Mlilwane wildlife sanctuary - Travel Journal

Every time a customer books one of our vacations and opts in to our Trip for a Trip scheme, we organise a day trip for a disadvantaged young person somewhere around the world to see their local tourist sites, often for the first time.

Responsible Travel customers are helping disadvantaged children from All Out Africa’s neighbourhood care points see the local wildlife at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, often for the first time in their lives.

As of August 2023 over 1,000 children have now had the opportunity to visit this sanctuary as a result of the Trip For A Trip scheme.

Our latest trip to Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary - 11th, 16th and 25th August 2023:
308 underprivileged children in the 9 NCPs that we work with enjoyed their first field trip, which included zebra, crocodile, wildebeest, wild horse, and warthog sightings at Mlilwane Nature Reserve. "In the bus, despite the excitement of the day, the children continued singing songs about the animals they’d seen throughout the bus ride home. The children left their field trip with new hands-on appreciation for the animals and environment they share, as well as memories they’ll have forever."
We have worked with our partner in Eswatini (Swaziland), All Out Africa to devise a trip for children that attend the local Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) centers. These centers were started by the communities who live there and most of the children who attend have lost a parent, or in some cases are orphaned. As part of their curriculum, they have been studying wildlife. The children have never visited Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, despite living nearby, so this trip gives the children a chance to see up close some of the animals they have been learning about. Traveling by minibus and stopping for lunch ensures a fun packed day out for the children plus they see some of the local sites and wildlife that too often, only tourists to their country have the privilege of viewing.

Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Eswatini is in Ezulwini Valley, located between Mbabane and Manzini. Translated as 'Little Fire' in siSwati, its name comes from the fires started by lightning which struck Mlilwane Hill. The sanctuary started a conservation movement in Eswatini that has saved many species from local extinction.

group of children with staffSightseeing
SAMPLE ITINERARY OF MLILWANE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY VISIT:

What wildlife the children can see:
Impalas, zebras, buffalo, bucks, crocodiles, monkeys, springbok, birds, fish, hippos, warthogs and wildebeest.

What the children will do:
Explore the campsite park with the teachers. Visit the historic museum, with the opportunity to watch a film about the history of Mlilwane and the story of Jezebel the Flying Land Rover. This is the Land Rover which Ted Reilly, the founder of Mlilwane, used to drive when he first started the sanctuary. Children will also enjoy a plentiful lunch of rice, chicken stew and orange juice which is quite a highlight in itself!

Some of our favourite parts of the day:
  • Seeing the animals and learning about wildlife we hadn’t seen before.
  • Watching a film where we saw a big jeep that went flying in the air, lots of animals and a man catching a zebra.
  • Seeing Jezebel the Flying Land Rover in the museum. It was a big jeep!
  • Playing games under the shelter.
  • Going on a trip on a bus and singing with my friends (we were singing to Melusi the driver).
  • Seeing plenty of crocodiles was so exciting and it seems like it was a family of crocodiles from afar
  • Eating a delicious meal with a big piece of chicken!

walking
zebra
Quotes from the day
Children:

"I really had a great morning seeing the animals at Mlilwane." Ntando Game (age five)

"My best part was seeing the family of crocodiles.” I hope we do this next week”- Girly Shongwe (age six)

"I had a great time and the food was amazing. We also had a good morning class exercise, where the teacher asked what we remembered about our trip at Mlilwane." - Takhona Vilane (age six)

"When the teacher told us about the trip, I never thought it would be this exciting” I really had a good time with my classmates" - Nathi Mavuso (age six)

Support staff:

"Thank you All Out Africa and Responsible Travel for such an amazing journey. It was fun and we had a lovely lunch. Thank you, thank you and God bless you all." - Nkhanini Neighbourhood Care Point

"Wow!! We appreciate all the effort that All Out Africa has done for us. It was our first time traveling to such a trip with the kids. Thank you so much All Out Africa and Responsible Travels for this. The children were really happy with the school trip to Mlilwane Game Reserve. I am glad that I was able to accompany the children... THANK YOU so much once again.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Mahlanya Neighbourhood Care Point
Other trips that we have run to Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary:

