Monday morning, and Musa steals me from the back of Seven’s Landcruiser, on its way down to the fencing happening on the Mzinene River. He whisks me away to Inkwazi, the ranger training camp up on the plateau, overlooking the beautiful floodplains below, bathed in the morning light. The rustic camp has been taken over by some of the top grassland ecologist in the country for a conference. Landowners from the greater Mun-ya-wana Reserve (which includes Phinda) are meeting with these experts to look at how to burn smart, to improve and maintain veld conditions.
At the end of a series of presentations we are all itching to go outside, to trade PowerPoint photos for real, live views. We all pile into the Cruiser and set out, stopping in an area in the south. We stretch our legs. Delicate, bright green blades of grass flash through the stumpy, blackened stalks. Zebra graze on the hillside in the distance, also appreciating the juicy benefits of this controlled burn from last July.
Later in the week we embark on another outing, to Zululand Rhino Reserve. “Eight kilometers from Phinda as the crow flies” the environmental consultant tells us and we pile into two double cab bakkies. A trail of dust wafts smoothly along behind us as we bump along the corrugated gravel, Phillip, Ross and I squashed into the cramped back seat.
A wrong turn takes us past a hardware store, where a handful of workers sit around in their blue overalls, waiting for something I’m sure. They spot us and one comes running over, signaling he wants a cigarette. Ross calls out the window. In perfect Zulu…”You think just because we are white we have everything. Perhaps you should pray and you will receive it.” He makes no effort to hide his derision of both religion and stereotypical relationships between black and white people. I don’t catch the expression on the recipient of this reply as we drive off…
We pull up to the gate of Zululand Rhino Reserve. Ross’ window comes down as the guard approaches our driver. He cannot resist. “We are just coming to poach some animals. When we leave we will hide them under the car so you won’t see them”. The guard laughs, but is a little unsure what is really meant.
Driving through the reserve the landscape is rather uniform compared to Phinda, but then we wind down into the beautiful, wide, sandy bed of the Msunduze River. It is just spectacular, lined with wise, old sycamore fig trees. We all agree that this is one aspect missing from Phinda…
We visit a few burn sites, some still smoldering, and when we leave the guard is sure to check under the bakkie. Just in case.
Between the grasslanding it is fencing as usual, on the Mzinene. Securing fence poles in the holes dug with the tractor’s borer, a device which saved both time and the backs of those who would have dug these more than 60 holes!
The Zulu is progressing well although it is often frustrating trying to find things to discuss. Every now and then a little gem of a conversation starts up, seemingly out of nowhere. One of the alien plant removal guys tells me of his dream to work as a tracker on Phinda, as we prop up a section of fence, being pulled taught by the glorious tractor. First he needs his driver’s licence he tells me. But he will get that soon he assures me. The learner’s licence is already in the bag.
A last minute invitation to join Ant and Paula for dinner at Getty House, the lodge and personal home of Tara Getty. We set off for Zuka Private Game Reserve, also part of the Mun-ya-wana Game Reserve. The chef from Tara’s boat is visiting and we are sampling some of her lessons to Getty House chef Andries. Course after delicious course emerges from the kitchen swing doors. An eight-course meal hugely enjoyed over almost two hours. “And you must come stay with us at Zuka any time, really.” Are Paula’s parting words.
And so we do. Friday after work we pack a bag, some food and the fan (just in case) and trek south again, about 20km to the Zuka turn-off. Just on the Zuka access road a game drive vehicle is pulled over. We slide by and sneak a glance of Kristal’s first male lion, lounging in the grass just off the road. Delicious fillet steak for dinner and some more Zulu practice on Nonhlanhla, the local Zulu nanny/house cleaner. And then it’s bedtime. And not to a scrawny little half mattress on the floor, but a fully fledged bed, and a comfy one at that. Bliss!
A hearty breakfast in the morning and we set out to have a look around Mountain and Rock Lodge. The gravel road climbs up onto the hillside, as you would expect when arriving at “Mountain Lodge”. The views are beautiful and staff friendly. We whiz through the lodge and then detour past the equally, if not more, beautiful Rock Lodge. Friendly butler, Walter, shows us around. “Everyone here at Rock Lodge is a Lodge Manager” he tells us proudly. His smiling enthusiasm is infectious and we gulp down an ice cold coke and water, between smiles, and leave him to get on with real work.
It’s cloudy but the heat is not put off. We pull up to Getty House, now all closed up with no Getty’s around and the Lodge Manager Liezel off in Durban. We slip around the side and soon are swimming in the pool. Where the water ends in front of us it drops away to the Zuka plains below us. Nyala and impala browse peacefully at a small pan just down the hill, and in the distance a large herd of miniature buffalo sweep across the green, open grasslands.
Back home in time to set off at 5 o’clock for Kube Yini, an 1800 hectare shareblock bordering on Zuka. The game drive vehicle bounces along the rocky road as we climb up out of Zuka, an old volcanic crater. Soon we pull up to the home of long-time friend of Ant and Paula’s, Neville Hawkey. Part of the evening is spent “frogging” in a couple of nearby dams. It is a chaotic scene. Torch beams from adults and kids carve up the darkness, searching for the myriad of frogs we hear calling. People are losing shoes in the soft mud. Kube Yini Manager, Russell, gingerly wades into one of the little ponds, the water just below the level of his gum boots. It’s of little use though; Neville soon moves in and scoops handfuls of water into his boots, amidst much laughter. Brown-backed reed frogs, bubbling kassinas and numerous other species hop away from their captors, desperately trying to identify them before they escape. A disc man with frog calls on CD and a little frogging book are being managed by Greg. He struggles to keep up with the demand to put names to frogs. The mud only increases chaos and the enjoyment for the kids.
After a delicious roast chicken dinner we drive home in the pouring rain, Kristal and I do our best to keep Ant and Paula’s son, and his little 5-year old buddy dry. Both are fast asleep under a thin blanket. Ant is taking no chances opening the (electric fence) gate to Zuka in the rain, and he dons the rubber gloves loaned to him by Neville. After a long, hard day, a bumpy drive home in the rain, 13 000 volts running through your body is not what you need.
We go to bed, excited to observe buffalo capture tomorrow. But then the drizzle turns to hard rain, with plenty of thunder and lightning. At just after 5am the call is made to call it off. The trucks will get stuck. So instead we lounger around the house, waiting to go on our afternoon exposure walk.
The Landcruiser pulls up to Umfaan’s at just after 2pm. Trainee ranger, Richard and experienced guide, Grant, will walk with us. We set off, in search of a lone elephant bull. Our searching takes us up onto the marsh, where the grass gets brighter with each visit. And each rain. And enjoying the grass in front of us is a crash of 8 white rhino. And under a tree, just ahead, two male cheetah take in an afternoon nap. We circle the north for some time and then find some fairly fresh tracks, before this afternoon’s rain. So we set off, following the giant discs in the sand, prints left by the grey giant. Here he drank, and then he fed here for a bit… “See the broken twigs”. But not for long because he is trying to catch the herd ahead of him. About an hour’s walking and we are forced to turn back, for daylight is starting to fade. We did not get to meet up with him this time, but will hopefully be back soon, to track down either him, or better still a lion!
No comments:
Post a Comment