00 Sawubona June 2015

WILD, WILD WONDERLANDIn the far north of Mozambique is a place so remote and majestically beautiful that it has to be felt to be believed. The vast Niassa Reserve is twice the size of the Kruger National Park.

But danger lurks here for wildlife, so dedicated conservationists work tirelessly, often risking their lives to protect Niassa’s elephants from poachers

STORY AND PHOTOS: KERI HARVEY (WWW.KERI-HARVEY.COM)

iassa is love at first sight. It’s raw and rugged. Truly wild. As we fly into the interior from the coast, for two hours we’re humbled by the beauty of the landscape below. Silenced by its vastness, punctuated only by granite inselbergs and rock chimneys sans smoke, we sit hypnotised by the drone of the Cessna’s

engine as we scan the landscape for any sign of humanity. There’s none; no indication at all of human impact. No visible scars; no obvious ills. Yet, ironically, the insidious scourge of poaching is alive and well in Niassa.

niassa

From December to May, the Lugenda River is a raging torrent. For the

rest of the year, it’s a languid stream.

Opposite: Lugenda Wilderness Camp blends

into its surroundings so that it’s barely visible.

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52 Sawubona June 2015

At over four million hectares (or 42 000km²) in size, Niassa cradles the greatest abundance and variety of wildlife in Mozambique – by far. Here there are more sable than impala, vast herds of elephant roam the miombo woodland, plentiful lion and leopard lurk throughout and there are throngs of antelope, along with unique endemic species like Niassa wildebeest, Johnston’s impala and Crewshaw’s zebra. Wild dogs also live permanently in the reserve.

As Mozambique’s biggest wildlife reserve, it’s

ironic that Niassa’s remained largely undocumented since its establishment in 1954. Even today, it’s a gem hidden from mainstream tourists, known only to those who truly, deeply love very wild places. Niassa’s so far off the grid that there isn’t even a radio signal there. Only satellite phones work and many locals don’t use money at all, but live entirely by trading. Moreover, much of the reserve’s

inaccessible during the rainy season, from December to May. Even flying in is difficult.

We’re in the Lugenda Concession, one of the massive tracts of land into which Niassa’s been sectioned for management purposes. It’s a sizable 4 600km², with 300km of the Lugenda River running through it. Before landing at Lugenda Wilderness Camp, the pilot circles the area to clear the

sand runway of wildlife. Today there are two lions lazing just alongside where we’re about to land, but the plane buzzes the big cats and they filter into the bush. From the air, the tread-lightly, luxury tented camp is barely visible, obscured by giant sycamore fig trees. The camp runs entirely on solar and generator energy, with wood-fired donkeys (steel

water barrels) and it has an impressive herb and vegetable garden for greens – fenced to keep elephants at bay.

In the Lugenda Concession live a large number of Niassa’s elephants, which need constant protection from poachers. “In the past decade, the ivory price has shot up from $5 to $300 per kilogram for ivory,” says Lugenda Concession Manager Derek Littleton, “so

poaching elephants is very lucrative.” Importantly, he says, the concession also has 60 dedicated game scouts stationed across 10 posts. Sure, they’d make better money from poaching, but they’ve chosen to earn an ethical living instead. They’re also spreading the word and leading by example in their communities, where

“People are part of nature here, unlike most African conservation areas. Lugenda is the way Africa always was,

with people and animals living side by side.”

Wildlife live in the shadow of granite domes in

Niassa, making for evocative game-viewing experiences.

Below: Niassa’s elephants have been decimated by poachers, but find refuge in the Lugenda

section where they’re protected.

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54 Sawubona June 2015

they’re greatly respected. About 35 000 people live in the Niassa Reserve and about 500 have jobs there. Many others eke out an existence as subsistence fishermen, moving with the waters and seasons along the rivers and sheltering at night in rickety grass huts on the river banks. In the evenings, thin plumes of smoke can be seen rising from their cooking fires along the Lugenda River.

“That’s what’s different about this reserve,” says Nic van Rensburg, who’s in charge of a section of the Lugenda Concession. “People are part of nature here, unlike most African conservation areas, where people are removed from the reserves. Lugenda is the way Africa always was, with people and animals living side by side. There are many people here who don’t even earn a dollar a year, yet they survive.”

Smiling, he adds: “The fishermen in Lugenda had no idea there was a global recession, because they’re not the least bit affected by the outside world. They catch fish, grow maize, beans, cassava and monkey nuts and trade their goods for others. Climate change is far more important to them than the state of the world economy.”

After lunch at the lodge, we head out on a game drive for the afternoon, while Derek takes to the sky in a Bathawk to do one of his twice-daily anti-poaching patrols over Lugenda. The Wilderness Foundation has sponsored two canvas-clad surveillance planes for this purpose. So far the strategy’s

working and poachers are being held back. Between the Bathawk patrols and the game scouts, who work on foot, sleep in the rough and have regular encounters with poachers, Lugenda’s doing an admirable job of protecting its elephants.

We do see some of them, but they’re understandably nervous. We also see sable, waterbuck, kudu, bushbuck, samango monkeys, prides of lion and a leopard lying lazily on a branch. Predators are plentiful here and at night the more unusual

bush-dwellers come out too, like genets, civets, porcupines and scrub hares. Lugenda is alive and our game-viewing vehicle – the only one in the vast concession – makes the experience uniquely private.

Lugenda, says Derek, is “completely unscripted”, since guests can go on drives or walks any time they like. There are also canoe trips along the river and fully equipped and catered sleep-outs on the inselbergs.

Lugenda offers a rare taste of true African wilderness. You feel

the place deeply; there’s a sense of being closer to yourself, more attuned to reality.

We drive past baobab and tamarind trees (their seeds carried here along the river systems by slave trains and elephants) and stop to watch white-tailed mongooses playing “catch me”. Then we start to climb, the Land Rover clawing its way slowly up the inselberg. “The view from the top is good,” says guide Donald Mac Crimmon demurely. And before long we’re on top of the

world, looking down on the silvery Lugenda River caressing flat earth between dramatic inselbergs. It’s too beautiful to breathe.

Then a “bat” appears on the western horizon, flying out of the sunset. It quickly grows larger to reveal itself as a Bathawk. Derek’s piloting it and coming to say “hello” before he lands and the game scouts take over for the night patrols on foot. Tomorrow, air patrols will resume – and every day thereafter – with some fire fights in between.

Around the supper table back at the lodge, Derek says: “Conservation’s top of the list here and everyone’s included. I’ll never leave Lugenda and I’ll never give up the fight to save its wildlife. Never. I somehow feel personally responsible for conserving this area.”

For him, too, Lugenda was love at first sight. He remains smitten with the place, as do we. Niassa can’t be explained as well as it can be felt. A lot like true love.

FOR INFORMATION ON VISITING LUGENDA AND ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE, VISIT: WWW.LUGENDA.COM

Predators are prolific in Lugenda and seeing lions by day and night is common.Left: Mobile fishing camps can be seen along the Lugenda River. Below: High atop an inselberg, the view of the surrounding area of Niassa is more than magnificent.