We were lucky enough to spend the Easter weekend with a friend and his family at the game reserve called Hluhluwe Imfolozi. Its is around 4-4 and a half hours away from Howick and has the Big Five - Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant and Buffalo. We stayed in a staff camp, a camp which no members of the public are usually allowed into. When we were told what the camp was like we were told that it was very basic and not to have too high expectations. However, when we arrived after driving for at least 40 mins away from the main gate, through the most stunning scenery, it was better than I could have ever expected! There were four tents that could fit up to three people inside that were raised off the ground on wooden structures. There was a 'kitchen' area which was a reasonably large hut, also raised off the ground, with a thatched roof and a veranda attached. One of our first experiences with wildlife in camp was a small green snake up in the roof of the kitchen , slightly disconcerting when you walked under it! The camp was in the middle of the the bush, with no fence around it apart from a single electric wire called an elephant fence. The shower was also interesting .. it was simply a bucket that hang from a rope over a beam , with a shower head attached to the bottom. You had to get the other bucket, fill it with water and take it to the shower and fill up the shower head bucket You then pulled the 'shower' up using a rope and secure it - it was one of the best showers I think I have ever had!
We were so lucky with the weather, it was beautifully sunny every day. We went for early morning drives, up by 5.30am and afternoon drives! We saw so many different animals - lots of zebra, impala, giraffe and rhino, one time we almost drove into a rhino, it was standing in the middle of the road, we spent a long time watching it - an amazing experience. It is incredible how close you get, you have to keep your eyes open all the time but when you do see something, it makes it all worth the wait. In the evening we made a fire and all sat around it, relaxing, chatting and star gazing. On our first night there was a stunning full moon, and the refection of it in the river that our camp overlooks was breathtaking. We also had a braai and were warned that hyaenas may pay us a visit when they smell the meat and sure enough I saw two large, round yellow eyes! It didn't seem to get much closer which was a relief!
Over the three days in the reserve we saw three of the Big Five, all but leopard and lion. It was actually on our way into the camp that we saw the backside of an elephant, that was all we saw of them close up but we spotted some further away on the hillside and next to the river. We were also lucky enough to see the very rare Wild Dogs on Easter Sunday. There aren't many of the dogs in the reserve and we practically drove into them. There was a pack at the side of the road and walking in front and behind the cars. They are oddly beautiful creatures, orange and back and white with large ears and a big fluffy white tail.
When driving home on the Monday, between the reserve and the highway, there is a stretch of road. I couldn't take my eyes off it,. It was similar to a scattered Mpophomeni. There were women walking along the side of the road carrying huge bags and buckets on their heads, stalls selling apples, children playing and houses made of breeze blocks and some of mud, scattered along the side of the road. It was shocking to see such wealth, with the people in the game reserve and houses off the highway, only meters away from his poverty at the opposite end of the spectrum. It doesn't end when you are on the highway either, there was stall after stall of apples and people hitch-hiking every 2 minutes. The sad thing is that this is their main and sometimes only form of transport, it definitely makes you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment