talking shop WISE COUNSEL Magical times in land of the Zulus
Along with five other Travel Counsellors, I enjoyed a fabulous fam to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Escorted by Storm Napier of KZN
Tourism, we flew courtesy of SAA. After a quick plane change at Johannesburg’s refurbished airport, and an hour-long domestic flight, we landed at the new King Shaka airport, just north of Durban. From here it was out onto excellent
roads as we headed to the ‘Midlands Meander’ area – where you can be forgiven for thinking you have arrived in Devon or Scotland! With craft shops, villages and beautiful thatched properties, it was not surprising that the first property we stopped at was called Fordoun, named after Aberdeenshire, the original home of the owner. We had a lovely lunch and a massage and water treatment in Fordoun’s Spa, which is housed in a converted cattleshed! After a night at the very hospitable Granny Mouse Country Hotel, a thatched property with an excellent wine cellar and a superb fine-dining restaurant, we headed up to the stunning Drakensberg mountains. We stayed at Cathedral Peak, a great choice for families. There is so much to do up here and with snow in the winter again it’s easy to imagine you are somewhere else but Africa! The resort has its own stables for pony trekking, and there are lots of walks of varying difficulty. From Drakensberg it’s a three-hour
journey to the battlefields around Isandlwana (pronounced 'eye-sandal- wana'). Our first call was Fugitives Drift Guest House and Lodge. After a tour and lunch on the terrace we headed to Rourke’s Drift where we met our guide and historian Rob Gerrard. We sat under the shade of a tree just outside the old hospital building that got burnt down during the famous battle between 139 British soldiers and 4000 Zulu warriors. Rob really brought the story to life and it was rather eerie walking over the whispering dry grasses that were once the scene of such carnage. I found our visit to the small graveyard very emotional. Isandlwana Lodge is carved into the
iNyoni rock overlooking Mount Isandlwana, the site of the historic Anglo- Zulu war battle on January 22, 1879, the
barely five minutes out of the lodge when we saw three young lions (two brothers and their sister) walking ahead of us and heading to a near-dry watering hole. To us it looked like a lot of mud, but the three of them were happy to lap away at what was left. As we watched, David, our ranger, read
us a Zulu poem about lions. Later we came across two beautiful cheetahs with very full tummies. They nuzzled each other and played on the ground – it was a truly magical sighting! Our next stop was iSimangaliso
(Previously St Lucia) Wetlands, which stretches along the Zululand coast from Mapelane in the south to Kosi Bay in the north. We headed out on the estuary and were rewarded with sightings of yawning hippos and sleeping crocodiles. This large area also supports rhino, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and antelopes like waterbuck, kudu, and reedbuck. The trip ended with a spectacular sunset. After a long-feeling three-hour road
"As we watched three lions at a waterhole, our ranger, David, read us a Zulu poem about lions. Later we came across two very beautiful cheetahs with very full tummies"
day before the battle at Rourke’s Drift. We received a warm welcome from
the staff and were served excellent food and South African wine. The views from the terrace are outstanding. Guided walks are available in the historic reserve, where you come across piles of white stones (cairns), showing the places of fallen soldiers during the battle of Isandlwana. After Isandlwana we headed to Thanda Private Game Reserve. Having done South African winter game drives before I came prepared for the cold: with gloves, hat, scarf and lots of layers! However, the winter can also be the best time to find the animals: the bush is less dense and the water holes are fewer, so you can catch them drinking more easily. Thanda’s villas are absolutely stunning
Zebras drinking at Thanda Private Game Reserve; Barbara gets ready to toast her editor at The Oyster Box; the fabulous Drakensberg
Each has a lounge, with full doors opening onto a deck with a private boma (fire-pit area) and views out over the bush. Each villa has a private plunge pool, a private gazebo with a huge round daybed, a bathroom with a bath by the window, a separate shower, toilet and a door to an outside shower. On our afternoon game drive we were
journey from St Lucia, The Oyster Box was the last hotel on the trip. Located about 30 minutes outside of Durban, in Umhlanga, a nice suburb by the sea, the hotel sits directly on a beautiful long sandy beach. From the moment we arrived, with the staff in their colonial uniform and the sound of a grand piano tinkling in the background, we all fell in love with The Oyster Box! Before I went on the trip my editor at
Selling Long Haul told me to go up to the The Oyster Box's roof-terrace bar, and drink a glass of very nice red wine just as the sun went down – and have my picture taken in front of the lighthouse! I did as I was told, and toasted both him and KZN! Readers can win a place on a Selling
Long Haul fam to KZN in December by entering the competition that appears this month on page 77. You won't regret it if you do! Good luck!
Contact Details
BARBARA CHARLTON Travel Counsellors UK 0845 0587 290
Barbara.charlton@
travelcounsellors.com www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/barbara. charlton
www.sellinglonghaul.com • September 2011 79
BARBARA CHARLTON
Regular columnist Barbara was voted Most Helpful Travel Counsellor of the Year for two consecutive years.
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