Sunset in Ithala Park: 21-22 October

We spent the weekend in the Ithala Game Reserve 3 hours inland from Ingwavuma and were greeted by this majestic sunset at the close of a guided walk through the park. (Walks permitted as there are no lion in the park!) Just divine to be out of safari vehicles for once, up close to the animals. And we had the fortune of coming face to face (within 200m, I'd say) of a whopping 600+kg black rhino - the aggressive & dangerous, prone to charging one! But s/he didn't charge, and we were on our way.

We had a great guide, Simon (!), for the walk. A local Zulu man whose English wasn't strong but was very sweet & clearly loved his job. He told us about the recent history of the park (unlikely to be found on the site above) that in early 1970's, the Government decreed the area a National Park & forcibly relocated all the resident Zulu population out of the borders. Many moved to neighbouring Vryheid, others to Pongola & other towns. In addition to the animals, he showed us ruins of homesteads in the park. We were assuming them to be around 1900 vintage, until he informed us that it was the very house of his friend, and his old home was only a short way over the rise. A significant number have gained jobs working within the park, but they must live away from their families (in the park, due to the distances to local towns) for weeks on end. You really feel a guilty tourist.

Saw plenty of game the next day also - giraffes, many antelope, almost all of the 23, 000 impala in the park & marginally less German tourists. There are so many German tourists! It is absolutely amazing. Even the guide books are bilingual: but not English/Afrikaans, but English/German!