FEW SMALL COUNTRIES do celebration better than Swaziland. The tiny land is locked into the South African land mass between the north-east provinces of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal and the Mozambique border.
Despite the disapproval of its big neighbours, for whom democracy is a recent novelty, it remains robustly proud of its identity as an authentic African kingdom, although its constitution and culture, which includes polygamy, exists comfortably along
side Christian churches, mobile phones and designer sunglasses.
Swaziland does have its dissidents, as I learned on the fringes of a protest march in the capital, Mbabane. Trade unionists were agitating against royal extravagance and for democracy; but few of these all-singing, all-dancing reformists would seek to depose their king or their queen mother, known as the "Great She-Elephant", who holds an equal share of his sovereign power; nor would they proscribe the bare breasts of the Reed Dance maidens or the leopard-skin aprons of the Swazi regiments – all spectacularly on display at last month's "40-40" celebrations, marking the 40th anniversary of independence and the king's birthday.
It was a colourful if controversial hooley, staged in the capital Mbabane's refurbished national stadium against a backdrop of sunlit mountains, attended by the King of Lesotho, the King of the Zulus, a top man from Taiwan, a high heid yin from the American embassy and no less than ten regional heads of state. Despite the fact that Swaziland was, until 40 years ago, a British protectorate, there was no British representation. Perhaps just as well; as the VIPs arrived in a shiny fleet of BMWs, the crowd reserved its loudest cheers for President Mugabe, who remains a celebrity in these parts.
The official budget for the 40-40 was £1.4 million, and most of the foreign media were unenthusiastic about the profligacy of birthday boy King Mswati III, whose 13 wives had just returned from a shopping trip to Dubai and who has an unknown number of children. ("They never announce a birth," I was told). His beautiful land has good infrastructure and a pleasant, hilly capital, but dire rural poverty and – in a population of just over a million – the highest rate of HIV/Aids in Africa – public health posters urge "condomisation".
But there was such exuberance, such brilliance and such good nature in the Somhlolo stadium that I can't pretend I didn't enjoy the party. Brass bands, precision marching, Swazi drumming, prancing warriors, dancing maidens, ceremonial dress and undress . . . Perhaps the local leopards heaved a sigh of relief when it was all over, and purple-crested louries relaxed (Swazi royalty wears the scarlet feathers of these gorgeous birds in a kind of halo) but as I left the stadium I felt quite exhilarated. Just as well I had somewhere special to go next: the rest of Swaziland.
For a country smaller than Wales, its physical diversity punches above its weight and you can drive from border to border on well-maintained roads in two or three hours; perhaps too easily, as its tourist industry has suffered from visitors ticking off Swaziland en route from Kruger National Park to the beaches of the Indian Ocean. There was a time when South Africans did stay longer. In the 1960s, when gambling was still illegal in South Africa, the picturesque Ezulwini Valley near the capital became a seedy strip of casinos, strip clubs and motels. All that remains of that era is the shabby sign of its most infamous whorehouse, Why Not?
The valley is now the respectable site of the nation's parliament (yes, it does have one, although the prime minister and cabinet are chosen by the king) and the royal residences, as well as some of the country's top hotels and restaurants.
Like Arran with Scotland, Swaziland likes to promote itself as "Africa in miniature". It has mountains, gorges and waterfalls in the western highveld, floodplains and savannah in the eastern lowveld; broadleaf forests and vast tracts of managed conifers at one end of the country, umbrella thorns, sausage trees and sugar plantations at the other; glorious trekking, riding and eye-popping views to the west, game drives and bush walks to the east. But as South Africa has more and bigger attractions along the same lines, Swaziland has to emphasise its differences to keep visitors within its borders: namely, an easy-going people, a low crime rate and a traditional culture that is among the most enduring in Africa.
"The peaceable kingdom of Swaziland" has never gone to war with any European army. There were plenty of local conflicts as the kingdom began to take shape 250 years ago; notably with the Zulus, their ethnic kin. When the Swazi regiments finally saw them off in the middle of the 19th century King Sobhuza I, according to legend, had a vision that warned of the coming of pale-skinned men whom he should not try to fight, otherwise the Swazi nation would be no more. Good call. Successive monarchs negotiated land deals with the Transvaal Boers and tolerated a "paper conquest" by the British traders and miners who came next. H Rider Haggard passed through, introducing to English literature Sheba's Breasts – the twin peaks that dominate the Ezulwini Valley – as the site of King Solomon's Mines. He was followed by the British government, which declared Swaziland a protectorate in the aftermath of the Boer War.
