Come Face To Face With Wild Animals At Milwane Wildlife Sanctuary

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Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary is Swaziland’s oldest Game Park and pioneer conservation area. Created in the 1950s by well-known Swazilander Tedd Reilly, the sanctuary was set up on Reilly’s farm to conserve Swaziland's natural heritage.

Mlilwane means “Little Fire”, so-called because of the numerous fires that appear where lightning strikes the reserve’s granite mountains. The 4,560 hectare reserve is Swaziland’s most visited and contains mostly herbivorous wildlife including antelope, warthog, giraffe and zebra but crocodiles and hippopotamus can also be spotted. The Hippo Haunt Restaurant is the perfect vantage point to watch the enormous animals emerge from the pond in the afternoon to be fed.

Game may be viewed along Mlilwane’s 100km of roads, but walking, horseback and mountain biking trails led by knowledgeable guides are available for the more adventurous. The reserve has diverse habitats, from open grassland plains to the striking Nyonyane Mountain with its exposed granite peak known as the "Rock of Execution".

Mlilwane is a short drive from Mbabane in the Ezulwini Valley or “Valley of Heaven”. You’ll soon see why the valley has been given this name, the sweeping views as far as the Lebombo Mountains on the border of Mozambique are quite spectacular.