There's Zululand on my stoep! Biyela Lodge is all warriors and wonders

It’s a striking green that arrests you — an observation I can’t help but blurt out on our arrival at Biyela Lodge. “That’s Zululand for you,” I am told matter-of-factly by a travel companion whose grandmother hails from the Biyela clan who call this part of Zululand home. The summer rains have watered the area generously and the White uMfolozi River roars in the floodplains below.

Built into a hillside on the mFulaWozi Wilderness Private Game Reserve, Biyela Lodge is a luxurious oasis in the otherwise unruly wilderness.

Twelve suites built along a wooden footpath flank the main lodge area where visitors are greeted with magnificent views of the valley below, which sings with a constant hum of rushing waters.

Biyela Lodge is named after chief Phiwayinkosi Biyela — who I’m told regularly comes to stay for a night or two — and was built by members of the Biyela clan, many of whom now work at the lodge. It is one of the first two lodges to be built on the reserve; its sister lodge, Mthembu Lodge, is 10km downstream.

A third tented camp, Zulu Lodge, is in development along the Black uMfolozi River, with two more lodges in the pipeline.

ON THE WILD SIDE

The animals in the reserve are still a little skittish, being largely unaccustomed to public vehicles. Earlier this year, fences were dropped to incorporate 6,000ha of the 16,000 that make up the mFulaWozi Wilderness Private Game Reserve into the 96,000ha Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, with plans to incorporate the reserve in its entirety.

With the fences dropped, the number of potential wildlife sightings has increased, but, as with any game drive, what you’ll see from one day to the next is never guaranteed.

In spite of this uncertainly, with Lungelo Mzulwini as our guide even four-hour game drives passed in a contented state of relishing the natural world.

Fully immersed in the glorious green landscape, he managed to elicit excitement for the smallest wonders, hopping off the game drive vehicle to point out dainty pink wild foxgloves.

Even bird sightings took on an air of excitement — each identified with great patience by Mzulwini. We spotted African hoopoes, brown-hooded kingfishers, a Burchell’s coucal, a black-bellied bustard and magnificent Cape glossy starlings that always seemed to sense when my camera lens was being readied to capture them, prompting them to take flight.

We learn from Mzulwini that giraffes are born 2m tall after encountering a three-week-old with its mother.

The big cats prove elusive but we spot a lone rhino, zebra, an assortment of buck and something  special: a memory of elephants — a number of silly babies learning to use their trunks in tow — having a leisurely brunch on one of our morning drives.

Our meeting takes on another level of reverence after we learn that elephants were reintroduced in this area in the 1980s after being extinct for close to 100 years because of mass slaughtering for the ivory trade. Today there are already more than 1,000 of these gentle beasts roaming the wilderness.

FIRESIDE STORYTELLING

To wrap up our last day of game drives and impeccable spa treatments, we meet Abegnedo Nzuza around a blazing fire. A tour guide with a deep passion for nature and the local communities, Nzuza is a lively character with deep lines framing his kind eyes and a hearty laugh.

“Downstream where the river flows to is the original place of the Mthethwa community but right where it comes from in the west is the eMakhosini Valley of the Zulu kings. That is where the Zulu nation originates from,” Nzuza says before launching into an oral history of the Zulu nation. 

He begins before the unification of the Zulu kingdom and tells us about Shaka’s upbringing in the Mthethwa community, his rise to power and his ultimate demise by the hand of his brother, Dingaan.

There’s talk of the brutality of Shaka Zulu, the absurdity of the metaverse and recipes gleaned from travels across the world. I’m still trying to convince the chef to share his wonderfully rich creme pot dessert recipe but he remains secretive. It seems I’ll have to settle for that of his tomato chutney which I enjoyed with my frittata for breakfast.

The wine selection is not extensive but it’s good — put together by Spha Shabalala, the lodge manager we take to immediately, won over by his wide smile and generous spirit. I’m told he has a sommelier’s course under his belt and our jovial mood over dinner can attest to his skill.

I leave the lodge feeling spoiled and refreshed but most of all enriched — by the earth and the people who hold it sacred and by its stories and history. Of all my travel recipes, this is the one I value the most.

GETAWAY AT A GLANCE

Where it is: The lodge is located in the mFulaWozi Wilderness Private Game Reserve in the heart of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, two-and-a-half hours drive from Durban.

Accommodation: Twelve private luxury suites built into a hillside, each sleeping a maximum of two people.

Activities: Daily morning and late afternoon guided game drives. Guests can also book bush walks in advance and relax in the on-site spa.

Rates: SA residents pay R5,950 pppns, including all meals, two game drives daily and selected house beverages.

Contact: See mfulawoziwilderness.com or email reservations@mfulawozi.com.

• Oberholzer was a guest of mFulaWozi Wilderness Private Game Reserve