How fortunate that we were able to take this journey in mid-March before the world shut down with COVID! We had become the proud owners of a South African safari the year before as the result of a well-intentioned whim – we thought we were starting the bidding on a 6 day trip to Zulu Ngala, a private game reserve near Durban at our local Boys’ and Girls’ Club fundraiser, when the auctioneer, who was trying very hard, got no response from the audience. After all we had been to Africa several times already and had a family trip to Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe planned for the following year (although little did we know COVID would cancel this!) But no one raised a paddle and in a matter of minutes we found ourselves the highest and only bidder for a trip to Zulu Nyala with an 18 month shelf life.
Later we discovered that some friends had bought a similar safari package at another charity auction (a significant amount of Zulu Ngala’s business comes from charity bidders), so we coordinated schedules and planned this trip in mid-March to squeeze in before our family trip and several European work trips. Little did we know how fortuitous the timing of this trip would be!
When we left for South Africa, our region of the US had no known COVID, there was an outbreak in Seattle that was thought to be contained, little was known about the virus and our President (albeit one that never lets the truth interfere with his narcissism, so not a person we typically believe) was telling the country that COVID was not to be feared and the US was well prepared to deal with it. With a good supply of Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer, we flew from Detroit to Atlanta, where it was business as usual, and then on to Johannesburg. In the Joberg airport, things were markedly different than in Atlanta – employees wore masks and gloves and our temperature was taken remotely before we could pass through customs.
We spent the night at the Intercontinental Hotel, a short, convenient trek across the street from the Johannesberg airport. The next morning, after a quick breakfast in the hotel, we zipped to the domestic terminal for a 90 minute flight to Richard’s Bay. A driver from the Zulu Nyala met us and four other guests at the airport and escorted us to the lodge. It was an easy 90 minute drive on good roads – however, had our driver not given us a heads up, we might have been freaked out by the vehicle passing protocol along the way; in South Africa, a right hand drive, left hand road system, slower moving vehicles pull to the left on the shoulder, to let faster moving vehicles pass to the right. Typically, shoulders are wide and paved so passing is no big deal except when dodging people who walk, bike or set up kiosks to sell fruits and vegetables, honey, bottled gas and water along the road.
Arriving at Zulu Nyala Heritage Safari Lodge, we were warmly greeted with a fruit drink and directed to reception to register for our room and ranger assignments. The lodge was built in the 1940’s as a hotel but was refurished later as a grand colonial mansion to house safari guests visiting the adjacent game preserve. Zulu Nyala is aptly named – the Zulu people are the largest ethnic group in South Africa and the nyala is a spiral horned antelop indigenous to the area. We would see lots of both Zulus and nyalas over the course of the week.
The Heritage Lodge was more a resort than camp and with 57 rooms, much larger than other safari compounds we’d stayed at. A helpful staffer guided us down a lushly vegetated cobbled walkway to our room at the far end of the property, extolling the many amenities of the lodge – the flora, fauna, Zulu cultural village, crocodile lagoon, swimming pools.
The birdhouses hanging in the trees along the path immediately caught my eye – carved from gourds and adorned with Zulu beadwork, they were both beautiful and functional. I started calculating whether I could fit a souvenir like this in my carryon luggage but quickly deduced that because I travel light, I would need to find more compact gifts (and later I did find smaller tea lamp holders carved from palm seeds).
Our room exceeded expectations – more like a condo, than a hotel room. A large outdoor porch shaded by foliage, provided both privacy and welcome respite from the hot sun.
Our room was simply appointed and comfortable with a large sitting room, bedroom, writing desk and mini fridge. In addition to the shower, the bathroom had a spacious clawfoot tub. Moreover, the air conditioner was heavy duty and we quickly realized that if we didn’t raise the temperature setting when we left, we returned to an ice box.
We quickly unpacked, grabbed lunch and then explored the property before our late afternoon safari. Unlike the dry grasslands of East Africa, eastern South Africa is lush and green this time of year with vegetation that ranges from cacti to dogwood to zantedeschia. March is a perfect time to be in South Africa; warm temperatures and the tail end of the wet season so flora is healthy, saturated and in full bloom.
A large lagoon on the property was the ideal swimming pool for several large crocodiles. By mid afternoon, the crocs were mostly submerged in the murky water but in the early morning, we often saw them on land warming themselves in the recently risen sun.
The brush adjacent to the lagoon was a bird lover’s delight. We frequently spotted vibrantly plumaged orange and black birds delicately balancing on reeds. Called the Southern Red Bishop, this small sparrow-like bird has a pointed conical beak suited to its diet of seeds and insects. The male of the species is eye-catching with its brightly colored orange and black feathers while the female is a non-descript brown.
Nyalas wander the grasslands of the resort, unbothered by humans not unlike the deer in my subdivision back home. Babies were a bit more skittish keeping their distance but still pausing to watch us watch them.
While walking to our room to prepare for the afternoon safari, we noticed two iridescent green beetles on the path, rolling what we at first thought was a dirt ball several times bigger than their bodies. The two diligently rocked and pushed in unison attempting to overcome momentum to move the orb on which they were clinging. Their valiant efforts made me want to intervene and nudge the ball with my toe. An off duty ranger saw us watching and enlightened us – these were dung beetles and the ball they were attempting to roll was animal poop not dirt. These scavengers are an important part of the African ecosystem because they recycle waste back into the food chain. The two beetles were likely transporting a ball of nyala dung to the safety of the rocks to use as either a food source or breeding chamber.
So once again nature teaches us an important lesson – it is entirely possible to take someone’s s#!t and use it to your advantage!