LOVE ON THE ROCKS T
Rocktail Camp offers an immersion into nature that urges you to breathe deeper, walk further, stay longer and experience more, writes Dianne Hawker
HERE’S something about having your breakfast stolen by a monkey that will place things into perspective. The stare-down was, of course, brief as one of the monkeys who lives in the trees surrounding the Rocktail Camp in the Isimangaliso Wetland Park sized up his chances of success against a trio of city slickers who’d had the audacity to leave a slice of bread unattended at the end of the table while sipping tea. And then it happened — before any of us could position our cellphones to capture the moment — he’d swung below the awning of the deck and snatched the bread. In seconds he was ensconced in a tree, enjoying a welltimed breakfast.
That’s how close we were to nature in our days spent at Rocktail Camp, a 20-minute walk from the beach, set in the forest of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park.
The northern KwaZulu-Natal lodge is a departure from the things that have come to define modern life. As you enter the Isimangaliso Park, the first thing that strikes you is the sheer tranquility. Cellphone signal dips as you get closer to the sound of waves crashing on Rocktail beach. There’s something about the air — it’s fresher, cleaner and appears to carry a sense of calm. The road into the camp is bumpy but you don’t mind because the trees lining the gravel path appear to whisper softly, encouraging you to stay longer, breathe deeper, walk further and experience more. You can hear the ocean some kilometres away —
waves breaking on the shores of a pristine beach.
From the minute we enter the camp, it is clear that Rocktail takes conservation seriously. The rooms are tents built on raised wooden platforms which blend into the surroundings. Guests are given refillable water bottles which they can use throughout their stay and take home with them. There is no wifi and no television in the rooms — a deliberate decision aimed at ensuring guests unplug from their digital attachments. The result is an initially unnerving stillness, which eventually led to the most peaceful sleep I’ve had in years.
“What’s unique about Rocktail is the peace and tranquility. As South Africans we often go abroad to experience reefs, this kind of peace and beautiful beaches, not knowing that we have this little gem right here. There’s now where else that you will have a beach all to yourself,” says lodge manager Natalie Gouws.
Gouws manages the lodge along with her husband, retired police officer and all-round adventure guy Willem Gouws. They have managed Rocktail for two-and a-half years, having worked in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia
The couple say turtle-hatching season is one of the main drawcards for both local and international travellers. Turtle season officially begins on October 15 and goes on until the following March.
The lodge is licensed to take guests along the beach to search for turtles, and can take only one vehicle-load of 10 people a day. While turtle sightings are not guaranteed, part of the thrill lies in the search. The beach stretches for kilometres and is devoid of sign of human interference. Whe we go for an early morning snorkeling advanta strange to see our small group's heap of towels and bags on the empty expanse. The water is warm for 7am and the rock pool clear but salty. Initially, breathing through the tube is a battle of coordination and habit — you have to breathe through your mouth but my brain reverts to nose breathing.
Our guide, Gugu Mathenjwa, has been doing the early morning snorkel trip with guests for over a decade and still loves to paddle out each morning.
He patiently takes those of us who are too nervous to travers the deeper waters by the hand, kicking slowly and pointing out small schools of fish. It's the best way to start a morning completely at one with nature. In that moment, the compulsion to capture the moment with a smartphone camera crops up, but only briefly. The flashing light and click-click of a camera phone seem almost intrusive in this place, which is firmly nature’s domain. — Hawker was a guest of Wilderness Safaris
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