Zululand, South Africa

Zululand evokes images of the fabled Zulu warriors. The Zulu formed a powerful state under their Zulu King, Shaka, who united many tribes into an impressive empire. After several wars with the British the Zulu were finally defeated. After Nelson Mandela became President in 1994 the Zulu became citizens of South African and KwaZulu-Natal it’s newest Province. Today the area is known as Zululand.

We had arrived here on Thursday morning from Mozambique which is just to the North. Richards Bay was our seaport and the entire area is known primarily for its game parks and marine estuaries. The Zulus still live in villages throughout the area much like they have for hundreds of years. Even 15 years after the end of Apartheid our guide told us that the Zulu were still not counted in the census of the country—hard to believe. We’ll have more to say about South Africa in a future posting. However, the country is struggling 15 years after the end of Apartheid with 40% umemployment, very high crime, and a 50% HIV rate among 13 to 20 year old girls. Tens of thousands are dying monthly from the Pandemic with no end in sight. It’s a country that is in serious trouble. You don’t see it as a tourist but the guides and locals are very open in their discussions.

On Thursday our destination was Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve, the oldest game park in South Africa. Upon arrival we transferred to open four wheel drive vehicles for the 3 hour game drive. We had hoped to see the white and Black Rhino’s which are a trademark of this park and we were not disappointed. In addition to these animals we were up close to elephants, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, cape buffalo and water Bucks. This was a beautiful sunny day in the mid 70’s, much cooler than our previous game drive in Kenya. The pictures show the animals and the topography.

Today (Friday) was a beautiful day in the mid 70’s and our destination was the Santa Lucia Wetlands Park, which is Africa’s largest Estuary. This brackish swamp is home to a thriving population of Nile Crocodiles and Hippo’s along with thousands of birds. We boarded boats to take the 2 hour cruise onto the lake in search of the animals and were not disappointed. Almost as soon as we left the dock we were able to view Fish Eagles and Africa’s largest Herons. About 5 minutes later we came upon the Crocodiles and before long saw our first Pod of 8 Hippos swimming and walking along the estuary. Hippos can actually walk along the bottom of a river or estuary underwater at pretty good speed. We viewed 4 other Pods of Hippos and many other Crocs before heading back to shore. As the pictures show we were very close to many of them (within 10 feet).

The ship leaves for Durban, South Africa this evening and will arrive there in the morning. This is a busy part of the trip in that we will be in 7 ports in 10 days.