Swaziland Guide
Malkerns Valley
On the MR103 towards Manzini, a turn to the southwest at Mahlanya, roughly 5km beyond the road to Mlilwane (beside a row of shops), takes you to the scenic, pineapple-growing Malkerns Valley. About 1km along this road, look out on the right-hand side for Malandela's Homestead, a fascinating collection of buildings where you can find craft shops, a pub and restaurant, a gallery and theatre, and an Internet café. Situated under a large thatched roof, Malandela's Restaurant ( 
5283115; daily 9.30am–9pm) has a European-style menu with good-quality à la carte meals including stews, game and fresh fish dishes. The restaurant's outdoor dining area provides excellent views of the adjoining fields and distant mountains, while the adjoining pub (Mon 11am–11pm, Tues– Sun 10am–11pm) has Guinness on tap and is a popular spot for locals to watch big rugby and soccer games on cable TV. Next door is Malandela's B&B ( 5283448, 
malandelas@africaonline.co.sz; R101-200), with stylishly decorated rooms in colour themes. It tends to be full when there's a concert happening next door in which case advanced booking is essential.
On the other side of Malandela's pub, 
Gone Rural (Mon– Sat 8am–5pm, Sun 9am–5pm; 5504936, 
www.goneruralswazi.com ) is one of the most successful and creative local handicrafts projects in Swaziland; the colourful and well-designed woven mats and baskets on sale here are made by a huge network of women working from villages all over the country. Further along, the funky House on Fire is a gallery and amphitheatre-like performance space ( 5282110, www.house-on-fire.com ), worth checking out for contemporary African crafts and the exuberant imagination which has gone into designing the place.
A little further on, several more craft shops line the Malkerns– Manzini road: Swazi Candles (daily 8am–5pm) sells a bewildering array of brightly patterned wax candles; Baobab Batik, 2km further along, sells all manner of colourful batiks. Beside this is Nyanza Cottage ( 5283090 or 6085779, www.nyanza.co.sz ; Up to R200), an appealingly cluttered working farm, with self-catering accommodation.