Child watching impala with support staff
10th, 18th and 19th November 2021:
155 children, aged four to six, from eight Neighbourhood Care Point centers (Mvutshini, Ezulwini, Mlindazwe, Elangeni, Ekuzukekeni, Bethany, Mahlanya and Nkhanini) visited Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. Teacher Albertina from Mvutshini NCP said: "The trips were very insightful, especially after schools were closed due to the pandemic and the children missed out a lot. This really opened their minds.” Six year old Ayabonga Mabuza said: "My love for animals has been boosted."
Child watching impala with support staff
15th April 2019:
This warm day a group of 52 children along with All Out Africa supporting staff and volunteers, teacher and cooking lady visited the sanctuary. The children were from Ezulwini Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) and aged between four and six years old. The children were so excited and for many it was their first ever game drive. Here is a quote from one of the children about their day - "It was one of the best days of my life."
Children on the minibus
3rd, 4th & 5th April 2019:
Over these 3 days a total of 74 children visited Mlilwane Sanctuary. All children were between four and six years old and from: Mahlanya, Bethany and Ekuzukekeni Neighbourhood Care Points (NCP). All trips were accompanied by All Out Africa supporting staff and volunteers, teachers and cooking ladies. Two of the days were drizzly but this did not spoil the children's fun, the excitement was written all over their faces! Here is a quote from one of the children about their day - "My day was unbelievable and I had so much fun"
Children watching zebra
28th March 2019:
On a cloudy but warm day a group of 23 children from Mvutjini Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old visited Mlilwane Sanctuary. Two All Out Africa supporting staff & one volunteer, one teacher and three cooking ladies came along on the trip. There was a lot of excitement from the children and they saw kudos, impala and crocodiles. Here is a quote from one of the children about their day - "I was so shocked when I saw a zebra for the first time. My Mlilwane trip was so amazing, especially because it was my first trip to the Game Park."
Children watching grazing animals
19th March 2019:
A group of 16 children along with Eswatini supporting staff, volunteers, teacher, cook and All Out Africa volunteers visited the sanctuary. The children were from Nkhanini Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) and aged between four and six years old. The children screamed with excitement on their game drive, for many children it was their first trip. Here is a quote from one of the children about their day - "It was my first trip to Mlilwane and it was unbelievable. I saw zebras and a lot of impalas and I was very excited."
Children pointing from the van window
18th March 2019:
On this sunny day a group of 11 children from Mlindazwe Neighbourhood Care Point visited the sanctuary along with Eswatini supporting staff, teacher, cook and All Out Africa volunteers. The children were aged between four and six years old. They had an exciting day and even saw a crocodile from a distance. Here is a quote from one of the children - "It was an amazing trip from the beginning to the end and the lunch was nice too. Thank you teacher."
Children with their guide
12th October 2018:
A group of 17 children along with Eswatini supporting staff, volunteers, teacher, cook and All Out Africa volunteers visited the sanctuary. The children were from Mahlanya Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) and aged between four and six years old. They had an exciting time with a film crew who also joined them on their trip. Here is a quote from one of the children - "I saw a crocodile eating grass in a river and I saw pigs with big teeth and teacher said they are called warthog. I was very happy to see the wild animals."
Group pointing at wildlife
18th September 2018:
On a warm day a group of 17 children from Mahlanya Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP), aged four to six years old visited the sanctuary. They saw a number of Impala and crocodiles and found the campsite interesting. Here is a quote from one of the children about their day - "I was happy to finally see the wild animals, I saw a hippo and springbok. I will now know all about wild animals because I have seen them with my eyes"
group
22nd June 2018:
A group of 28 children along with two NCP teachers and All Out Africa supporting staff visited the sanctuary. The children were from Ekuzukekeni Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) and aged between four and six years old. They saw various animals and enjoyed walking around the campsite seeing the wild hogs. Here is a quote from one of the children, Nathi Mavuso (age six) - “When the teacher told us about the trip, I never thought it would be this exciting. I really had a good time with my classmates."
snakes
21st June 2018:
In total, a group of 27 children visited the Mlilwane wildlife sanctuary along with one NCP teacher and All Out Africa supporting staff. They were from Ekuzukekeni Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) and aged between four and six years old. The children had a hearty meal of chicken stew and saw plenty of wildlife while walking through the campsite. Here is a quote from one of the children, Simangele Dlamini (age six) - “Seeing the Imphala’s was the best part of my day”.
group of boys on bus
20th June 2018:
23 children from Ezulwini Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between six and four visited the Mlilwane wildlife sanctuary. They had a "totally amazing outing" learning about the history of the museum from the teachers and seeing skeletons which they thought were scary at first. Here is a quote from one of the children, Futhi Dlamini (age six) - “Seeing the crocodile family was the best part of my day".
group of boys
18th June 2018:
On this warm day, 24 children along with one NCP teacher, one cooking lady and All Out Africa supporting staff visited the sanctuary. They were from Ezulwini Neighourhood Care Point (NCP) and aged between three and six years old. The children saw wildlife while driving through the game reserve and passed impala and wild hogs in the campsite. Here is a quote from one of the children, Simphiwe Dlamini (age six) - “Lovely fun day and outing. Lunch was good and I don’t think I will eat dinner tonight at home... Totally an enjoyable day."
