Known as the rainbow country because South Africa is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country, but it is also a famous territory for its diverse and perfectly preserved nature. Possessing a long list of world-class parks and wildlife reserves with many rare animal species, South Africa is also a destination for famous safari tours. Because it is a combined journey with work, the location for our "hunting" trip was chosen in the territory of KwaZulu-Natal, a province located in the southeast of the country, on the coast of the Indian Ocean.
Hippo and crocodile “hunting” cruise in St. Lucia
From Durban, the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal province, we traveled more than 250 km to St. Lucia town. Although we started early and the traffic conditions were quite good, when we reached the river mouth area, it was already noon. That made us somewhat regretful because before the trip, we had heard that the best time to experience a boat trip on Lake St. Lucia is at dawn and dusk.
St. Lucia town has always been called the St. Lucia estuary because the estuary here is one of the largest in Africa with a total length of up to 85 km running from south to north. The town is like an island surrounded by water, with the estuary on the left and the Indian Ocean on the east.
The area is home to over 800 hippos and 1,200 crocodiles, not to mention the abundance of birds that call the area home. Experts say there is no other place where you can experience the diversity and majesty of St. Lucia. It is no wonder that the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, South Africa’s first.
Indeed, we had a great 2 hours exploring the estuary landscape on a small boat. It was summer in Vietnam but winter here. However, the weather was very pleasant, daytime temperatures ranged from 20-27oC, the sun spread warm rays from above and the breeze blowing on the river was cool.
Explore St. Lucia on small boats
The tour guides on the ship were all very enthusiastic.
Just 100 meters from the pier, we met the residents of the estuary: dozens of giant hippos gathered in groups to bask in the water near the shore to avoid the sun. Most of them swam quietly, their entire bodies submerged in the water, only their noses and eyes protruding above the surface to breathe, so from a distance they looked like a pile of rotten wood floating with the current. However, there were also more active ones, rushing into each other, wrestling or playing. At that time, they looked like big children, not at all like the description of the animal considered the most dangerous in Africa. During the time on the boat, we continuously encountered many such groups of hippos. Many times the boat driver even came close and stopped the boat for us to watch. According to the locals, when night falls, visitors can see hippos leaving the river and wandering in the town.
Meanwhile, crocodiles are actually quiet creatures. They often appear alone, close to the riverbank, under the shade of trees. The midday sun makes them lazy, not even bothering to move, lying still, only a part of their back or a rough snout exposed above the water. Although the "population" of crocodiles in this area is much larger than that of hippos, finding them is much more difficult.
Another interesting thing about this tour is the guides on board. They have a deep knowledge of the area and the habitats of the animals that live here, answering all the questions of the tourists and telling you amazing stories. We also got to see an elephant tusk - according to the guide, this tusk was taken from the carcass of an old dead elephant in the reserve.
Hunting for the Big Five
Leaving St. Lucia, we headed to Thanda Safari Private Reserve, about 100 km away, to make our Big Five hunting dream come true. In Africa, the Big Five refers to the five largest mammals: lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo. But not all reserves have all five of these animals. And Thanda Safari is one of those reserves that has all of the Big Five.
We arrived in Thanda just in time for the afternoon safari (the locals call these safaris game drives). The Thanda Game Reserve has two game drives a day: one at dawn and one at dusk.
Our group on the Jeep
We went deep into the forest in a special Jeep with a driver and a tracker sitting proudly on the front of the car. The vast wilderness slowly passed by, the tracker sitting calmly and arrogantly made me feel like I was lost in a wildlife documentary. But in reality, it was more than that, we were really entering the African jungle to witness wildlife life as it is.
The tracker is looking for animal tracks.
According to the tracker, not every time you go hunting you can see animals. Besides factors such as time, weather, and the experience of the animal tracker, luck is the leading factor that determines the success of the trip. Dawn and dusk are the two times of the day when it is easiest to see animals because this is when they go out to find food. Perhaps luck was with us, because after catching the silhouettes of small animals running through the bushes, we encountered a herd of elephants walking slowly across the road. They looked at us with gentle, calm eyes and then calmly turned into the bushes. The driver followed and intercepted the elephants so that we had more time to look and take pictures. A large elephant seemed angry because its road was blocked, standing and looking at us for a whole minute before leaving. After meeting another herd of elephants stopping to drink water, the sun went down but we did not return home but stopped at a fork in the road to sip some drinks and snacks, chatting and sharing our first impressions and waiting for the stars to be hung in the sky. On the way back, the car stopped in the middle of the forest, watching the brilliant Milky Way and listening to the tracker's instructions on the position of the stars, how to look at the stars to navigate in the forest at night. Everything was great!
The elephant was accidentally blocked by us.
The footprints left by some ungulate
The next hunting trip started at 5am the next morning. The dew was thick and heavy, the weather was freezing but the air was clear. Luckily, we were lucky enough to see many animals. Zebras moved in herds, looking mischievous. Curlews jumped nimbly and always looked alert. Giraffes proudly plucked leaves from the treetops. A herd of rhinos was heavy but not slow in running away. A leopard rushed past like a gust of wind. Most notably, we saw a herd of 10 lions by a water's edge. They seemed to have just had a full meal so they were especially gentle, huddled together in a place to sleep soundly. Only one lion - possibly the leader - looked alert and lazily stood up, approached to examine for a few minutes, then slowly returned to the herd. Our hunting trip ended like that, somewhat regretful for not meeting any wild buffalo to complete the Big Five, but the tracker comforted us that we were surprisingly lucky, there were people who stayed for days but still returned empty-handed.
The zebras wagged playfully.
The rhinoceros is heavy but not slow.
Proud giraffe
The antelope appears wary.
And the lions, seemingly fierce but look very "gentle"
Super luxury resort in the middle of the African jungle
Besides the safari, the place where we stayed overnight also left a strong impression on us. It was a villa named Zulu located in the middle of the reserve. Here at night, we could clearly hear the sounds of animals hunting and the typical sounds that only occur in the wild forest. The villa was magnificent and the interior was imbued with the cultural breath of the Zulu people. The facilities here were more complete and luxurious than those of a 5-star resort with a swimming pool, library, entertainment room, children's room, wine cellar, lawn for BBQ parties... and even a helicopter landing pad. It was said that this place was once voted the world's leading luxury private villa.
What was more impressive than the luxurious amenities was the opportunity to learn about Zulu culture through the powerful traditional dance of Zulu men, through conversations with the Zulu staff or indigenous handicrafts. All of it was like an attractive book opened before our eager eyes, like the last drop to fill the cup of the journey that was already full of wonders!
More information
Visa:Submit application at South African Embassy, then visitors need to wait 2 weeks to get visa.
Trip:There are no direct flights from Vietnam to South Africa, you have to go through at least one transit point, the most popular currently is Doha International Airport (Qatar)
Time:October to March is the peak tourist season in South Africa. However, every season in South Africa is beautiful and suitable for tourism.
Cuisine:South African cuisine is highly praised by many tourists. Curry is a spice used in many dishes. South Africa also has many famous delicious fruits such as grapes, apples, pears, lemons...
Skin:If you go in winter, you only need to bring a light jacket. In summer, remember to bring sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
Money:South Africa uses Rand (ZAR), the exchange rate of 1 ZAR is approximately 1,700 VND.
For more information about South Africa travel, contact:
- Mr. To Manh Hung
- South African Embassy, 3rd floor, 31 Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
- Tel: 02439362000/ 0913547647
