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Mbabane

Introduction

Waiting for the bus in Mbabane

Mbabane is the capital of Swaziland and the largest city in the coutry with an estimated 95,000 inhabitants. It is located in the nortwest of the country on the Mbabane River and Polinjane River in the Mdimba Mountains. Although Manzini remains the main industrial centre of the country, Mbabane is the administrative capital and is a good base for travellers to explore the rest of the country, with decent hotels, restaurants and infrastructure. The city itself is not unpleasant with a pleasantly mild climate, but is not the highlight of the country to say the least.

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Sights and Activities

The nearby Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary is Swaziland's oldest protected area and gives visitors a chance to stay in traditional Swazi beehive huts.

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Weather

Mbabane has pleasantly warm weather year round, with around 20 °C in winter (June - September) to 25 °C in summer (December - February). May to August is fairly dry with only a few rainy days a month, but December to March has around 200 mm of rain or more each month.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg Max	24.9 °C	24.5 °C	24.1 °C	22.6 °C	21.4 °C	19.3 °C	19.8 °C	21.3 °C	23.2 °C	22.8 °C	22.5 °C	23.7 °C
Avg Min	14.9 °C	14.5 °C	13.4 °C	11 °C	7.9 °C	4.7 °C	4.6 °C	6.6 °C	9.5 °C	11.3 °C	12.9 °C	14.2 °C
Rainfall	253.2 mm	224.6 mm	151.6 mm	87.9 mm	33.8 mm	19.4 mm	20.1 mm	35.1 mm	69.4 mm	141.9 mm	197.8 mm	206.9 mm
Rain Days	16.9	14.3	13.8	9.8	5.1	2.8	3.1	6.5	9.2	14.9	17	16.5

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Getting There

By Plane

The closest international airport is O.R. Tambo in Johannesburg, South Africa. The closest domestic airport is Matsapha Airport, with Sikhuphe International Airport set for completion in 2011.