Hluhluwe/iMfolozi jewel doesn’t sparkle that brightly these days

A FEW years ago, I wrote a letter to you in response to a complaint by a visitor that the Hluhluwe/iMfolozi game reserve she had visited didn’t have any animals. My purpose then was to give my different opinion as to how great it was as a game reserve, filled with wonderful sightings for those that spend some time and effort, as one should, in such a reserve.

My wife and I still regularly visit it and particularly love the iMfolozi area. Although we would love to camp in the reserve, camping is not available, so we use the chalets at Mpila Camp. As a self-drive game reserve relatively close to Durban it is still magnificent. Four days there during the recent long weekend produced sightings of at least 15 lions, two different sightings of wild dog, wonderful and frequent sightings of rhinoceros with young as well as elephants, just to mention the “exotic” sightings. Antelope are everywhere, as are buffalo, zebra, impala, kudu and nyala.

Unfortunately, what we continue to notice is the rapid degradation of the facilities around accommodation and related tourist features, such as the hides. Emails to the relevant authorities after our visits pointing out what seemed to us to be simple remedial issues have always been ignored without even a grateful acknowledgement of the receipt of the suggestions and concerns. There appears to be no accountability from the management.

Although we are sceptical about whether highlighting the issues in the press now will make any difference (it has been done many times before without any apparent success) the lack of attention to simple details by the management of Mpila and the park as a whole, is so utterly depressing that we could not resist this letter. Examples of simple things that are just ignored are the following:

◆ The hides are in a hideous state. The thatched roofs are generally in poor condition with holes in the thatch that have let water and animals in, resulting in the benches being in poor condition. This is not new. When we were there six months ago, and long before the recent floods, the same holes existed in the thatch. There are only a few hides so the failure to patch the holes is incomprehensible. What is evident, however, is that these expensive facilities are simply being allowed to fall apart.

◆ Some attempts seem to have been made to “upgrade” the chalets. Inasmuch as things like toilet cisterns appear to have been replaced, no attempt has been made to tidy up and paint the walls where the old cisterns have been removed. This, too, is as it was many months ago.

◆ One is lucky if all four burners on the gas stove actually work. Six months ago, the chalets had one working burner out of four. The last trip, and a different chalet, had three working burners out of four.

◆ Each chalet has a braai fixed into the ground outside. It has a grid which can be raised or lowered. However, the braais have long ago lost the chain and bolt to adjust the height of the grid and most evenings the residents of the chalets can be seen scrambling in the grass for a piece of stick to use in the holes for the adjustment of the grid height.

◆ The doors to the chalets appear to have long ago lost the keys. As a result, there have evidently been very unprofessional attempts at attaching sliding bolt locks or hooks which unfortunately cannot be operated from inside. It just looks a mess.

◆ \Many wooden poles creating low “fencing” to partition off areas for parking for example, have fallen over or are missing. Those that have fallen over are simply left lying where they have fallen. At one of the lookout points over the river, a new metal strand and short pole barrier has been created as a line beyond which one must not venture. What is incomprehensible is that all of the old poles have simply been discarded into the bush 2m or 3m on the other side of the barrier. They have clearly been there for some time because the foliage is growing around them.

◆ The bathrooms in the chalets have water heated by a gas geyser. That gas geyser is mounted inside the bathroom on the wall with gas piped in through the wall from outside. In large letters on the side of the geyser appear the words “FOR OUTDOOR USE ONLY”. We are not experts on gas installations but installing such a geyser inside creates at least some degree of anxiety to the occupant.

◆ The Mpila shop is just pitiful. For example, there are big ice-cream advertising banners fluttering in the breeze outside the entrance but during the last long weekend there were no ice creams in the fridge. Despite braais, the standard method of evening cooking by most visitors, there were no firelighters in stock. Despite cameras and torches being a staple among, visitors there was not a single battery available.

The above are just some of the “I don’t care” features around the “management” of the facilities at the moment. The cherry on the top was when the security guard, whose only job it was, was to check vehicles as we left, asked if we had a tip for him. We want to stress, though, that the facilities, as they are, are clean and serviced perfectly daily. That cannot be faulted. But the tourist’s obligation for the “privilege” of utilising these inadequate and second-rate facilities being to pay Ezemvelo and/or KZN Wildlife somewhere around R1 300 per night is just not value for money.

We love iMfolozi so much that we will return notwithstanding. The reserve has a real tangible “being in the bush” feeling that so many of us South Africans crave. As a game reserve, a wildlife sanctuary, and educational facility, it offers so much. But it must be improved if the attraction of tourists is one of the aims.

KZN has at least three major jewels in its crown; the Berg, the beaches, and the game reserves (particularly those up North). Unfortunately, as a tourist attraction the Hluhluwe/iMfolozi jewel doesn’t sparkle that brightly these days and something has to be done.

MURRAY PITMAN | Westville