Only five minutes into the gate, we were surrounded by a pack of 12 wild dogs.

They were racing up and down alongside the Umfolozi River and around our car. The adults were trying to cross the river while the young ones gambolled on the wide sandbank, doing what wild dogs do.

What they were up to – yipping and racing up and down – we had no idea, but it was a magical sighting of these beautiful, painted creatures.

Two hours up the N2 takes you to a different world, where time is governed by the seasons and the whims of Mother Nature.

A little further on, a swagger of giraffes drifted majestically through the trees like so many sailing ships, looking down their noses at us.

The cares of the world – where chaos rules in the DRC or the world shudders at the latest gunslinging by Donald Trump – are left far behind when you pass through the gates of the game reserves.

Over three days last week, we saw almost the whole range of wildlife Umfolozi and Hluhluwe have to offer, barring a leopard, but that was made up for by a family of five cheetahs.

Periodically, one hears complaints about the state of the reserves, but not from us this time.

The cabins at Mpila are clean and well-maintained. The potholes of the past have gone, so the roads are good.

They were even better at Mkuze, where we moved on to for a couple of days. The roads are brilliant, and the hides are super clean and tidy.

The tented accommodation is, of course, rustic, but that’s the way we like it. Everything works – it’s just not the Hilton.

We love Mkuze. So green and full of interesting trees. Birdlife too, in the lush forest and on the pans.

Our smallest visitor was a Woodland Kingfisher. Not rare, but right on the southern edge of its territory.

The largest was a herd of about 40 elephants, which all rushed down to a waterhole at the end of a very hot day.

They splashed themselves all over while slurping up great gallons of water.

It took great vision to establish those reserves.

Dr Ian Player wrote that, at first, the reserves were vehemently opposed by Zululand farmers who feared that predators would take out their cattle.

How ironic that a century later, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme: The cattle are gone, and the wildlife industry has taken their place as the region’s primary interest.

We are so fortunate to have these reserves on our doorstep.

***

The inventor of throat lozenges has died.

There will be no coffin at his funeral.

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