Thulane Radebe
Open road travelling is not an easy feat, especially when travelling with a bunch of “strangers”. In this case in particular it wasn’t random strangers it was Television personality Dineo Ranaka and a few media representatives plus crew.
The first thing you notice and can’t help but awe over the Mpumalanga province is its genuine beauty. It is reflected in the rolling hills, the scenic greenery, and the match box houses on the hills that create an imagery piece of man-reconstructing nature’s natural elements.
The mountainous muscular appeal of this province reminds you that “The Big 5” is at home here and by big 5 I do not mean the fastest eating fat kid in your neighbourhood mo-Afrika. I mean the proud dominance of the animal kingdom as we’ve come to know it, thanks to the national geographic channel.
There is something very calming about this space and its energy that is not city paced or driven, it is as natural as the pine trees that grow organically on the side of the road that stretches for kilometres of land, the bread-winning woman who’ve anchored themselves on the side of the road selling fruits mainly mangos which ultimately defines the land of the rising sun (Mpumalanga) as a spectacle to marvel at, to take in and enjoy.
Born in the city of Gold, the biggest city in Africa that is. My mind is polluted with the fast paced sounds of traffic, the undying need to succeed in this jungle, new music, growing trends, sub-cultures, Facebook posts, sub-tweets, virtual lives and an identity crisis. You also seem to get this suppressed idea that the world revolves our city egos and aspirations. Well 4 hours to the East lay an undiscovered scenic terrain and picture perfect backdrops of nothing but God’s immortal creative eye and artistic design in nature.
Being on the road with Dineo Ranaka, her family , production crew and the journos I didn’t know what to expect but it was made clear to me by Dineo herself that “having fun” was the order of the weekend. The itinerary was clear we were headed to the Kruger National Park, after all the cool pit stops , we unanimously decided it was a good idea to head straight to the Game reserve. I could not have asked for a better weekend kick starter. The stripping vulnerability of the wild is both freeing and arresting. Knowing that these untamed inhabitants of the wild could pop out of anywhere was unnerving to a sort but also exhilarating and awakening. The sun was setting fast when we arrived and so we were caught chasing day light and hoping to sight the Big 5 in the same breath, and thus we spotted a kudu group, elephants crossing, a hippo and a rhino on our way into the park.
Now picture this, we’ve been hydrating for over 5 hours on the road, arriving at the park and 10 minutes into our game drive we all had an urge “to go”, we drove to the nearest damn, a Rhino was grazing 200 metres away from our truck and a hippo was taking a dip in the dam nearby. We still had to go and so we did, the joy of letting it hang and spray with a free reigning rhino just metres away had these city slickers revved up but happy to be secreting in the real wild like the wild permits.
Mpumalanga knew we were here for an unforgettable experience and it did not disappoint, the mountains kept getting more picture perfect and the trees longer and prouder, are we still in South Africa? Well are we? I’d never in my 20 odd years been introduced to Mzansi like this, for the 1st time I wasn’t thinking Tshisanyama or happening-night life. I was gob-smacked and reminded that I had a responsibility to share & invite others to go experience this wonder (South Africa) ‘This is why tourist come here” it hit me.
Itinerary for day 2 was just as exciting as the one from the day before, quad bikes were aligned and ready to be taken for a spin. We entered a rather sombre looking fruit farm called “Idle and Wild” on the edge of a hill in the Hazyview area, we met a kick-ass instructor “Theunis , a very funny guide, with snake & leopard jokes to make a nervous city wreck prefer to remain in the shuttle for safety and precaution. He took us on a proper forest ride on the quads; we even got some few feet away from a river known for crocodiles and hippos, that was rather unsettling for a lame but I lived, LOL!
Lunch was to be devoured (“Devoured” not eaten, because we were in the wild) at Summerfileds restaurant, I mean come on, this joint is not your everyday fancy getaway, this is what romantic milestones are made of, mountain backdrop, perfectly placed dam and outdoor spa with large bath tubs out in the very bask of nature. Fast forward to what was for me an I-cannot-wait-to-find-out-what-the- F-is-this moment, “Microlighting”. I sat this activity out but imagine a 2-seater light aircraft hovering over the impressive wildlife of the Hazyview-to-Kruger National Park vicinity.
The idea of flying in a machine without windows feeling the breeze caress your fingers in the sky like the wings of a super eagle while listening to a retired veteran pilot take you personally through the landscape of the natural beauty of the Mpumalanga province.
I cannot indicate in this one article what this incredible journey has done for me and to me in just 2 days. I am a newly swayed #ShotLeft advocate but between you and me they are even better when they are a #ShotLeftWithDineo *wink*, and the Ranakas (what a crazy bunch they are). Wait! Big shout out to the pillar of the Ranaka family strength, Mama Ranaka. She is such 20 something year old with everybody’s interests at heart.
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