Mbabane to Pigg’s Peak and Ngonini: Distance 99km. Add 36km for the Bulembu option. Rood, in which case high clearance or 4×4 is recommended. From Mbabane, this route follows the highway to the Ngwenya border then turns right at Motshane, passing the Hawane Dam to the right. At Malotja Nature Reserve, is the Tree Top Canopy Tour which offers a unique experience as participants glide above the area. This is one of the finest scenic routes in Swaziland, taking the traveler along a winding tarred rood fringed by spectacular mountain scenery that is interspersed with gorges and waterfalls.
Stop and buy a souvenir at one of the many craft stalls along the roadside and watch cheerful young boys and girls dressed in banana leaves dancing to the beat of a drum (tips appreciated!). Towards the northern edge of the historic town of Pigg’s Peak a gravel road to the left provides a scenic diversion to Bulembu and the site of the defunct asbestos mine. This winding route may be awkward in wet weather. The area has been developed as a tourist attraction with charming accommodation available at the renovated mine village house known as Bulembu Country Lodge. Various community projects include the creation of handcrafts for tarring but commencement of work is yet to take place.
About 10km north of Pigg’s Peak is the Phophonyane Nature Reserve, where visitors may enjoy yet more Spectacular Mountain and riverine scenery, waterfalls and walking trails, as well as view small mammals and 230 bird species. At the nearby Peak Craft Centre, just after the Orion Hotel, area quality craft shops continue north through yet more awesome scenery towards Ngonini, one Matsamo/Jeppes Reef Border post, which is close to the Kruger National Park, in South Afirca, then travel through Kruger National Park to Johannesburg and the Cradle of Human/Man kind.
