Land-locked Swaziland has Mozambique on its eastern border, with South Africa to the north, south and west. It is visibly much poorer than South Africa; most of the people live on a dollar a day, though they appear not to resent their wealthy monarchy.

We stayed in a village of affuent hotels (some of us were rather embarrassed at living in luxury in such a poor country) but a surprise was how welcoming the local people were when we ventured outside - almost everyone smiled and wished us "good evening."

The capital, Mbabane, is in the cooler highlands. In the north of Swaziland, forests provide raw material for a large logging industry.

A street in the Swazi capital Mbabane

Places to visit Climate and nature

Hotels in South Africa

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