Big Bend, Eswatini

Big Bend is a town in the Lubombo district of eastern Eswatini, on the Great Usutu River, known locally as the Lusutfu, at an elevation of about 108 meters. Its economy rests mainly on agriculture, based around sugar plantations, and the surrounding area includes the Mhlosinga Nature Reserve and Nisela Safaris. The town has a hot semi-arid climate that has produced extremes on both ends, recording a high of 44.3 degrees Celsius in November 2020 and, at one point, the lowest temperature ever recorded anywhere in Eswatini, minus 6.7 degrees Celsius. Several schools founded in the late 1970s, including Sisekelo High School, serve both Swazi and expatriate communities in the town.