travel*
story anne schauffer pictures anne schauffer and supplied
I
love this quote by Chaim Potok: “I’ve begun to realise you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own.” Tembe has this. The Tembe quiet may be the deep silence of sand underfoot or under-wheel, compounded perhaps by the 10 vehicle limit at any one time in the 300 square kilometre park, and the massive elephants which, despite their size, pad through their world astonishingly silently. It could be some or all of that, but whichever, that quiet wilderness “has a quality and dimension all its own”. We stayed at Tembe Lodge, the community owned and run safari tent lodge on the Tembe
Memories of
ELEPHANTS
BUCKET LIST AND COVID CLAUSTROPHOBIA – THAT’S HOW WE FOUND OURSELVES ON THE ROAD NORTH TO TEMBE. IT’S SAID THAT TEMBE ELEPHANT LODGE IS SO MUCH PART OF THE RESERVE THE ANIMALS HARDLY KNOW IT’S THERE – WE, TOO, FELT THE PLEASURE OF DISAPPEARING tribe’s ancestral land, a story as old as the park itself. Vusi Tembe is a member of that family, a highly skilled and knowledgeable guide, who can hear and identify a bird call over the sound of a diesel engine while skilled birders are still scrambling. This has been his home for life, so the birds, wildlife, terrain is in his blood. His view about Tembe is clear cut: “I’m not working for myself, I’m working for the community.” It’s a view visibly echoed by everyone with whom we came into contact. Ownership and collaboration
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The park is renowned for its Tuskers, that is, elephants with impressive “ivory” weighing over 45kg
is empowering, and there’s a tangible sense that everyone – in front of and behind the scenes – puts their heart and soul daily into their warm, inviting version of hospitality. From Durban, it’s an easy four to five hours to reach Tembe. The biodiversity of the park is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, and the lodge by the community. You’ll find the Big Five at Tembe – all historically known to have been seen here – but the biggest of the Five is the real drawcard. The park is renowned for its Tuskers, that is, elephants with impressive “ivory” weighing over 45kg; the named Tuskers have now passed on, but a number of up-and-coming youngsters are clearly heirs to that throne. Elephants may be a key drawcard at Tembe, but the landscape is the other. It’s a tapestry of four to five different ecosystems, with the largest tract of sand forest in South Africa, as well as woodland, grassland and swampland. Travelling through this ever-changing environment is such a joy, because with the changes comes rare fauna and flora. This mixed terrain is a tantalising one for birds, and Tembe has a massive birding population – topping 350 species. Not much beats the intimacy with nature that
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