Hluhluwe

Ilala Weavers, Hluhluwe

Saturday 6th September

Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal

Daylight gave us a chance for a proper look at Hluhluwe, and it was market day.

Stall after stall lined the street, or rather pickup after pickup - each 'stall' consisted of a loaded covered pickup (known here as a 'backie') and you clambered into the boot for a look around.  Gives a whole new meaning to 'car boot sale'.

In the centre of it all, someone was singing, accompanied by two dancers.  It was hard to tell whether the dancers were part of the act or had just been passing and joined in - their Kappa tracksuits weren't quite in keeping with the traditional dress of the singer.  Anyhow, we ended up buying their homemade CD for R20 (about £1.30).

Around 1km outside Hluhluwe, we came to Ilala Weavers, specialists in traditional Zulu basket weaving.  As well as a shop, they had created a small museum of old Zulu artefacts (including woven grass penis head covers designed to "prevent chafing").  One of the highlights was a set of paintings painted by mouth by a local disabled artist.

Heading out of Hluhluwe, we visited False Bay Park, part of the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park.  Famous mostly for fishing and birdwatching, there wasn't much to see here.

Snake skin found at Planters Camp, Hluhluwe River Lodge

In fact, the greatest amount of wildlife was seen in the grounds of our own accommodation, driving to and from the gate:
 - impala
 - nyala
 - red duiker
 - vervet monkey

We also found a snake skin and porcupine spine, but without spotting the accompanying animal.

Tomorrow, we retrace our steps a little and head south to St. Lucia where we've booked a boat safari in the hope of spotting some crocodile or hippos.

(No sign of the genet tonight!)