Varun's Daily Diary

Friday, 30 April 2010

Greetings from Vlei (pronounced Flay) Lodge here in Phinda. I have been moved to the best suite on property and I am now settled here for 3 nights.

One of the wonderful things about safari is waking up. The noises and general sounds from outside your villa make you feel VERY close to nature. This morning was no exception … I thought it was a monkey attack but sadly it was just a bush-baby crying about something! The lion roar was a noisy nyala and the rumble was from my tummy!

After a hearty breakfast we headed down to Phinda “airport” to film my arrival by light aircraft. There was a jackal skulking about which is a predator I have not seen in the wild before. Phinda means “The Return” and its foundation is dedicated to make returns to the local community. This morning – along with Vr from the foundation – I visited a local school at Nkomo.

I first met with Principal Nomusa. In 1998 she was the sole teacher in a school of around 200 pupils. Her classrooms were under trees and even her office was under a tree! She used to walk 10 kms to school every day and had to cross a river by small boat. Over the years, through Phinda and over companies, the school has blossomed. There are now 850 + pupils … there are proper classrooms in proper buildings … even the Principal has a proper office! The trees are still there though to remind everyone how far the school has come. This is “responsible” and “community” tourism at its best. We met loads of the children … it was just lovely. Sadly half the children are orphans or come from very poor backgrounds. The school ensures that these kiddies get food, water and an education that would not have been available if Nomusa and Phinda were not around. The school gets gifts of love in the form of books & pens … I raided The Oyster Box for at least 1600 sweets … every child in the school received sweets today … and I LOVE that & THEY loved that too!

From there Vr took me on a unique and amazing experience. Zulus have lived down here for nearly 2000 years and illness has been treated by Sangomas … basically spiritual healers and fortune tellers. I visited a Sangoma today – Mrs Gumede. She speaks to her spirits who in turn speak to mine to tell me what my life will be. Of course, I am not going to tell you what she said “off camera” but on camera, she assured me that I would be travelling for a long, long time! Yay!

Back at Phinda, along with Jonno my guide – we headed down the Mzinene River (the southern boundary of the reserve). We DIDN’T see crocodiles or hippos – but we did see a rather cute Monitor lizard! Nyala, impala, White Rhino, jackal, dung-beetle, monkeys, giraffe, buffalo … even the odd person!