Phinda in a day

Sheldon and I had set the challenge. Walk the length of Phinda in a day from the elephant alley in the northern corner to poachers corner in deep in the far south. "Top to bottom in a day" people whispered in hushed tones, "its never been done before, its madness - they shall surely do so at their own peril." Silently we left early one Wednesday morning mid february. The time was 4:45 and we stepped out the vehicle into darkness, touching the northern most fence post on the reserve for luck. The kreosout wood left a mark on my hand, one that was to stay with me for the epic journey ahead. Marching forward into the dawn haze, we were acutely aware of the presence of lions in the surrouding areas, a low roar in the distance gave them away and we set the pace a little quicker, our stride lengthened and our senses stiffened. Down past Lion lane the fence ended and glorious maputoland woodland rose up before us. We offset west onto a game trail that led us to pipeline pan, spurwing geese glistened in the early morning sheen. The trail continued further into the woodlands, the sandy floor laced with leopard tracks from the night before. Reaching Zinave we rediscovered an old elephant track through the Nganga pans and further west towards the Forest Lodge. A brief break and like a well oiled game drive, the momentum drove us even further south. The bumbeni section saw the physical challenge start to mount as we reached the 20km mark and estimated a halfway point. The bush thickened extensively as we came off the ancient sand dunes to the firmer clay based soil that is so prevalent in the southern section of phinda. Beautiful kudu bulls emerged quietly to allow us a rare glimpse into their world, Zebra scattered as we rounded open corners and warthogs became constant companions. By the time we reached Mvubu dam, we breaked further to appreciate malachite, striped & half collared kingfishers, whistling ducks, jacana's, fish eaglyes, twinspots and various other waterbirds. The pace slowed as we reached the 30km mark and with mountain lodge in sight we stumbled onto another incredible elephant trail winding through the thick acacia savanna and revealing a myriad of insects, reptiles and small mammals. The last leg was close and we moved through mountain lodge swiftly, not allowing the midday heat to stifle our purpose. Through Mark's Garden and around Ubombo pass the fever trees greeted Sheldon and I. Discussion was on leopard populations when lion tracks appeared redirecting our course slightly through into Harrowgate. The hill after the next hill was in sight and the Southern end of Phinda rose into sight as the grasslands of Harrowgate presented further Zebras, Wildebeest, Impalas, Reedbuck, Giraffe, Rhino, Buffalo and Elephant bulls gliding slowly across the horizon. The end was close and i lifted my hand to smell the kreosout from up north, the strong aroma alivening my senses as together we grabbed the southern most pole in Phinda having walked 39.8km in a time of 7hrs and 30 minutes. All that remained was to get home...

Posted: &BEYOND Phinda by Rich Laburn, Date: 13 February 2008