Lake Jozini

An amazing and extraordinary event took place on Monday 15 March 2021 when our Pongola Game Reserve elephants walked up to the top of the highest crest of the Ubombo Mountains spending all day in full view of the Myeni community at Mavela and Wildlife Spirit. On a clear day, from this elevated position, one can see the coastal dunes of Maputaland and the hills of Nongoma, the Heart of Zululand.

The pass they took to ascend to the mountain top is known amongst the local community as "isihlalo sendlovu" - the saddle of an elephant. This was the first time that they had walked as far as the top of the escarpment in full view of the neigbouring community.
We contemplated if this unusual event was a show of respect to the AmaZulu nation for the late King Goodwill Zwelinthini kaBhekuzulu, who passed away on Friday 13 March 2021.
"We will never know Mr Heinz, but there's a reason for this," Sakhile from Wildlife Spirit replied.

Tourists see a plethora of wildlife and water birds on the boat cruises offered by Pongola Game Reserve. The jetty is at the river mouth where we regularly clean and maintain the boats. It is also the hunting ground for the Nile Croc.

Even though the last recorded croc attack in the Pongola River was in 1964, we remain vigilant when wading in the murky water. Most of the Jozini crocs, even the big ones, are wary of humans since they were extensively hunted in the ‘20s. The crocs are not known to come too close to the jetty but in April it suddenly became a popular hang-out spot. We spotted giant 3 meter crocs and we saw evidence of frequent croc activity around the jetty and beach area.

An Overview
The KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet has declared the uMkhanyakude District Municipality an emergency disaster area as the drought continues to ravage the country. Areas such as Mtubatuba, Hluhluwe, Umhlabuyalingana, Jozini and Hlabisa have especially been affected by the severe drought. At Hluhluwe, the dam is extremely low at 22 percent. Prior to the drought, the normal raw water flow at Hluhluwe Phase 1 was averaging to 280 cubic metres per hour. This has since dropped to 90 cubic metres. With so many rural communities affected, the KZN Government through the Department of Cooperatives Governance and Traditional Affairs has brought the Umngeni Water Board on board. A contractor has also been hired to drill wells at the Umfolozi river bed which will help increase the daily supply from 1.8 to 10ML. (Africa News Agency)
The KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department has warned that despite the recent rainfall, which has been pouring in the province for the past few weeks, the prolonged drought remains severe.

MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, said the province would need weeks and weeks of sustained rainfall to refill its fast declining water reservoirs to return to water levels considered safe and sustainable. (SAnews.gov.za)