Survivor iMfolozi
The night sky looks like a royal blue dome tent. The only light is the fire by my feet. I also have a headlamp, but the batteries have to last for a few more nights so I only switch it on when necessary.
Meerkats have a sentry to watch for danger. On the Primitive Trail in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, we do the same – each hiker stands guard for about an hour and a half at a time during the night.
Kruup! The call of an African scopsowl echoes in the dark. Impalas snort in the bushes. A fiery-necked nightjar sings good lord deliver us and draws my eyes away from the hypnotic dance of the flames. But the night sound that scares me the most is a gr-gr-gr-unt right next to me. Is it a lion? A rhino?
Nope. It’s the other hikers. How will I ever get any sleep among this group of snorers!
DAY 1 Too shallow for crocs
Our hiking group flew from Cape Town to Durban yesterday. We drove about 230km to Bushbaby Lodge, 60km from Hluhluwe, where we spent the night. Now we’re on a potholed road full of taxis, on our way to the Nyalazi gate.
Once we’re through the gate, life is a lot less stressful, with a wide green landscape stretched as far as the eye can see, and the Black iMfolozi River winding through the veld.
It’s all very wild, but this is not where we’ll be hiking. Our five day hike is further to the south west, deep in the remote iMfolozi wilderness area, where the White iMfolozi River runs.
“Don’t worry, the water is too shallow for crocodiles,” says wilderness guide Mshiyeni Ntuli.
We’re on the banks of the White iMfolozi, near Mndindini Trails Camp, where we left our vehicles and had a sandwich with the guides before we set out. There are several wilderness trails
