Day 366 Swaziland 03/11/2011, Bulembu – Maguga Lodge, Maguga Dam. 13.09miles/21.60km, 1hr24minutes, Av 9.2mph.

After the relative efficiency of South Africa, we are clearly back in more familiar African surroundings. Our transfer was booked for 9am and at about 10:15am we were underway. The minibus that we were travelling in was huge, so we were able to just roll the bikes into the back. It makes a change from having to disassemble and then rebuild them at our destination.

After managing the climb to the border yesterday, we had contemplated whether we could ride the 18km to Pigg's Peak instead of taking a transfer. Any suggestions of riding the route were quickly ended when we saw the road. Recent rains had caused considerable damage to the surface and the stony red dirt was incredibly rutted. Throw in some very steep climbs and we would probably have struggled to push, let alone ride. With an unladen mountain bike and a few days of dry weather I would consider riding it, but otherwise it would have been foolhardy in the extreme. It should be mentioned that the road winds through beautiful scenery though.

Arriving in Pigg's Peak we grabbed some supplies from a supermarket, loaded the bikes and set off for Maguga Dam. A steep downhill section didn't last for long and we were soon climbing again, albeit not as steeply as yesterday. The way our legs felt, it was just as well. We clearly need a bit more recovery time before we attempt another big climbing day. Fortunately today was to be a short one. Riding through some stunning scenery, the dam slowly came into view and we began a welcome descent.

Just before reaching the dam we stopped at a viewpoint and ended up having a nice and very reasonably priced lunch at the attached restaurant.

With stomachs filled, we continued down over the dam, avoiding the hippos and crocodiles (we never saw any but the signs told us to watch out for them), and rode up the hill to Maguga Lodge.

The lodge is pretty swanky, but fortunately they allow camping as the rooms are a little more than we would like to spend. The area is so nice that we are having a rest day before we leave for Mbabane, Swaziland's largest town.