experience
Solomon Ndlovu, Lodge Manager at Castleton, was an Assistant Head Guide at Singita Kruger National Park when he met Jonathan Lachowitz, who first visited in 2017. Over the years, they have spent hundreds of hours walking the Kruger concession, along with Tracker Sunday Ndhlovu. In an episode of the Safari Conversations podcast, they reflect on some of the memories and insights they’ve shared over the last few years, and what brings them both back to this remarkable place, time and again. Continuous lessons Solomon: It’s incredible what nature can teach you. And you know, from the first time you come, it begins a journey of coming back. I’m so grateful to be here doing what I do. And seeing small things that you don’t often see when you are in a vehicle, like dung beetles, for example. Watching that beetle rolling the ball all the way uphill and then downhill. That’s an incredible lesson for me. Because they never give up, because they know that at the end of this uphill, there’s a downhill. What life lessons have you learned? Jonathan: One of the things that I learn and relearn each time is that so many of the challenges and stresses that we have day-to-day seem much less important when you’re out in nature. And for me, whether it’s walking in the bush and seeing only nature in every direction, or being able to read a book just by starlight, you really feel relatively small. And your problems feel relatively small.
Fresh perspectives Solomon: Jonathan, I’m curious – why do you keep coming to Kruger so often, and why do you choose walking every day? Do you ever get bored? Jonathan: I’ve never had a moment that I felt bored being out in nature and being out with friends, walking. While it’s the same geographical location, every season is different, every month, every day, and really by the hour, nature changes – and there are always animals moving. The position of the sun is changing. The temperature is changing. While coming back to the same place has the familiarity of the people and the process, really, for me, it’s that opportunity to disconnect from the rest of the world, to get close to nature and to get perspective. Solomon: You get to see a lot of interesting behaviour when you really stop and observe, and you’re not behind a camera lens or behind your phone, but you’re just out there watching impalas. And even though everybody’s seen impala thousands of times, when you stop and observe, you just have that opportunity to slow things down. I think that’s a really special opportunity that Singita offers – to go out and construct the day in a way that is most meaningful for you and for us. It’s about going out with no agenda, no checklist, and the opportunity to see what nature has to offer on any given day.
Previous spread On the ground and at eye level with your surroundings, the bush offers a different experience. Left Solomon Ndlovu, Lodge Manager at Castleton.
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