Elephants once roamed its secret thoroughfares and rumour has it that Shaka hid hundreds of women and children in the forest when an attack by his enemy, Zwide, chief of the Ndwandwes, was imminent.
Inside a tiny shebeen near the bus stop in Eshowe, things are getting heated. And it’s not because there are 15 of us crammed around a wooden bench inside a modified shipping container on a sweaty Zululand afternoon; it’s because we’re discussing Jacob Zuma. The ANC president married his fourth wife two days ago, at a traditional ceremony in Nkandla just up the road.
Andy Rabagliati, an IT specialist who works in rural areas, has brought us here to sample the real, day to day Eshowe not always mentioned in the guidebooks.
Andy has photos of the wedding ceremony on his cell phone and now all 15 shebeen drinkers crowd around the phone, peering at a fuzzy Jacob Zuma in his leopard skin and white takkies. There’s a hush. A fat fly buzzes around the container. Then it’s bedlam, as everyone tries to speak at once.
The man sitting next to me shakes my hand warmly and says: “Ngiyabonga buthi, thank you for coming. We are one country at last!”
“I love Eshowe,” Andy says later, as he guides us back to the main road, past fruit vendors and makeshift hair salons. “It’s the easiest, most accessible place to meet the real South Africa.”
No one really knows how Eshowe got its name. Some say it’s an evocation of the sighing sound the Dlinza Forest makes when a light breeze blows through it; others suggest it comes from the Zulu word for mushroom – ikhowe – that was used to describe the British Army’s tents when the town was still a hilltop military stronghold.
Whatever its origins, the town is unique: arranged in a horseshoe around the forest with a tapestry of sugar cane farms and rural villages beyond, all roads eventually terminate in great views or dark, jungly paths.
Eshowe is predominantly a trading town, with people coming from all over the district to do their monthly shopping at the Boxer or the Shoprite, or to get a haircut at one of the many salons. During the day the town swarms with activity, but in the late afternoon, scores of Washesha buses roll out of the terminus in a cloud of black diesel smoke, bearing their passengers home to villages all over southern Zululand. In their wake, a humid stillness descends over the town.
Andy and I decamp to The Happy George pub for a cold Zulu Blonde: local ale brewed on the premises.
The Happy George is in The George Hotel, a landmark building in Eshowe that is owned by entrepreneur and philanthropist Graham Chennells.
Graham’s life philosophy – “drink beer and change the world” – has proved successful so far. Over a pint or two, he recently negotiated a multi-million rand deal with Dutch charity Cunina, and is now building a world-class orphanage a few kilometres from town. Graham is a mine of information and insight, always three sentences ahead of himself, and passionate about all things to do with Zululand and its people.
One of Graham’s friends, well known artist and architect, Peter Engblom, is busy redecorating the hotel. The theme has been described as a cross between the Battle of Blood River and MAD magazine: Huge historical portraits of Zulu chiefs and Victorian settlers hang in the lobby and the bathroom is wallpapered in pink, one-shilling Zululand notes. Above the basin is a picture of a comely woman holding a slice of watermelon, with a note that reads: “I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe.”
It’s easier to understand Peter’s art if you understand his history. A descendent of the Norwegians who followed missionary Ommund Oftebro to Cetshwayo’s kingdom in 1860, a few of his ancestors lie buried in the special Norwegian cemetery just outside town.
Norwegians in Zululand?
Day dawns and the buses rattle back into town. Boys pushing modified shopping trolleys wait, hoping a frail grandmother will hire them to help with the day’s purchases. In an alley near the bus terminus, Bongi Mhlongo opens the doors to his muti shop. Roots and herbs to cure all sorts of maladies, mostly gathered from the Dlinza Forest, cram the shelves. Everything smells like damp earth.
Nearby, The Happy George is deserted, except for a lone cleaner who sweeps last night’s tall tales out into the sunlight: missionaries and madmen, soldiers and chiefs… They catch the wind and disappear into the forest, sighing as they go.
1. Dally in the Dlinza Forest
The 250-hectare Dlinza Forest (meaning “a place of meditation”) is Eshowe’s showpiece. Elephants once roamed its secret thoroughfares and rumour has it that Shaka hid hundreds of women and children in the forest when an attack by his enemy, Zwide, chief of the Ndwandwes, was imminent. The best way to explore the forest is along the Aerial Boardwalk, a 125 m-long structure that takes you 10 m above the forest floor. It’s wheelchair-friendly right until the observation tower at the end.
The morning sunlight is broken into golden shafts as it struggles through the trees, and the only sounds are the rustling of leaves and your footsteps echoing softly.
Birdlife is prolific. Highlights include the rare eastern bronzenaped pigeon, the beautiful purple- crested turaco and the everelusive narina trogon. From the 20 m-high observation deck at the end of the boardwalk, you might also be lucky enough to spot one of the resident African crowned eagles cruising above the canopy.
