Page 23 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 7_2023
P. 23
Travel
Travel
A lot of people still automatically ask,
“where?” when they hear of eSwatini. It’s the
former Swaziland, and I recently visited there
for the first time in many years, though I spent
a lot of time in eSwatini in the distant past.
B Y J AMES CLARKE,
PHO T OGRAPHS B Y
MAR Y BRO ADLEY
Nyala family viewed from the Kumasinga Hide in Mkuzi
We met Kujabula’s proprietor, Dean Dunn, a young
Pietermaritzburg man and his wife, Lorane. Dean is a
descendant of John Dunn, who had been adviser to the
Zulu King Chetswayo – Dunn married 51 Zulu wives and
had 117 children.
The Dunns’ four school-going daughters, currently on
holiday, were busy helping at the lodge, which can
accommodate 50 guests and has a 20-seat conference room
that also converts into a hall for children’s parties or wedding
receptions.
The private reserve in which Kujabula stands has its back
to the long range of the Lebombo Mountains and abuts
Game watching from Jozini Dam the Royal Jozini National Park which, in turn, abuts another
reserve and so on infinitum.
It is the size of the dam – which was far from full at the time -
that surprised us most. It straddles the South African border
and is surrounded by wild country.
We spent three days blissfully birding before heading south
to Mkuzi where we occupied comfortable safari tents.
Though our kitchen facilities were poorly maintained, we at
least had the braai – we even cooked macaroni cheese on it.
Although feeding animals that visit the camp is forbidden, it
is obvious that everybody does it, for we were visited daily
Dean, Lorane and their daughters at the by a family of nyala that came, partly to drink, but also to
family-owned Kujabula Lodge seek food. Bush babies, too, seemed quite at home.
DPL issue 7 2023
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