A stay at a Zulu Village

Cape Vidal

While in Kruger Park we took 5 game drives.  These drives stuck to gravel or paved roads.  In St. Lucia we opted for a off road drive. What fun this was.  Our driver was a young Zulu  man, raised not far from St. Lucia.  His family had lived in the park for generations and was disposed when the park was formed, a story so familiar in our own country. 

Esumuela, Zulu for builder or creator,  had a voice that was made for radio and  was a fun, intelligent and fearless driver.  He was determined to get us as close to game as possible.

Zebra are difficult to get close to, the attempt to domesticate them has been hindered by this shyness but also because they cannot carry large loads.

My reason for choosing October for the trip was because I wanted to see the babies.  I have seen many babies.  I would have liked to take this one home with me.  I wonder....would Sherry board him for me?

This  Rhino picture was taken BEFORE we moved in close!

REAL close folks, no telephoto here!  I would have loved to have gotten out of the Land Rover to get a better picture of the baby.

This cute creature is a Dung Beetle.  He is huge and  this photo shows he rolling the Impala dung  to his nest.  The eggs are then laid inside the dung and the nutrients nourish the eggs.  Just another of Gods creatures you meet on Safari if you move slowly and keep your eyes open.

At last we reached Cape Vidal and find this remote  beach busing with sun bathers and boaters. 

Boaters launch and retrieve their boats from the beach, using special boat trailers designed for this. 

There is only a small opening in the reef for the boaters to maneuver through.

Shakaland

We treated ourselves to a overnight stay in a Zulu Village.  We had booked into the Simynue Village a working village that offers lodging and a cultural experience.  Simynue experienced some sort of criminal activity shortly before our scheduled arrival that made them cancel all tourists activity.  The Skakaland Hotel and Cultural Village accepted their guests.  The Shakaland complex was really built as a stage set for the movie Skaka Kan.   We had our doubts about the overall experience, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the lodging was charming and comfortable.  Enjoy the photos.

We were escorted to the village area

Pounding leather

Chief

chief

Ron gets physical

Chiefs and his wives
Zulu's even today can legally have multiple wives.

The following pictures are of the dancers who entertained us.

Our lodgings