At Home In the Wild

Many people wish they could stay in the Kruger Park forever. A braai every night, a game drive every morning… But what is it really like to live in the Skukuza staff village? We went to find out.

- Sophia Van Taak

It’s a muggy Monday morning in the Skukuza staff village during the school holidays. A weed eater drowns out the sound of cicadas and children shriek as they splash in the swimming pool. Nearby, a woman is washing the windows of her living room.

It’s all so normal and middle class; a suburb like any other in South Africa, with streets named after antelope: Grysbok, Nyala, Duiker… But look closer and you’ll see impala rams butting heads on the golf course, warthogs grazing among the swings near the play school and… the remains of an antelope dangling from a tree. Unlike the Skukuza rest camp next door, the staff village is not fenced. The wild animals are your neighbours and your flowers are only safe as long as there’s not a hungry ellie around.

Carl Louwrens has been a dominee in Skukuza for the past 25 years. “There are elephants here, and a hippo down by the river,” he says. “They walk right through the gardens. You should see how the elephants feast on the strelitzias at night.”

But isn’t Carl scared to live here? “No, we don’t smell like food to the animals,” he says. “It’s like living by the ocean – you have to be aware of the danger, the power of nature. Our ocean just happens to venture into the garden sometimes! We try to live a normal life, but without taking unnecessary risks. No one goes out into the street after dark. If you want to visit your neighbour, you drive.”

Everyone in Skukuza has an amazing story to tell: “I couldn’t get to church – a pride of lions was feasting on a kudu on the front lawn!” and “I’ve seen the Big Five from my bicycle!”