Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary

I love everything about Mlilwane, but I’m completely biased – I lived there for about 4 years in a beautiful thatched house in the middle of the African bush with the owner’s daughters. I worked on the park for my last year and a half in Africa before I moved to the States. It’s a small intimate wildlife reserve nestled in the heart of Ezulwini (Valley of Heaven). If you go, you’ll see small game, and beautiful scenery. And you’ll relax.

There’s a lovely restaurant called the Hippo Haunt with huge glass screens built over a dam in the main camp, where you can watch the hippos and crocs and birds as you sip a cold one and chat with the locals. The staff are lovely too.