Sala kahle KZN

It's sad to say that this will be my last post from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal this semester. Tomorrow morning (Sunday) the 52 of us will leave our campus here at African Enterprise and load up our buses for Cape Town. It's a bittersweet feeling leaving our chalets here at A.E. I'm definitely excited for the new adventures awaiting me in Cape Town, but at the same time I feel like I've grown a second family here in Pietermaritzburg.

I must say however, I couldn't have asked for a better week for my last week in KZN. Our group spent this past week on an overnight safari in the Mkhuze section of the iSimangaliso wetland park, followed by a two night stay in a rural Zulu village in Zululand. From Zulu dancing to cheetah viewing, I definitely got a good taste of Africa this past week.

Bright and early Monday morning at 5:00 AM (more like Sunday night) we loaded up the buses for our safari and Zulu cultural experience that would last Monday through Friday. Because of the size of our group, we were divided into two smaller groups that would take turns at each place during the week. I was placed with the safari group that would spend Monday through Wednesday at Mkhuze at an unfenced camp within park boundaries. I grabbed my bug spray, sunscreen, and Birkenstocks (fortunately/unfortunately I didn't have my safari vest and hat to complete the outfit) and was on my way to my first overnight African safari. On our way to Mkhuze we made a small detour to drive through the state owned Imfolozi game reserve where we spied on impala, kudu, inyala, white rhinos, elephant and giraffe. This was a little warm up to our real safari in Mkhuze, as we were still on a paved road the whole time in Imfolozi, and watched from the windows our buses. The real safari was yet to come.

After Imfolozi, we drove a few more kilometers to Hluhluwe, a small town in Zululand. Even though the boundaries of the modern Zulu kingdom fall within the province of KZN, Zululand is still recognized and acknowledged by South Africans. In Hluhluwe the 26 of us transferred into our safari vehicles - a Landrover-type truck with bench seats and a canvas top. At this point in time, I was definitely feeling like Indiana Jones. We drove for another hour in our safari vehicles to iSimangaliso, where we finaly arrived at our camp in Mkhuze at around 4 PM. Our camp was located a few kilos from the park boundaries and was only accessible by a dirt path that could MAYBE be considered a road. The camp was made up of a main kitchen/dining building surrounded by 5 bungalows and a fire pit area. My bungalow was a mosquito-netted shack completely made out of wood, and powered only by a solar panel on its roof. It would make for a perfect bunkhouse during our stay at Mkhuze.

Our time at Mkhuze was completely filled with game drives through the various parks in and around the iSimangaliso reserve area. On just our first morning we spotted dozens of impala, a few inyala, tons of zebra, an African tortoise, a pack of wildebeast, and at least a dozen giraffes. Our driver Andrew would drive us through the vast network of dirt paths through iSimangaliso as he pointed out tracks, signs and sounds that helped us spot animals. We returned to camp for lunch and headed right back out for more game viewing. We headed toward a different area of the park than where we drove in the morning, until Andrew pointed out something that immediately caught our attention. Driving past a giant pile of fresh dung, Andrew pointed out tht only one animal could have made it - an African elephant. As we crept further up the road in our vehicle, we saw several huge branches resting in the middle of the road. Something had broken then off of the trees and was probably still eating nearby. We rounded a corner to find an adult bull elephant staring us down, about 10 meters from our vehicle. I couldn't believe it. As we crept further up the road, and closer to the elephant, he began to snort until he let out a piercing trumpet sound that most likely said something along the lines of GO AWAY. We held our ground as we took picture after picture until suddenly he made a sprint for our car. Andrew hit the gas and we managed to survive our first charge by a wild African bull elephant. My adrenaline is spiking just writing about it. When we returned in the evening for dinner, we were treated to an amazing meal of rice curry, chicken and rolls. Everything tastes better when you're camping, so I dined like a king my first night at Mkhuze.

The next morning we drove to a private game reserve just next door to Mkhuze called Phinda. Phinda has all of the big five - elephant, lion, water buffalo, leopard and rhino (the five most dangerous game animals to hunt in Africa), as well as cheetah and pretty much every kind of deer species in southern Africa. We were even more exposed for this safari, as we transferred into completely open-aired jeeps with bench seats. No less than 20 minutes into our drive, we were staring down a group of 3 cheetahs in an open field. The cheetahs were busy spying on a pack of impala in the distance, which allowed us to get about 10 meters away from the cats.