There are ground-level trails too. From the boardwalk visitor’s centre, take either the Impunzi Trail or the Unkonka Trail, both of which are easy 30-minute loops into the forest, taking you under huge milkwoods and wild plum trees, where strangler figs and orchids grow out of every crevice.
From either trail, you can deviate to Bishop’s Seat, a natural clearing said to be the favourite meditation spot of the town’s Anglican bishop, WM Carter, during the 1890s. The clearing is also accessible from Natural Arch Drive, a tar road that leads right through the forest. It’s the perfect spot for a picnic.
Cost: To use the Aerial Boardwalk costs R25 per adult and R5 per child under 18. Contact: 035 474 4029; www.zbr.co.za/boardwalk
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2. Get a dose of Zulu culture
Sangoma maXulu Ndwandwe graciously allows a few visitors to attend the ceremonies that she conducts every Wednesday and Sunday in a tiny village clinging to the side of a hill 15 minutes from Eshowe.
After removing our shoes and having our feet washed, we enter a packed hut where two drummers beat out a heady rhythm as the villagers line up to ask maXulu for advice.
First-timers are charged a mandatory R30 consultation fee, but subsequent consultations are donation-based, and people shuffle forward bearing anything from blankets to bracelets.
Johnny Nkonqwane, our guide and translator, whispers in our ears as the ceremony progresses. “That man in the suit is thanking the healer because he was in a car crash and no one was injured… You see those two? They want to get married but their families won’t consent… Ah, this man wants a job as a security guard. The mama is telling him to burn a candle next to a glass of milk for one night and drink the milk in the morning.”
Depending what you feel comfortable with, Graham Chennells (owner of The George Hotel) and his son Richard can organise all kinds of trips into the villages surrounding Eshowe. It’s not a show; this is real life.
“We’re not in it for the spears and the animal skins,” Graham says. “We want visitors to experience real, current Zulu culture.”
The Zululand Historical Museum is housed in an old three-turreted fort, built by the British in 1883 as the headquarters for the Nonqayi, also known as the “barefoot police”.
The Nonqayi enforced British administration in the years following the Anglo-Zulu War. Treated scornfully by their employers and viewed as traitors by their own people, the Nonqayi occupy an uneasy space in history. The unit was eventually disbanded in 1906.
The museum has interesting exhibits dealing with various colonial conflicts, as well as a room dedicated to John Dunne – the first white Zulu chief. There is also a reconstructed chapel in honour of the early Norwegian missionaries, one of whom, Bishop Hans Schreuder, built an ingenious wooden wheelchair for King Mpande, who suffered from obesity and battled to walk.
Also on the premises is the more modern Vukani Museum, which houses a world-class collection of Zulu arts and crafts. It’s truly fascinating to take a walk around with the curator, Vivienne Garside, as she explains the complicated processes and mathematical skill required to make the pieces on show. A highlight is the collection of baskets made by the late Reuben Ndwandwe, who is widely regarded as the best Zulu weaver of all time.
The landscape surrounding Eshowe is riddled with monuments, obscure cemeteries and famous battlefields, but you’ll need someone who knows the area intimately to show you around.
If you have time for only one monument, visit the Zulu Martyr’s Cross, on a dramatic hill overlooking the ocean. It was erected in honour of Maqhamusela Khanyile, who was put to death in 1877 for choosing Christianity over tribal custom.
Cost: Entrance to the Fort Nonqayi Museum Village costs R20 per adult and R5 per school-going child. A guided tour is included in the price.
Contact: Fort Nongqayi Museum Village 035 474 2281. For information about local monuments and battlefields, speak to Graham Chennells 035 474 4919.
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4. Walk to a waterfall
In 2005, scenes for a television movie titled Man to Man, starring Joseph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas, about pygmies in the Congo jungle were filmed near the Mpushini Falls. It’s not hard to see why: Walking down the steep path, with water rushing somewhere below, it’s easy to imagine yourself on a track north of Kinshasa.
The falls are stunning, and there’s usually no one around. To get there, follow Main Street past The George Hotel until it forks; take the right fork and follow the signs to the trail parking area. From there, it’s a 15-minute walk down to the river, with a bit of a scramble upstream to get to the pool at the base of the falls. Take a towel and costume and have a well-deserved swim.
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5. Have a cup of tea and a carrot muffin
If you happen to find yourself in Eshowe on a Saturday morning, don’t miss the Made@Home market at Theo Andrew’s house on the Ntumeni road, near the Aerial Boardwalk visitor’s centre.
For R18 you get a gigantic carrot muffin (other flavours include biltong, peppadew and baklava), along with a pot of tea or a plunger of filter coffee. Made@Home is Eshowe’s meet and greet, so you can also eavesdrop on conversations about JZ, Eskom loadshedding, the price of sugar and whether or not it will rain this week.
Once the muffin has hit the spot, browse the mini market, where you can buy a home-made milk tart, a beaded necklace or some second-hand books.
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