Life at Zulu Nyala

Wondering what our days were like at Zulu Nyala? Well if not, just scroll down to see pics from our daily drives. For the rest of you, we get up around 5:30am to be down at the drive pickup point (about a 10 minute stroll) for our 6:30am drive.  The drive is 2 hours and then we have breakfast. Remember when I mentioned we were put in a group for our drives when we arrived? We also have all our meals with them…we got super lucky and have a great group!  Karen & Pam from Colorado and Brad, Simran, Lars & Gulzar (twin 7  year old boys that are super smart and know a lot about the animals) from Louisiana. After breakfast, we just chill or walk around the property (no big game in this area thank goodness!).  We usually head down to lunch around 1:30pm and chill until 3:00pm when we have our late afternoon drive. After another 2 hour drive, we head back to get ready for dinner around 6:30pm.  We are back in our room relaxed and in bed by 9:30pm. 

The Nyala, a smaller version of the Great Kudu, actually walks so that its back hooves hit where their front hooves just left.  This makes it harder for them to be tracked. The males are black and the ladies are light brown.

LuLu might just become a ranger as she spotted several animals on the drives.

One day we tracked elephants by their dung and to some extend the sound of them pulling up trees or the trees brushing up beside them as they passed.  Interesting fact: elephants are actually super quiet when they walk…the sound of the trees brushing against them is what is heard.  We saw the 3 ladies of Zulu Nyala but they were not in a good position for photos as they were behind a good deal of bush so we just sat and watched…you know just being in the moment.  Once we saw them starting to move, Leigh headed out on some different paths and we eventually caught up with them.

During one drive, Leigh heard of some “drama” on the ranger radio so he sped up and quickly got us to the fence between Zulu Nyala and Phinda Game Preserve.  Once we arrived, we found one of our white rhinoceros at the fence squaring off with another white rhinoceros on the Phinda side.  They were shying each other (getting in charge mode) so we stuck around because if they started to charge, Leigh said we would have to drive into them to break them up.  With rhinos being an endangered species, we could not risk them fighting and hurting or potentially killing each other.  Fortunately we did not have to break them up but when Bravo One (the main guy at Zulu Nyala for security and pretty much everything game related) arrived as we left, he did break them up before they got into a fight.  

We had one drive where it seemed like all the giraffes were out! They were everywhere and super close to our truck. We even stumbled across a mom and her babies and caught one of them nursing!

Notice the little bird on the giraffe

The sunrises and sunsets are absolutely gorgeous!

We seemed to find the Cape Buffalo almost every day!  If you are wondering what the black stuff is inside his ear, it is ticks!  A healthy buffalo will have 10,000 ticks…I know exactly what you are thinking because we thought it too!

Some random wildlife photos…

Marula Tree…from the berries they make Amarula which is similar to Bailey’s

There is a spot where every time Leigh stops this little fella comes for a visit. LuLu rode shotgun everyday so she was up close and personal with the African Pied Wagtail. 

Our final morning drive was amazing! Spoiler alert we were VERY close and personal with the 3 ladies of Zulu Nyala. There was just something about driving around the reserve with a layer of fog that gave the place a different look and feel. 

We have learned a good deal about tracking various animals by their footprints, the broken branches and of course their poo! We have seen (and smelled) a lot of poo this week!  The fresher the poo, the closer the animal may be. Fun fact: it takes an elephant only 36 minutes to digest its food. Based upon the poo to the left, we knew the 3 ladies were close but we did not know they were literally around the bend…thank goodness our guide had catlike reflexes!! We sat there for a good 20 minutes just looking at them and followed them a bit as they made the way. It was unbelievable ❤️

That time when LuLu was a little nervous the elephant might be postering and getting ready to charge us 😂

If you listen very carefully to the video, you can hear what sounds like a tree falling. In reality, it is one of the 3 ladies ripping the tree from the ground and having a snack!

Safari Tips to give you a break in the animal photos.  Here are some things we did before we left the US in preparation for our trip and some things we learned along the way.