We returned to camp for a small lunch before loading up our vehicles to meet up with the other half of our group that had spent the past 2 days in a Zulu village. We drove for about 45 minutes and arrived at a country club for lunch to find out that the other group's bus had broken down. In addition to this, a few people form the other group had spent a night in the hospital from vomiting and diarrhea and were severely dehydrated. When we finally met up with the other group at a car dealership, we were met by exhausted pale faces. Some kind of stomach bug was ravaging the group. We were warned once again to not drink the water in the Zulu village. We all felt so bad for everyone in the other group, as they would probably have a hard time enjoying themselves at Mkhuze. We left for the Zulu village with apprehension to say the least.

After driving for a few hours through rural Zululand, we descended into a valley until we eventually arrived at our destination on the side of the valley. We barely made it up a steep rocky hill, and parked in front of a group of about 10 or so thatch-roofed mud huts where we would be staying for the next 2 days. As soon as we opened our van doors we were greeted with smiles and "sawubonas" by about a dozen local Zulus. After hugs and handshakes we were led into a cozy rondavel where we sat on grass mats to avoid the cow dung surfaced floor. The leader of the village performed the traditional Zulu ritual of announcing our presence to his ancestors by burning a clump of herbs. We were then served the traditional form of Zulu hospitality - an offering of Zulu beer. It was super thick and didn't look anything like a Coors Light commercial, but was refreshing nonetheless. After an amazing dinner of rice, putu (maize-based grain stuff), beef stew, sweet potatoes and beets, we sat around a fire as we put our Zulu phrases to test. Our sad attempts at using Zulu were often met by laughter and smiles from the locals, who were delighted to hear foreigners trying to use their language. I'm sure they got a kick out of us.

After dinner, we were treated with a Zulu dance performed by locals from around the area. Zulu music is enthralling by itself, so you can imagine how intense and energy-filled Zulu dancing is. About halfway into the program a few of us, myself included, were invited to join them in performing a traditional Zulu dance. Now anyone who knows me understands my severe lack of rhythm and dance skills, so you can imagine how the Zulus reacted to my attempt at the "Dance of the Bull." I think everyone left with smiles on their face from the fun night, myself definitely included.

As bedtime arrived, we said goodnight to our new friends and climbed into our bunks housed in a mud hut with a thatch roof and cow dung floor. You might think it wasn't much of an accommodation, but our hut was surprisingly cozy and rustic with its candlelit ambiance and relaxing African feel. I slept very well.

The next morning we awoke to another delicious Zulu meal. Our plan for the day was to go on a hike into the valley to another small village at the top of a hillside and meet up with a Zulu medicine man. The African sun was already out in full force by 10 AM, so we made sure to stock up on water and sunscreen. We met with the medicine man near a small forest, where he explained the various herbal remedies that could be found from plants within the forest. Probably in his 50's or 60's, the medicine man had practiced his trade since his father taught him as a young boy, just as he was currently teaching his son now. I got the feeling that not much changes in rural Zululand through the years.

We eventually reached the small village at the top where we met with some women who were busy making necklaces and bracelets from beads. We spent about half and hour with them until we headed back down to our village to learn how to fight - Zulu style. I learned that Zulu boys grow up learning the art of stick fighting from a very young age. Instead of hot wheels or legos, Zulu boys spend their time smacking each other with branches - I have to say I was a little jealous. after a brief demonstration I was paired up with another guy from my group. We were each given a "shield" (a club of palm leaves) and a beating stick made out of a clump of tough green branches. It was great fun. Sometimes I wish I grew up without a television too.

As the evening rolled into the village, we shared another great meal with our Zulu friends around the fire. It was such an amazing experience to get to know the local people by living with, eating with and laughing with them. The Zulu people are an amazing group of people. Zulu language, history, food, music, dance and sense of humor blend together to form a truly unique and beautiful culture. It was an honor to be a guest of such a warm group of people.

Even though I'm not leaving South Africa, I feel like I'm leaving somewhere truly special. From the relationships I formed at Walk in the Light to the laughs I shared in Zululand, I feel like I've formed some unforgettable memories and experienced some unforgettable adventures here. KZN is a place I won't ever forget, and a place I'm sure I will return to one day. Stay well KZN. Sala Kahle.