bus
4th and 5th June 2018:
A group of 35 children along with two NCP teachers, one cooking lady and All Out Africa supporting staff visited the sanctuary. They were from Bethany Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old. The children had an amazing experience despite the weather being cold and cloudy. Here is a quote from one of the children - "Watching a film where we saw a big jeep that went flying in the air, lots of animals and a man catching a zebra."
Looking out the window
28th May 2018:
On this day, 20 children visited the sanctuary. They were from Bethany Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old along with one NCP teacher, one cooking lady and All Out Africa supporting staff. The children really enjoyed this sunny and warm visit to the sanctuary. Here is a quote from one of the children, Sikhumbuzo Shongwe (age six) - "All I can say is that we had fun and we need to come back to Mlilwane tomorrow."
Looking out the window
24th May 2018:
In total, 23 children visited the sanctuary. They were from Bethany Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old along with one NCP teacher, one cooking lady and All Out Africa supporting staff. The children had an amazing time visiting the sanctuary. Here is a quote from one of the children, Zakhele Nkambule (age six) - "I had so much food, I couldn’t finish it. Seeing the animals we read about and colour in, in our school work-books was Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!"
Looking out the window
23rd May 2018:
On this Sunny day in late May, 22 children visited the sanctuary. They were from Nkhanini Neighbourhood Care Point and Mlindazwe Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old along with one NCP teacher, one cooking lady and All Out Africa supporting staff. The children really enjoyed their day. Here is a quote from one of the children, Mthokozisi Mdluli (age five) - "I enjoyed seeing a few crocodiles and Zebra’s. It's amazing how real animals look like. Seeing the Impala was also exciting."
Looking out the window
2nd & 5th June 2017:
On this trip, 31 children visited the sanctuary. They were from Bethany Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old along with one NCP teacher, one cooking lady and All Out Africa supporting staff. The children thoroughly enjoyed their day. Here is a quote from one of the children, Sibusiso Mamba (age six) - "Seeing zebras for the first time was unbelievable, so I enjoyed my day."
Group
19th May 2017:
On this occasion, 12 children from Nkhanini Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old visited the sanctuary. The children saw zebras, impalas, crocodiles, monkeys and wildebeest. The NCP children walked around the campsite with volunteers. They also viewed the museum within the game reserve campsite.
Happy face
21st April 2017:
In total, 17 children from Mvutjni Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between three and six years old enjoyed a sunny day at the sanctuary. One of the quotes from Phiwo (age six) about the day: "We saw buffaloes for once with my classmate and friend."
Trip group
31st March 2017:
On this bright and sunny day, 24 children visited the sanctuary. They were from Ekuzukekeni Neighourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between three and six years old. One of the quotes from the day: "I saw a Swazi hut like my grandmother's hut at home and different animal bones." - Kwenziwe Mkhatjwa (age six)
Trip group
17th March 2017:
On this trip, 21 children from Ekuzukekeni Neighourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between three and six years old visited the sanctuary on a bright and sunny day. One of the quotes from the day from Busiswa Dludlu (age six): "It was wonderful to see big mountains and rivers. And I saw a crocodile for the first time today.".
Trip group
3rd March 2017:
In total, 11 children from Ekuzukekeni Neighourhood Care Point (NCP) aged between four and six years old visited the sanctuary on a bright sunny day. One of the children said the following about their day: "I was shocked but excited to see a zebra for the first time. I would be happy to do this again one day". - Nkhosinathi Nkhambule (age 6).
Children walking through the sanctuary
10th February 2017:
On this occasion, 18 children from Ekuzukekeni Neighourhood Care Point (NCP), aged between four and six years old, as well as nine volunteers, two drivers and teacher Zodwa visited the sanctuary. It was a bright and sunny day. One of the best parts was "walking around the campsite area of the game reserve and seeing a few wild hogs, while doing the walk about.".
Children with
1st November 2016:
A group of 24 children from Mlindazwe Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP) aged three to six, as well as the NCP teacher, three cooking ladies and Frank the Lion (a cuddly toy!) visited the sanctuary. One of the favourite parts of the day was "seeing Jezebel the Flying Land Rover in the museum. It was a big jeep!"
All Out Africa logoAbout our partner organisation:
All Out Africa is a social enterprise comprising of a group of companies and a non profit based in South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique and Botswana. It caters for people looking for a wide variety of African experiences, from volunteering, tours, research, internships, and University field studies, whilst at the same time, building sustainable long term projects.

All Out Africa is serious about giving back to the community and the environment. That is why it set up a foundation to help expand and sustain its project development. This includes support to the six care centers for vulnerable children, a sports development program for local children and youth, community building projects, child sponsorship program to support vulnerable children at primary and high school levels to assist them with school requirements, and facilitate conservation research projects at the wildlife and marine research centers. All Out shares its passion for Southern Africa’s people, places and wildlife with the world and offers adventures that change lives.

Excited faces
Minibus
2 boys
Line of children
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