Footprints in the sand share the secrets of this untamed world in Kwazulu Natal’s best private game reserve. This is the first lesson I learn on safari as we head off at dawn in a 12-seater open vehicle in search of recent paw print sightings of the world’s biggest and fastest cat.
Less than 20 minutes in one what is my first safari, our tracker Mr T raises his arm to halt the vehicle. There on the dirt road in front of us is a wide-eyed baby cheetah, no more than six weeks old. Our vehicle stops and my heart stops with it.
With no mother in sight, the tawny coloured cheetah cub stares right at us. Left to fend for itself while the mother hunts for food, the cub continuously chirps like a bird, a high-pitched calling sound for the mother the cub so desperately longs to see. Then, searching for safety, the cub retreats into the bush.
Fearful about the cub’s fate, we wait a few moments in hope the mother will find her cub before edging slowly into the thicket, but as we do Mr T points ominously to fresh leopard prints, the first sign that a dangerous predator has been lurking nearby. Suddenly, the cheetah mother emerges, and is standing directly ahead of us though camouflaged by the trees. With her head held high, ears back and looking alert she furiously calls to her young in the same high-pitched bird sound but now there’s only a deafening silence from the cub we’d watched so intently only moments before.
No gruesome mauling was seen but the cub’s fate was written in the sand, and this was the last sighting of the baby animal and those delicate paws, serving as a heart-wrenching reminder of the fragility of life on our planet, particularly for those species like the cheetah which are so perilously close to extinction in the wild.
With as few as 6,500 mature cheetahs left in the world, the dwindling population of these majestic cats are the focus of an intensive conservation programme at the international adventure and luxury travel company &Beyond’s Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa.
Despite the loss we’d witnessed, the programme has shown encouraging signs of increasing the cheetah population both at Phinda and from its support of other destinations where the rewilding programme of cheetahs is now taking place even in the Saudi Arabian desert where these magnificent creatures once roamed freely.
South African born Joss Kent – CEO of &Beyond and former CEO of Abercrombie and Kent which was founded by his father and grandparents – has ambitious plans to triple the company’s positive impact on conservation and local communities by 2030 through global expansion and partnerships.
Much of this work is done through Wild Impact, formerly known as the Africa Foundation, which was set up by &Beyond in 1992, with the mission to empower and develop the local communities surrounding its luxury lodges. During our stay, we experienced an excursion to see some of the projects including hospitals, schools and the chance to share a cultural experience with a traditional Zulu doctor in a mud hut.
Discovering the World with &Beyond
Since launching 32 years ago at Phinda, &Beyond has become South Africa’s global success story, and now operates exclusive safaris and tours in Africa, Asia and South America, living faithfully by its motto ‘Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife and Care of the People’.
And our home for six days, Phinda Forest Lodge, one of the world’s first eco-designed lodges, is where it all began. Built on an endangered sand forest where many new species of fauna and flora have been discovered including what is one of the world’s most potent wild mushrooms, Forest Lodge is a haven of calm.
One of six lodges at Phinda, Forest Lodge was exquisitely refurbished two years ago, with each of the 16 lodges featuring floor to ceiling windows looking out to the forest, where you can often glimpse striped nyallas grazing just a few feet away. The villas are vast, each with a distinct traditional African feel. In the main complex there is a large central fire pit overlooking the bush, library, lounge and wooden walkways to protect the precious ground below.
Having acquired land from local farmers in the early 1990s, &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve returned 9,085 hectares to its ancestral owners, the Makhasa and Mnqobokazi communities in 2007. Importantly, &Beyond and the local communities work closely together. What began with its cheetah breeding programme now extends to the protection of rare black rhinos, white rhinos, lions, leopards, African Pangolins and other wildlife as well as caring for the rare and unique eco-system itself.
Phinda, which stretches 29,866 hectares and is situated close to the Indian Ocean, is derived from the Zulu phrase meaning ‘return of wildlife’.
Unlike Sabi Sands, which is part of Kruger National Park with open borders, Phinda is fully fenced. Our young guide Josie Romer-Lee (above on the right) explains the land has seven distinct habitats and that’s why it is often referred to as one of the ‘Seven World’s of Wonder’. The sand forest is also home to the elusive Suni and the rare red duiker, two tiny antelope you are unlikely to see elsewhere.
Josie’s mother was herself a ranger at Phinda, and an inspiration behind her love of adventure and wildlife. You could be forgiven for thinking Josie and Mr T knew how to sign, the way they worked so rhythmically together as they took our all female group on safari trips each day at dusk and dawn. With razor sharp eyes, Mr T spots not just the big five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino) but even a tiny chameleon from afar in the dark despite its ability to change colour and camouflage itself.
Equally, Josie has a remarkable knowledge of the area and fascinating stories too, pointing out a mahogany tree where she once hid from lions during her intensive training programme to be a ranger. She is a wealth of knowledge about everything from the pretty blue pea flowers of Jicama trees to Phinda ‘s 436 bird species such as the colourful Burchell’s coucal and the impressive Bateleur eagle, the &Beyond’s motif.
Legend has it, the eagle always turns up when the company has found the right lodge or made an important decision.
Towards the end of our stay, we experience an unforgettable sleep out under the stars, the ultimate roar and snore. After a delicious three-course meal and marshmallow roasting on the campfire, we slept out in the wild with an armed night watchman on patrol. As night falls, the nocturnal wildlife of the sandy forest produces a medley of sounds – hooting owls, barking baboons and the howling of hyenas in the distance. For me, it was an unparalleled experience of feeling close to nature.
It’s easy to understand why people get hooked on safaris. The African bush is a sanctuary where you can find clarity, strength and feel deeply connected to the world around you. My trip to Phinda has left a lasting impression on me, not least because it’s made me the realise that nature is our greatest teacher.
Robyn was a guest of andbeyond.com