We left Kosi Forest and met our transfer to Thonga Beach Lodge in an old cashew nut plantation. I think the driver was quite surprised when we helped him load the vehicle and didn’t complain when it started to pour with rain. We arrived to hot chocolate, stormy seas and apologies for the weather. Our honeymoon chalet had its own plunge pool surrounded by wild forest, overlooking the ocean, and there was more champagne waiting for us. We swam everyday in the sea, our plunge pool and the other two pools at the lodge. I was treated to massage, because we were on honeymoon. The food at Thonga was decadent and wonderful!
Every morning we woke up and went snorkelling in warm water in natural rock pools for two hours before breakfast seeing parrot fish, colourful nudibranchs, honeycomb electric rays with sea urchin spines sticking out of them, a moray eel, an octopus, angel and butterfly fish, chocolate dipped fish, nemos and lots of other things. The first day we went with a french girl and a guide in rough conditions although the visibility was really good. Swimming across a channel of exiting water made me a bit panicky, and in the days that followed we realised it really was rough in comparison to the calm days.
The highlight of staying at Thonga was seeing loggerheads laying in the daylight. It was quite magical being able to really see how huge they are and how kind they look. We were also treated to a special dinner out on the beach as another storm arrived. The warm wind whipped around us and we were served in candle light. The weather continued to be a bit wild when Dan and I went walking through the forest one afternoon and nearly missed afternoon tea. And then we had a funny sundowners at the inland lake with a swiss couple as a storm hit, we couldn’t see the sun but we drank champagne as a young hippo angrily struggled to keep his feet on the bottom of the lake, biting the waves.
Leaving Thonga there was a bit of excitement as we drove over a newly born calf. Luckily we weren’t going very fast and the land cruiser had such good clearance, that after Dan told the driver what he had done, we reversed back and the calf was able to take his first shaky steps, unharmed!
We drove in on the back roads to our next destination, Mkuze Game Reserve, after stopping to stock up on food at Mbazwana Spar (along with everyone else at Mbazwana). We stayed in an unfenced chalet with a view for miles. Mkuze was lush and full of birds and baby animals. We spent lots of time at the recently done up hides, seeing lots of buck, rhinos, warthogs, giraffe and lots of birds and legavaans. We also saw wild dogs running next to the road. Patrick, a man of the bush, took us on a walk through the fig forest with his rifle, calling birds closer like the Narina Trogan. We saw lots of signs of elephant, but luckily didn’t run into them. We did however see a Pel’s Fishing Owl, a large ginger owl, that hadn’t been seen for quite some time. Patrick, with tears in his eyes, thanked us for bringing it back with our good luck. We went on a night drive with Patrick seeing a few creatures of the night, and finally finding out that the smell we kept coming across was from ants. After our visit to Mkuze, several lions were going to be released to have a party with the unsuspecting buck…
We drove out of Mkuze through very very thick mud and drove to the battlefields. We stayed at Fugitive’s Drift Lodge, which was very much our style. The setting is quite breathtaking and it was a great place to spend Daniel’s birthday. The food here was also spectacular and we ate with the other guests at a grand old table in the main house. The lodge looks out over a deep gorge and has game reserve all around it. It was here that we heard that Mandela had passed away, and so we took some time to go walk up to a cliff with black eagles soaring around us. We also came across some giraffes just a few metres away.
We went to two historic places to hear the history of the battlefields. The first was Isandlwana, pocked with white stones wherever an English solider had fallen. The mighty Zulu army of the time had destroyed the English army due to a lack of cohesion among the English and an underestimation of their enemy. The way that the story was told was very dramatic and captivating to listen to, taking into account both sides’ experiences. The second place we visited on another day, was Rorke’s Drift where the British defeated the Zulu men attacking them, by fortifying the building they were in and strategically moving through it while shooting at the Zulu men. Eleven Victoria’s Crosses were awarded for bravery.
With a Zulu pot in my lap as a souvenir, we headed to the airport past the Nkandla intersection, which is newly tarred. Now sitting here writing this, almost 6 months later, I wish we could go back and do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing.
lucypoppins 