A tour of king shaka’s old hunting preserve fills ranee sahaney’s personal memory card to the brim.
Our escape from Durban is steady but swift, a driving rain hurrying us on along the road unspooling ahead of us like a dark wet ribbon through rural Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) province. Emerald foliage cascades down either side of the highway, the scent of rain on dust greets us as we down our windows and thrill to the prospect of exploring the wilderness in the legendary kingdom of Zululand. These ancient vistas are home to some of South Africa’s finest game reserves— Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve, Thanda Private Game Reserve, Thula Thula Private Game Reserve, and more.
Our destination is Hluhluwe- Imfolozi. We spend a good part of the drive trying to get our tongues around Hluhluwe—‘shlu-shlu-wee’. We are travelling to the great expanses where King Shaka (1816-1887) hunted animals with inordinate fearlessness and rose to become a charismatic warrior king. It’s not unlikely that during his forays here he was inspired to reinvent the ‘buffalo horn’ formation which the Zulu army used so effectively to surround the British camp and destroy it at the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879.
The Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Centenary Capture Centre sets a benchmark throughout Africa, we learn. It has cast in stone its huge success in the conservation of the white rhino, which was close to extinction before they stepped in with a programme for their survival. This is the reserve where Operation Rhino took birth in the 50s and 60s. (India too is involved with the conservation of its own depleting rhino population under the umbrella of Operation Rhino.) Today the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve is host to the largest white rhino population in the world. White rhinos differ from black only in the way they feed, we learn: the former graze on grass, the latter munch on tree leaves and other foliage.
Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Outlook Traveller.
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Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Outlook Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Chutneys For Every Season
GROWING UP IN JHARKHAND, I've always been enchanted by the state's culinary landscape. Here, the local cuisine never fails to surprise with its depth and variety.
BADGE OF HONOUR
IN THE DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE of tourism, where greenwashing often taints sustainability, certifications can help distinguish between genuine efforts and marketing gimmicks. Green certification systems encourage businesses to enhance their environmental credentials.
WHEELS OF TIME
IN 1947, TRAINS CARRYING REFUGEES ACROSS THE BORDER WERE SYMBOLIC OF THE TUMULT OF THE PARTITION.
RAILS OF THE Raj
FROM ITS CONCEPTION TO ITS ROLE IN THE NATION'S HISTORY, THE BRITISH INDIAN RAILWAYS IS A PHENOMENON MARKED AS MUCH BY MARVEL AS AVARICE
THE RHYTHM OF BOLLYWOOD
FROM THE RAILROAD THRILLER MISS FRONTIER MAIL 1936) TO SHAH RUKH KHAN DANCING ON A TRAIN IN DIL SE' 1998), TRAINS HAVE GIVEN UNFORGETTABLE SONG SEQUENCES TO MANY HINDI FILMS
MEMORY'S OASIS
REMEMBRANCES OF GROWING UP IN SEALDAH RAILWAY OFFICERS COLONY IN KOLKATA
A FAREWELL × TO FLAVOURS
FROM CUTLETS AND RAILWAY MUTTON CURRY IN DINING CARS TO THE UNREMARKABLE FARE AVAILABLE TODAY, THE JOURNEY OF FOOD ON THE INDIAN RAILWAY IS FASCINATING
HERITAGE ON THE TRACKS
THE ICONIC DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY, FONDLY CALLED THE TOY TRAIN,' HAS HELD ITS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS SINCE 1999
HIDDEN LIVES
SPANNING 65,000 KILOMETRES THROUGH DENSELY POPULATED INDIA, THE RAILWAYS ARE A BACKDROP TO COUNTLESS STORIES. 'THE UNRESERVED' BY FILMMAKER SAMARTH MAHAJAN CAPTURES A FEW
JOURNEYS WITHIN AND WITHOUT
FOR IMTIAZ ALI, TRAIN JOURNEYS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE, OFFERING GLIMPSES OF INDIA'S DIVERSE SOCIETY AND ITS MANY CULTURES AND RELIGIONS