Thus it remained until 1968, when independence was negotiated by Swaziland's most revered leader. Sage, modest, progressive and frugal in everything except his appetite for wives – he had 70 – the late King Sobhuza II was, until his death in 1981, the longest-reigning monarch in the world and father of the present king, whom he sent to Sherborne for an English education. Whether that represents enlightenment is up for debate, but Sobhuza's greatest legacy was his emphatic support of cultural traditions and restoration of some of the country's big game, shot out by trigger-happy colonials. Both underpin its modern tourist industry; most especially the two great annual ceremonies of the Incwala, or first fruits, and Umhlanga, reed dance.
The Incwala is a male festival, the most sacred in the Swazi calendar, and involves several weeks of dancing at the Royal Kraal, where the king joins in. The reed dance is an all-girl occasion, although also attended by King Mswati, who has been known to pluck a new wife from the many thousands of bare-breasted, unbetrothed young women who convene to honour the king and queen mother and celebrate the beauty of their own bodies. This year's reed dance had just taken place before my visit, with a record participation of 60,000 maidens whom the king had commanded to hang around for the 40-40 celebrations. The Ezulwini Valley was filled with temporary camps and large numbers of (fully clothed) girls.
After the 40-40 I roamed the country from highveld to lowveld, with community tourism projects in my sights – beguilingly low-key enterprises driven by rural Swazis. Near the Mantenga Falls, on the edge of the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, I watched local villagers dance and drum, heard them explain the complex symbolism and functions of their living museum – a traditional kraal of "beehive" huts, beautifully woven grass homes which here and there are working their way into tourist accommodation. Up near Piggs Peak, a northern town named after a gold prospector, I scrambled into a gorge to inspect the bushman rock paintings of Nsangwini, interpreted by a young woman called Zanele Sibiya, who told me, laughing, that her name meant "enough girls – last born".
But I couldn't be in Africa without going to the bush. The joint efforts of King Sobhuza II and veteran conservationist Ted Reilly have bequeathed Swaziland three nature and two game reserves. "Why," I asked Reilly, over lunch in the lowveld reserve of Mkhaya, "would I come to Swaziland to look at game when it has Kruger on its doorstep?" The man who has just been honoured by King Mswati for his services to the nation looked at me pityingly. "Conservation. Mkhaya is our official refuge for endangered species. We have a rhino population here which is a key component in the whole African drive to get black and white rhino back on their feet. We don't make their numbers public for fear of poachers."
Later, on a guided walk, I met one of his white rhinos, and stood within 15 metres of the relaxed, sunbathing behemoth. A rare privilege. The restoration of endangered species is a Swazi success story, but one abiding memory of the little kingdom is forlorn. Near its southern border with KwaZulu-Natal is a town called Nhlangano, which means "place of meeting". It used to be called Goedgegun, but the name was changed to commemorate the occasion when George VI and family arrived to thank the Swazi people for their help during the Second World War. King Sobhuza contributed two regiments of nearly 4,000 soldiers, who fought at the Battle of Anzio. Losses by the end of the war were 122.
A dusty, open space marks the "nhlangano", along with a tiny, crumbling grandstand. Elsewhere, there is little visible evidence that our present royal family, or the British government, have taken much interest in their former protectorate; which is their loss.
HOW TO GET THEREThere are several daily flights from Johannesburg to Matsapha International Airport but the Swazi border is only four hours' drive from Johannesburg and self-drive holidays are a good option for UK visitors. British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com) has twice-daily flights from London Heathrow to Johannesburg, with return flights from Scotland from £977.
WHERE TO STAYAround Mbabane: Mountain Inn (www.mountaininn.sz). Three miles from the city centre, a family business with great views of Sheba's Breasts. Rooms from £28-£54pp per night, including breakfast.
Northern highveld: Phophonyane Falls Lodge (www.phophonyane.co.sz). A discreet retreat above a river gorge in the Phophonyane Nature Reserve. Accommodation in cottages, luxury tents and "beehives" from £28pp.
Central lowveld: Mkhaya Game Reserve's Stone Camp (www.biggameparks.org). A secluded bush camp combining comfort with atmosphere from £54pp per night, all-inclusive.
AND THERE'S MOREFor more information, visit www.welcometoswaziland.com
Scotsman Reader Holidays (0131-620 8400, www.holidays. scotsman.com) has various trips to South Africa and Swaziland.
