It was another long driving day that took us to Marloth Park, located at the south end of Kruger National Park. It is separated from Kruger by the Crocodile River and by a border fence that is porous. Marloth Park is a wildlife conservancy that contains many of the herbivores and smaller animals found in Kruger, like giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, impala, bushbuck, warthog, baboon, other small game and many birds. Occasionally, lions have been known to wander into Marloth Park from Kruger.
Marloth Park is a holiday township with a number of tourist lodges and about 4500 privately owned “holiday homes”. Much of the vegetation in the park remains in its natural state so the animals can wander and feed as they would in their natural habitat, weaving through the lodges and homes. The natural vegetation partially hides most of the buildings from view so that it somewhat gives the feeling of being in the bush.
As a holiday town, people are discouraged from living permanently in the park with 4 months per year being the longest duration of stay permitted. This means that most of the homes are rented out for part of the year to tourists and the tourism infrastructure is indeed excellent in Marloth Park. The main roads are well paved and there are several shops and restaurants within the boundaries of the park.
In Kenya, we learned that the aim of a wildlife conservancy is to meet the needs of all of the stakeholders. In Kenya, we stayed in several conservancies, like Enonkishu and the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy. In these conservancies, the equation seemed balanced between the needs of the wildlife, local tribes and tourism. At Marloth Park, the greater priority in the equation is given to the demands of tourism development.
Wild animals and humans live side by side but not without compromises. People are allowed to jog and bike within the park but not between the hours of 6 pm to 6 am. Animals are able to freely roam and eat from the natural vegetation, but some people have taken to feeding the wild animals hence they have completely lost any fear of humans that they once had. The zebras and giraffes come dangerously close to the house and on several occasions, zebras approached us at our front door. Baboons also have become a problem in Marloth Park and will enter homes, even using rocks to break windows, to get food.
On the one hand, it was amazing to see the animals up close without having to adhere to the distance observed on game drives. On the other hand, our proximity to wild animals and the lack of caution the animals felt toward us made me feel uncomfortable. These majestic animals deserve to be respected, revered and enjoyed as wild animals of the great African plains. Yet here, they were treated as casually as any common squirrel you might find at the neighborhood park. Somehow that didn’t feel right to me.
Our home in Marloth Park was a cozy 2-story, 3-bedroom home decorated in a no-frills safari style. The floors and walls were concrete and there were just a few decorations and wall hangings to remind us that we were in Africa. There was an open kitchen and living area downstairs. Upstairs, Leo and I stayed in one bedroom while the children all stayed in another bedroom with one large bed and a set of bunk beds.
The highlight of the house was the outdoor area. There was an outdoor kitchen upstairs with a braai and large dining table. Just beside that, there was a jacuzzi, a dart board and a look-out tower that gave us wonderful views of the surrounding area.
During our stay in Marloth Park, we did not plan any specific activities. We spent most of our time relaxing and enjoying the house. We made a few trips into the nearest town, Malelane, and one night, had dinner in a local chain restaurant called Spur. The food was average but the children were thrilled with their dessert, a self-decorating waffle and ice cream set that came with a variety of sprinkles and decorations that the children could apply to the dessert themselves.
During dinner that night, we came up with the idea that we could hold a Sports Day, in which RY would lead us in some exercise. We decided that our “House Color” would be blue so the next morning, we each put on whatever blue clothing we had. RY lead us in a few rounds of exercises starting with squats and jumping jacks. We then ran a few laps around the house and concluded with some push-ups next to the jacuzzi. It made me realize that during these few months, we haven’t been exercising enough and we should be more deliberate in including more exercise in our routine. After breakfast, we heated up the jacuzzi and enjoyed a few hours playing in the oversized tub.
Throughout the day, the zebras, giraffes and warthogs would wander around our front yard, approaching the house from all directions. There was a walkway around the outside perimeter of the 2nd floor of the house that allowed us to see the animals from every angle. The animals spend most of their days eating or socializing and usually travel in groups. In fact, there are special collective nouns for groups of different kinds of animals. We observed a dazzle of zebras, a tower of giraffes and a sounder of warthogs.
One afternoon, we drove out to the lookout point over Crocodile River to catch a glimpse of the action that awaited us in Kruger National Park. It was quite peaceful that afternoon and there certainly weren’t any crocs in view. The only animal we could see was an elephant in the distance.
We had been craving cinnamon rolls so AY decided to take things into her own hands. We have made cinnamon rolls together many times in Shanghai but this was her first time making it on her own and they came out wonderful. I messed up on the baking the next morning because the markings on the oven were rubbed off so the tops got a little burnt. Nevertheless, they still tasted delicious.
Our only disappointment during our time in Marloth Park was not being able to play at the Bushveld Atlantis, a waterpark with a few water slides and a swimming pool. On the first day that we arrived in Marloth Park, the kids spotted the waterpark and we promised to bring them back in a few days when the weather was hot. We chose Tuesday because the weather was forecasted to be 38 degrees. It turns out that the waterpark is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The kids were so disappointed but there was nothing that I could do. Sometimes it’s just like that.
