Two Bits – 1 April 2016

One of the hidden gems of this part of the world is Maphelane, the southernmost nature reserve within the isiMangaliso Wetland Park. Time spent with family is never wasted, and Rose wanted to revisit the little resort that holds many good memories for her.
That it is almost only accessible safely by 4×4 ensures that the camp is never too crowded, especially the last 50km of rough dirt road. If you don’t know it, Mapelane is on the south bank of the Umfolozi River where it enters the sea. You can just spot the church spire of St Lucia village through the trees to the north.
It’s basically a fishing camp, with the emphasis on basic. Ten cabins sleeping four or so each, buried in the tropical forest and bush. It’s a fisherman’s paradise, from beach or boat, and a smorgasbord of mussels, oysters and crayfish in the rocky intertidal pools.
There are lovely walks on sandy tracks through the forest and a birder’s delight, with nearly 200 species in the area. We have enjoyed lovely sightings of the blue-cheeked bee-eater here.
When we visited mid-March, we were fortunate to see the bee-eaters gathering for their long journey back to North Africa. I was perched on the dune overlooking the estuary, trying the take pictures of them, when I realised that the green colour of the trees on the opposite bank was because thousands, tens of thousands, of the bright green bee-eaters were perched on the branches.
Just imagine those tiny little birds flying all the way across Africa back to North Africa and the Middle East, right up to the Caspian Sea, where they breed. The journey is mind-boggling.
Hippo and crocodile are in the estuary and even shark, if the warning signs are to be believed, and in the forest are small buck, monkey, mongoose and red squirrel (though I never saw a squirrel).
Little Red Forest Duiker peek out of the bush and tiptoe across clearings, diving back into the tangle as soon as they spot you. The Red Forest Duiker is a rich reddish-brown, although the underparts are typically paler. The hairs on the chin, throat, and insides of the ears are whiteish. A tuft of reddish-brown and black hairs grows between the horns, and the tail has a white tip.
Though smaller than the Common Duiker, it is about double the size of its shy cousin, the Blue Duiker. A characteristic of the Red Duiker’s appearance is its hunched back, with front legs shorter than the hind legs. These longer hind legs are in a crouched position, which serves as an advantage when the duiker senses danger and needs to leap quickly into nearby bush – thereby its name from Afrikaans for ‘diver’.
The large clearing of the campsite, which was empty when we were there, proved an ideal place to watch the duiker and a large colony of mongoose foraging busily through the leaves.
Fishing was off that weekend – not even the locals were lucky – but Pieter (my son-in-law) did manage to grab half a dozen crayfish for Rose’s birthday dinner. Nothing better than crays fresh from the sea!
It’s great to be able to get away from the mess that society is in at the moment, to forget about problems and fears about the economy and politics and so much irrelevant interference. Just spending time concentrating on building stronger bonds with those we love. And spend a little time with ourselves, which is sometimes hard to do. We are fortunate to be living in a place that is rich in natural beauty and has many spots we can easily get away to.
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Doctor Juggie Naidoo from Stanger was famous on the North Coast for always catching large fish and for winning fishing trophies.
One day while he was on one of his frequent fishing trips to Zinkwazi, he got a call that a farmer’s wife near Darnall was giving birth. He hurried to her aid and delivered a healthy baby boy.
The farmer had nothing to weigh the baby with so Doctor Naidoo used his fishing scales. The baby weighed 20.5 kilograms . . .