The smallest country in the southern hemisphere is also one of the most easy going - laid-back Swazis are more likely to celebrate for fun than than demonstrate for reform. A progressive and hands-on attitude towards wildlife preservation has endowed Swaziland with a striking bunch of national parks and game reserves, and black and white rhino, elephant, and more recently, lion, have been reintroduced. You can trek, horse ride, raft on wild rivers or cycle through many of the parks and get surprisingly close to a huge variety of wildlife. The system of reserves also protects unique and rare plants and plant communities, such as the

While one or two towns get a little rough around the edges after dark, the tension palpably lifts if you have crossed into Swaziland from South Africa. Some of the more important festivals turn the Ezulwini ('Heaven') Valley into a brilliant spectacle of dancing and singing a couple of times a year, as tribespeople decked out in flamboyant costumes reaffirm their belief in the monarchy and their culture. There may be only one museum in the country and little in the way of night-time diversions besides gambling in the casino, but the countryside's thriving and the life's wild.