out haha!

Ollie discovered that sticking his tongue out gets attention. Sweet baby!

Joel is a busy 2 year old but he has a very high emotional maturity. He came to me the other day and asked 'Mommy, you ok?'. He is such a little sweet heart. I cant describe the love that I have for each of my kiddo's. They have adjusted so well and they just get on with life and take each day as it comes. It challenges me to be more 'childlike' in trusting Gods plan and not allowing the uncertainty to paralyze me. Look at how He has provided for us so undeniably in each move we have had to make. My heart is filled with gratitude.