Manzini is not a place which caters for the tourists and this is because it is much more of a business Centre. Most tourists normally visit the nearby cities of Mbabane and Ezulwini valley and just come to Mazini for just shopping making it a stopping Centre for tourists who want to shop or increase on their supplies before continuing to the rest of the country. Although it is more of a business Centre, there are hotels where you can spend the night and the food can be got from the different restaurants located around the city and the different fast foods. The best day to visit Manzini is Thursday when the market is in full gear. The Manzini market has all kinds of merchandise from art crafts, food stuffs, clothes, medicine that is used to treat different ailments, pottery products and many more other things that you will find in the Manzini market.
Getting around Manzini
Manzini is a small city which makes it easy for tourists to get around. You can use taxis, buses or mini buses although the best would be taxis. There are also a few places where you can walk but this is in the downtown areas. Taxis can be got at any street and although they are a bit expensive, they are much better than the public transport which is cheap and overcrowded.
Things to do in Manzini
Manzini does not have a lot of tourist attractions which means that there are also a few activities that you can engage in some of which include:
Shopping in the Manzini market
This is considered to be one of the largest markets in the country as it collects locals from the different regions around Eswatini and these sell off the different products that they have. The market is always busy on Thursdays and always crowded and therefore you should be extremely careful with your property in order to avoid pickpockets. Some of the products that you can get from the market as souvenirs include traditional clothes made in different bright colors, art crafts like baskets, pottery products, and beaded jewelry, all types of fresh food, fruits and vegetables.
Explore the Myxo’s village
The Myxo village is located within Manzini and is the best place for tourists who want to experience the unique Eswatini culture. Myxo village was set up for cultural purposes and tourists can always stay in the village with the locals as they learn more about their culture by participating in the different activities that the locals do like fetching firewood, enjoying the folk songs and the dances that are always performed by the locals as a welcome to the tourists. It is also a chance to get a good taste of the local Swazi food that is prepared by the locals. The Myxo village is filled with grass thatched houses and you will find that most of these grass thatched huts have no electricity but that does not mean that you will not enjoy your stay while here. There are several families that you can stay with and the beauty about homestead visiting in Myxo is that all the locals who stay here are welcoming and you do not need to worry about any stigma against you.
Besides the few things that you can carry out while in Manzini, there are various tourist attractions that are located within a close vicinity of the Manzini city and these are found in the Mbabane and Ezulwini valley which surround Manzini and one of the attractions that you should definitely look out for while in Manzini is the Malolotja Game reserve.
Explore the Malolotja Game reserve
Located not so far away from Manzini, the Malolotja game reserve is a place where you are going to have unlimited fun. It is a home to a wide variety of wildlife some of which includes the red hartebeest, Zebras, lizards, monkeys and a large number of bird species.
- Hiking in the Malolotja Game Reserve
There are two trails that you can use for hiking when you get to Malolotja where one is a 5km and the other is a 3km hike route.
The 3km hike trail, this is the shorter route but the hardest to take due to the fact that it is a steep. The trail begins at the Logwadja and ends up in the Malolotja valley and even though the trail is a bit hard to go by, the views that you will find along the way are reward enough and these are the Malolotja River and the Malolotja waterfalls.
The 5km hike trail, also known as the Majolomba trail this is the longer route it is quite easy to hike as it does not involve a lot of climbing. It will start at the Malolotja picnic site take you through the valley to the Malolotja stream before bringing you back to the picnic site. There are two parts to this hike and these are, the first phase will take you to the valley after leaving the picnic site and mid-way through this trek you will hike up a little bit to the Northern side of the Resreve and while here you will have some of the best views that the Majolomba valley and you will be able to take photographs of the beautiful landscape below. The second phase will take you to the other side of the Majolomba valley before bringing you back to the picnic site.
Zip lining in Malolotja
This is one of the activities that you can participate in when you get to the Malolotja Game reserve. You do not need to have a lot of experience in order to go for zip lining but you will need to listen to the instructions that will be given to you by the tour guide while still in the cable car. For all the tourists that are so afraid of heights, this is your chance to test your phobia because you will have protective gear on you all throughout the zip lining. You will start with the shorter zip lines before advancing to the longer ones which increase on your fun and do not leave that camera behind as you head out for zip lining in Malolotja.
Manzini might not have a lot to offer to tourists but it is the right place in the city Centre where you can refill your supplies and also to rest after exploring the neighboring cities. If not to shop at least to rest a little bit before continuing with the rest of your exploration around the country.
