Day 12 -- Safari Weekend

Day 12
Tuesday
4/14/09

Returned last night from a great long holiday weekend. Went to the Hluhluwe-Umfulazi Park, Mkhuze, and St. Lucia estuary. The Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve is the oldest game park in Africa and is the only under formal conservation in KwaZulu Natal where the Big 5 (lions, buffalo, elephants, rhinos, and leopards) can be found. The first morning we were treated to two zebras, a mom and her baby, wander right up to the viewing deck! A few minutes later a herd of antelope gracefully leaped across the savannah. It was amazing and so beautiful. The next morning, while on the deck doing yoga, a monkey planted itself on a tree branch 15 feet away from me, cocked its head, and watched me curiously until a slamming door sent it scurrying away. On that afternoon’s safari we saw giraffes lazily grazing in the trees, white rhinos lumber across the road, warthogs munching on grass, and, my favorite, a herd of elephants! The landscape was so beautiful and to see all these animals, living fairly undisturbed, was a real gift.

The next day we headed to Mkuhze where we stayed at a lodge that looked like it was right out of Out of Africa. The highlight was the boat safari we went on with Jean, an extremely knowledgeable guide of both wildlife (especially dangerous game) and Zulu culture – not to mention one of the toughest bawdiest women I’ve ever met. In between scanning the water for hippos to peak above the surface, Jean shared with us her wisdom from 18 years of being a dangerous game guide including plenty of stories about ignorant tourists getting their car hood smooshed by a confused elephant’s foot. Something I found fascinating – according to Jean many people report an inexplicable feeling of calm when surrounded by a group of female elephants but not male elephants. This is attributed to the fact that elephants communicate using sonar and, since the females are constantly communicating chatterboxes, the waves travel through your body and cause a peaceful feeling. How crazy!

After spotting a few hippos, Jean offered to take us home through a traditional Zulu village since we were “such a pleasant group.” We drove across the mountain top, with the sun setting behind us, as Jean hollered “Sawubona Ma!” or “Yebo!” to everyone that passed. Apparently she knows them all and has been granted special permission from the chief to drive through as long as she only brings tourists infrequently. The houses ranged from small stucco homes with fancy iron grates across the windows to single rooms made the traditional way – a grid of sticks layered with stones and found bricks. Many of the homes were painted bright blues, pinks, and greens forming a beautiful landscape against the hillside. The kids were just as excited to see us drive through as we were to be there – as we passed by a house, even one 100 yards from the road, they’d come running and waving out of the front door only to get shy 15 feet away from the truck where they’d stop dead in their tracks, giggling and trying to hide behind each other. Jean spewed tons of interesting tidbits about Zulu culture such as Zulu men walk through doorways ahead of the women, in order to check for danger. They view western men walking behind the woman, especially with a hand on her back, as pushing the woman into potential danger. Some of the information wasn’t as fun – according to Jean there was very little violence against women and children in Zulu culture until a strong western influence came to South Africa. The accompanying shift towards industry drew Zulu men, who were highly respected in their own communities, into the cities to work as low paid and poorly treated laborers. The men began turning to drinking and asserting their crumbling power in their own communities though violence. I’m always saddened and a little torn when I see a culture changing and the traditional ways slip away – when is it a natural evolution and when is it just a shame?