Francisca Monica Mukumbi, the curio shop attendant, also remembers fondly a time when a honeymoon couple was unable to get to their suite because a pride of lions had decided to take up residence on the walkway leading to their room. ‘We had to move the guests to another room. They had no choice but to leave their clothes and toiletries behind until we could retrieve them,’ she laughs. Security guards, who patrol the grounds every night, also have exciting encounters: Benson Chulu often comes face to face with elephants in the dark. On another occasion, he was walking on his own and saw two young lions on the pathway. It was only after he had moved around them, and made it back to the main area safely, did he notice two fully grown lionesses behind him. ‘They had been stalking me! That was scary,’ he says. However, working inside the park is relatively safe. ‘We just have to remain aware of our surroundings at all times,’ explains Chindeni Bushcamp Manager, Peter Milanzi. ‘I’d say the most difficult part of the job is the remoteness of the area, as we are completely disconnected from the outside world.’
PHOTO COURTESY: ISAK PRETORIUS
Most employees working at lodges inside a national park have to be away for several nights at a time. ‘It’s difficult for our
families, but once you explain to them what you are doing, and how you are helping protect the animals and helping promote tourism, which gives everyone more jobs, they are very supportive,’ Milanzi adds. All in all, being based inside the park is a ‘mixture of work and leisure’, as Beauty Nyongani puts it. ‘The place is beautifully breathtaking. Who would not want to work in such a place, where you see elephants,
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zebras and giraffes through your office window?’ she enthuses. ‘We also understand the value of our wildlife for the local community and for the country as a whole. I feel that I am part of the people who are helping conserve nature.’ TZL
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