Elangeni Lodge, Mpumalanga

They say that the dung beetle is the "Canary" of the bush veld.
In the old days, I'm told, the miners used to take canaries down the mine with them as an indicator of how safe the air was down there. If there was a gas leak or any harmful substance in the air, the canary would be the first to die. If the canary died the miners would skedaddle out of there. And so they say that the African Dung Beetle is a prime indicator of how well the bush is doing.

It was much to my delight when I woke up the first morning, after a fit night's sleep in my double bed wrapped in percale linen, that I should stumble upon this fine insect of the bush.


Being close to the border of Swaziland and Mozambique makes this little stop over a great place for business travellers doing business in either or both of these countries.

With comfortable room and a really African experience buffet breakfast and delicious evening meals this in and of itself was enough to make Thabs, my compatriot, want to bring his wife here for a weekend away.

But.... That was not all!

We were spoiled to an African cultural village experience which was one of the best I've ever had. (And I've had a few )

We were introduced to how things were done in the old days and shown a traditional "pillow" (all I can say is that pillow fights had a whole different meaning in those days )

Here are the pictures from our Cultural Village Experience...  (I hold fast that sometimes images speak louder than words)

Here we're told about the various outfits the girls wear and what they mean.

All I can say is... "I wouldn't want to bump into this crowd while alone in the bush at night.

Here the men, and women below, show off their skills as they dance to attract the attention of a possible suitor.

A truly African love song.

Here Thabs gets the once over from one of the Mamas

Catch me if you dare.... (A playful virgin entices us to "choose her")

look white men can dance... well sort of :s

Thabs getting in touch with his routes.

To find out more about the lodge and get contact details etc, visit their website here: http://www.elangenilodge.co.za


All-in-aIl a very pleasant stop over. If you're looking for an affordable truly native bush experience then this is place to go...