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News from Zululand
TKZN Zulu Kingdom Awards
"Service delivery is key in the tourism industry. As such it is essential to measure levels of service delivery constantly and to institute programmes to improve these levels. Service delivery has a direct impact on tourism growth and we therefore need to ensure that KZN delivers excellent service in the tourism and trade
sector to become Africa's premier destination." This was the message delivered by MEC for Economic Development and Tourism in KZN, Roger Burrows to members of the tourism trade and industry at the second Zulu Kingdom Awards function held at the ICC on Wednesday, March 24, 2004.
The annual Zulu Kingdom Awards is a Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) initiative to reward and recognise service excellence in the province and to encourage service providers in the industry to maintain international best
practice standards. The programme is run on consumer feedback where the public is able to express or report their experiences both good and bad via a tollfree number to TKZN.
Prizes were awarded in the following categories: Accommodation, Tour Operating, Tour guide, Tourism Information Office, Tourism Journalist of the Year, Individual/company having contributed specially to the tourism in KZN.
Winner - Lodges and self catering - Leopard Mountain Lodge
Let's Celebrate - Join in the excitement of our recent victory...
We are inviting all our Leopard's Tail readers to come and experience luxury in the heart of Zululand - and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. Visit our award winning lodge during the month of May and pay an unbelievable R695 per person per night, dinner bed breakfast (daily game drives and walks included). Book now – avoid disappointment.
Bush Cuisine
Baked Cheesecake
1 egg
1 tablespoon cake flour
150g cream cheese
100ml cream (pouring)
100ml sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method
Mix altogether, it will be a runny mixture. Pour into a baking tin lined with a crushed biscuit mix of digestive biscuits and butter, or line the tin with a sweet pastry dough (recipe below). Bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside until the oven is completely cool – this prevents the cheesecake from cracking in the centre. Remove from oven when cold and serve well chilled.
Sweet Pastry
100g butter
100g icing sugar (using this sugar creates the taste of short bread dough)
250g cake flour
1 egg
Method
Cream butter and icing sugar, add egg (if making a larger amount add eggs one by one, slowly). Sift flour into mixture and mix well. Wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours. Roll and place in a tin, trimming off the odd pieces.
Our Zulu Culture
Here we portray a glimpse into the history and customs of this wonderful colourful nation.
Pot Making
The most magnificent, symmetrical pots are constructed of clay without the use of a potter's wheel. They are used for drinking from, as water carriers and as brewing vessels. They are fired in a grass fire, the fuel determining the final colour of the pot.
Wood Carving
Carving is traditionally a male pursuit and before the advent of tourism was restricted to pails, mortars and eating utensils.
Metalworking
Metal working was an important tradition amongst the Zulu. Smithery was practised by a specialised group of men who made domestic instruments such as hoes, axes, adzes, knives and more importantly, assegais or spears (umkhonto). Zulu assegais vary according to their function. Prior to Shaka, the long-handled throwing assegai was issued for warfare, but once the spear was thrown, the disarmed warrior was at a serious disadvantage. After 1818, Shaka replaced this traditional weapon with the iklwa, a stabbing spear with a short handle and long blade. This spear, which was not thrown, contributed greatly to the success of Zulu military campaigns.
Tips from our Tracker
Butterflies and Moths "Lepidoptera"
Part 1 of 5
The word Lepidoptera comes from two Greek words: Lepis meaning scale, and Pteron meaning wing. Butterflies and moths are probably the most attractive of all the insects. Apart for a very small number they are all quite harmless to plants and man. Yet man is responsible for many changes in the environment, which have endangered some species of butterflies and moths to the point of extinction. In this five part series we would like to give an introduction to butterflies and moths and how and where they live.
Red-Stem Corkwood "commiphora harveyi" (by Valdy)
Along the river we have a lot of these trees. The fruit, which is now going out of season, is favoured by monkeys and a large variety of fruit eating birds. The very soft centre of the tree trunk can be eaten by humans but is not very nutritious. The Zulu people used to use the wood for carving spoons and other small tools.
Funny Bones
A lion woke up one morning feeling really rowdy and mean. He went out and cornered a small monkey and roared, "Who is mightiest of all jungle animals?" The trembling monkey says, "You are, mighty lion!
Later, the lion confronts a ox and fiercely bellows, "Who is the mightiest of all jungle animals?" The terrified ox stammers, "Oh great lion, you are the mightiest animal in the jungle!"
On a roll now, the lion swaggers up to an elephant and roars, "Who is mightiest of all jungle animals?" Fast as lightning, the elephant snatches up the lion with his trunk, slams him against a tree half a dozen times leaving the lion feeling like it'd been run over by a safari wagon. The elephant then stomps on the lion till it looks like a corn tortilla and ambles away.
The lion lets out a moan of pain, lifts his head weakly and hollers after the elephant - "Just because you don't know the answer, you don't have to get so upset about it!"
Brain Teaser
Thank you to everyone who responded to our October brainteaser. Congratulations to Vicky Hughes who sent in the correct answer to the riddle. You have won yourself and a partner one free night at our award winning lodge, dinner, bed and breakfast.
Last Month's brain teaser was
Answer to the riddle:
There is a town where a quarter of all the people living have unlisted phone numbers. If you select 100 names at random from the town's phone book, on average how many of these people would have unlisted phone numbers? Zero - they wouldn't be in the phone book if they were unlisted
........You too could be the lucky person to win yourself and a partner a free night including dinner, bed and breakfast at the lodge, so hurry and email us the answer to the riddle below to be entered in our lucky draw (competition closes 15th October 2006):
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Q: A cowboy rides into town on Wednesday. He stays 3 nights and leaves on Wednesday. How is this possible?
News from the lodge
In the last ten months Valdy (our game ranger) has been doing trips into the Mkuze and Hluhluwe game reserves, as well as leading all the game drives and walks on our reserve. During this time he had taken some spectacular photographs of everything from beetles to lions. We have chosen one hundred of his best photos and have also included some photos of our magnificent lodge and presented them in a slide show format on a CD. This CD can be viewed on a computer or DVD. The idea is that it is a momento of your stay with us, including many things that you perhaps did not get to see... The disc costs R150 and if you would like to order one please contact us on this email address:
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News from Valdy
Almost every morning on the walk we see signs of porcupines – either feeding signs like the holes they dig to forage for roots, or the base of tree trunks they have cleared. They also eat bones. A porcupine's teeth never stop growing so they do this to stop them from growing too long. We also find the odd quill here and there, but because of their nocturnal behaviour we hardly ever see them. Recently on a night drive we saw a porcupine feeding on some roots on the side of the road – as we approached it dashed into the road rattling its quills and then disappeared – definitely a worthy sight!
Birding News
Since the recent rains we have seen a few threebanded sandplovers close to the rivers. We have always seen them on their own but they can form loose congregations of up to forty. They eat aquatic and terrestrial insects and their larvae, crustacea, worms and small molluscs. |
