Elephant jewellry

Why one of Africa's so-called "Ugly Five" may just become your favourite wildlife encounter

A rare and unforgettable sighting in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi There are moments in the bush that linger long after the dust settles and the engine switches off. Moments when the wilderness feels alive in a different way — charged, electric and full of quiet tension. They are not always dramatic or loud. Often, they unfold in silence, in a slow unfolding of awareness that something extraordinary is about to happen.

St Lucia is often described by what surrounds it, a small coastal town enveloped by the remarkable iSimangaliso Wetland Park, where estuary, forest, dune systems, and ocean converge. Here, nature is not confined to distant viewpoints or fenced reserves. It threads itself through daily life, moving quietly between gardens, along sandy paths, beneath leaves, and across walls. While larger animals understandably capture the imagination, another world exists alongside them — smaller, subtler,...