• Go to your local travel clinic to find out what shots and medication are required for your particular safari location.  We use Passport Health in Charleston and they have locations throughout the US.  For us, we had to renew our typhoid shot as they are only good for 2 years and we just passed the 2 year mark from our Vietnam trip.  Other than that, we just had to get malaria pills…we started taking them 2 days before arriving at Zulu Nyala (so when we got to Johannesburg) and we will take them everyday through our time in Zimbabwe and then 7 more days.  We have never had any issues but some folks say they make them nauseous.  Other shots you may need are Hep A/B series, MMR (definitely make sure yours is up to date as there is a measles outbreak in South Africa), travel polio and of course make sure your tetanus shot is current.  Again, check with your local travel clinic before going to any exotic location!!
• Our travel clinic advised us to spray the clothes we plan to wear on the safari with Sawyer’s Insect Repellent.  Spray on your clothes BEFORE you go and make sure to give them 4 hours to dry completely.  Once you do this, you are good for 6 weeks or 6 washings.  We did this in Vietnam and had no issues…and have not had any issues here.
• For bug spray we put on during the day, we used Ranger Ready but to be honest, after the first day, we stopped because it is too cold for bugs during South African winters.  Now if you are here in the summer, I am pretty sure you will want it!
• Make sure to have a printed script of all your meds just in case.  Bring a week more than your stay worth of medicine.  Make sure to bring your meds in their labeled bottles.
• Get a script for an antibiotic for each person…just in case (we even do this before our European trips).
• Bring neutral colored clothes (browns, olive green, khaki) so you blend in and do not startle the animals.  Avoid all black and navy as it does attract tsetse flies (fortunately at Zulu Nyala they have eliminated them).  Bring clothes that layer as mornings and evenings can be chilly.
• Pack half of what you think you will need.  We packed 4 bottoms and 6 tops but only ended up wearing 2 bottoms and 3 tops (in the South African winter it does not get that hot and honestly you are not doing a lot of physical activity so you do not get that sweaty.)
• Unless you are a serious photog, your iPhone works great…all pics in this blog were from my iPhone 16 Pro.
• Bring small, crisp, new bills (nothing larger than a $20 but preferably $1 & $5) to give as tips.  I do have a handy tipping suggestion from Dragonfly Africa if you are interested just let me know.
• Lastly, leave your expectations at home. A game drive is not Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.  Just come with a sense of adventure and be excited with whatever you see.  Tracking and searching is half the fun!

Our final late afternoon drive was utterly amazing and the perfect ending to our time at Zulu Nyala!  We started off at 3:00pm and returned around 6:15pm during which time we saw what remains of part of the set from “Out of Africa” which was filmed here, saw a herd of Cape Buffalo (including a baby!) relaxing, was chased by the 3 ladies of Zulu Nyala (literally!!) and witnessed a gorgeous sunset from atop the preserve.

What remains of the “Out of Africa” set…I can
just hear Meryl Streep “I had a farm in Africa”!

There were reports of an injured rhino on the preserve so
the plane is looking for him so the vet can check him out. 

The lady on the left is pregnant…how lucky will some
folks be if she gives birth as they are driving by!

When we came across the 3 ladies of Zulu Nyala, we were very excited as you can never get tired of seeing elephants!  Leigh’s spidey senses were up when the 2nd lady came out of the bush as she seemed to have a plan.  When he backed up, the 3rd lady came out from a different direction and definitely had a plan!  Leigh quickly moved us forward but not before we were charged a bit (one of the gals in our group got the whole encounter and will be editing the video when she returns and sending out). Once we got out of the way and positioned ourselves, Leigh realized the plan was not for us but for the bull elephant in the neighboring preserve.  Not gonna lie, it was a bit nerve-wrecking and exciting!  We did get to see something Leigh said he has never seen, one of the ladies reaching her truck over to touch the fella.

Leigh’s People ❤️

What an unbelievably amazing time we had during our 6 days at Zulu Nyala!  Definitely an experience of a lifetime and one we will never forget! We are now off to see what Cape Town has in store for us.