The “company towns” of Simunye, Mhlume, Tshaneni and big bend have expanded considerably over the years with the development of the vast sugar estates there, which between them employ several thousand people. They all offer various amenities that include social clubs, which also offer accommodation, as well as shopping facilities and various sports, including golf. There is a par-three nine-hole course at Simunye and a more challenging nine-hole facility at Mananga.
Driving north from the Lavumisa border is the Riverside Restaurant and Hotel in the Riverside Complex at Big Bend, a convenient and pleasant stop in the area for an overnight stay or just a meal and a browse in the curio shop.
Mananga Country Lodge offers a delightful ambience on the golf course and is secured with gates and fencing to protect the game that roams within the grounds. There is an excellent restaurant and accommodation is available at the nearby guest house, which is adjacent to the sixth tee. Mananga Country Lodge has a fully equipped houseboat that sleeps up to four and has its own motor boat for fishing, as well as a sunset cruiser for up to 20 people. To the far north of Lubombo near the Lomahasha borer is the community run Shewula Mountain Camp. Here visitors may stay with Swazi people in hutted accommodation and experience for themselves the local lifestyle and culture, while absorbing the country’s unique beauty. This community-run project is one of Swaziland’s most popular tourism venues and is a fine example of ecotourism.
The Sugarcane Museum shows how Swaziland sugarcane is produced, milled and sold. The new museum blends wall panels, touchscreen computers, showing short video clips and vintage machinery, to inform and entertain visitors. See how geology and climate combine, creating ideal conditions for growing sugarcane in Swaziland. There are also displays on how sugar originated thousands of years ago and then spread worldwide, as well as the history of the industry in Swaziland. Displays show how the sugarcane industry is transforming and uplifting smallholder rural farmers though innovative farmer companies. There is a century-old steam engine and other vintage agricultural machinery.
The Swaziland Sugarcane Museum was established by the European Union in the heart of the sugar-belt at Tambankulu Sugar Estate near Simunye. It was opened on August 21, 2017, by the right honourable Prime Minister of Swaziland, Dr. Barnabus Sibusiso Dlamini.
