Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Have a wild time in South Africa
Wonderful wildlife of KwaZulu-Natal is now within reach, thanks to British Airways’ new Durban route
The lion slowly padded across the grassland then suddenly came to a stop. Raising his head, he surveyed the savannah before bellowing out a warning roar. It lasted only a few seconds but had the desired effect.
In the dimming South African light, silence reigned, broken only by our guide’s words: “That is why they call the lion the king of the jungle.
“It is a battle call from his territory to say, ‘Right, I’m here’.”
We had watched him emerge from the bush and make his way to a mound of earth, close to a watering hole, from where he had clear view of the sweeping plain. He was just yards from our open-topped jeep but gave us barely a glance. After all, this was his kingdom, who did we think we were?
A second male joined him and for a moment I feared a confrontation.
But these two beasts were plainly pals, nuzzling each other’s manes before settling down together.
Earlier they and their families had feasted on a young giraffe. When we arrived at the kill site, the dead animal was being torn apart by two females and two cubs. We were so close, we could hear the flesh being ripped from the bones.
Later, one of the females dragged the half-eaten carcass into the bush to protect it from the vultures circling above.
This was nature, red in tooth and claw, on display at the five-star private game reserve, Thanda Safari. The magnificent 15,000-hectare park in KwaZulu-Natal is a three-hour drive from the eastern coastal city of Durban.
We drove through Thanda Safari’s huge Jurassic Park-style wooden gates but the wildlife we encountered was no CGI fantasy. Within minutes a herd of elephants appeared on our right. Seconds later dozens of zebra scampered through the undergrowth to our left. A Wahlberg’s eagle flew overhead, so close you felt you could touch it.
Back on earth, wildebeests watched us warily as impala scattered for cover.
We had been in the park for less than five minutes when our driver Buselaphi Mngomezulu, brought the vehicle to a stop.
Walking towards us was a white rhino and her two-year-old calf.
Thanda is home to both white and black rhinos and the wardens do constant battle with poachers, who kill the animals before removing their horns to sell on the Asian black market.
To save them from the gun many of the park’s rhinos have had their horns surgically removed, but these two, happily munching on grass a few feet away, had theirs intact.
Incredible exotic birds, majestic giraffes and a herd of antelope were among other highlights during our
two-night stay. Finding a lone hyena wandering outside my lodge one morning made my heart race before it quickly disappeared into the bushes.
But just hours before our departure, eagle-eyed tracker Winneth Khumalo, perched on the viewing seat on the front of our off road vehicle, spotted cheetah footprints in the dirt.
Only a single male cheetah remains in the park – they are often killed by lions who view them as competition – and he had not been seen for months.
We followed the direction of the tracks and half-an-hour later, to our delight, there he was, relaxing in the shade of the tree, no doubt wondering what all the fuss was about.
An hour and a half drive south from Thanda is the town of St Lucia, part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and home to South Africa’s largest population of hippos, around 800.
Hippos are huge, dangerous beasts, which can weigh almost 300 stone. Despite their bulk, they can move rapidly, reaching speeds of 25mph on land.
Each year in South Africa they kill around 1,000 people.
We gave them a wide berth during our boat cruise on Lake Lucia, but they seemed to be happy just to wallow, heads poking above the water, while common sandpipers picked insects off their backs.
As we boarded the boat we were reminded that the area is home to some 1,000 Nile crocodiles, four of which were basking in the shallows just six feet away.
On the two-hour boat trip, our guide pointed out African Fish Eagles perched in the trees, waiting to spot a potential catch, and bright yellow weaver birds diving in and out of their distinctive elaborately-woven hanging nests. We were told that the hippos leave the muddy waters of the Indian Ocean estuary at night – and sometimes during the day – to wander into the nearby town to drink from hotel swimming pools.
Occasionally a bull would stretch his powerful jaw, showing off his gaping mouth and menacing footlong incisors – not something I’d like to see in my hotel pool! Back in Durban, at the five-star Oyster Box Hotel, I was happy counting the humpback whales and dolphins breaching out of their own vast pool – the Indian Ocean, practically on the doorstep of the coastal colonial-style hotel.
Durban, South Africa’s third largest city, has long been overshadowed by Cape Town, the city most Brits head to, but the launch last month of British Airways’ direct service from Heathrow now offers a cheaper alternative for a holiday in the country. With safari parks just a few hours’ drive away, holidaymakers can combine the excitement of a wildlife trip with a relaxing beach break.
Hints of the city’s colonial past can be seen in Durban’s architecture and English is widely spoken.
But the biggest outside influence comes from India. Tens of thousands of workers arrived in the city to work on the sugar cane plantations from 1860 onwards. Mahatma Ghandi landed on these shores as
a young lawyer in 1893 and made his home in the city for 21 years before returning to India.
Today around a quarter of the almost 600,000-strong population of Durban is Indian or Asian and the region is famed for its delicious curries.
It would have been rude not to have tried its trademark fast food dish, the “bunny chow” – a hollowed-out loaf filled with curry.
Another must-do is to visit Howick, 65 miles north west of Durban, to see the spot where Nelson Mandela was captured in 1962, leading to his 27-year imprisonment.
It is marked by a monument, constructed from 50 steel columns, ranging between 20ft and 32ft high.
As I walked along the winding path – which represents Mandela’s “long walk to freedom” – the black, jagged posts came into view and seemed to have been planted at random.
But as I came nearer I realised the columns had been cleverly lined up to produce the image of South Africa’s first black president – a powerful piece of artwork.
Back at the Oyster Box, a cold glass of wine in hand, I took my seat, ready to be entertained by another sensational nature show from South Africa’s spectacular whales.