A life in the bush by Colman Mnisi

I was born on 14 October 1966, in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.

Growing up, I looked after my parents’ livestock, which was cattle and goats. Every day I spent most of my time in the bush, from morning until late afternoon. At first my younger brother and I didn’t really know what lions and leopards looked like, we only knew that they would occasionally try to hunt and kill our cattle. Most of the time the predators hunted late in the afternoon, so we would try to herd the cattle back before then. We quickly learnt how to spot them and their tracks. If lions did make a kill they knew we would chase them away, so they ate quickly.

During that time, we didn’t have a school in our village, so every morning we had to walk seven kilometres to get to class. After school in the afternoon, we would eat and go back out into the bush, and sometimes we would return home to find there was no food at all. Life was very tough compared to the life we have now.

My father had two wives and ten children, plus grandchildren, so he couldn’t send all of us to school. I had to leave school and look for a job. As a very young boy, I started working as a gardener for two years and then as a tracker on Exeter, now known as Dulini. After three years, I moved to Ululapa as a tracker for two more years. I then decided to become a guide, which I did for nine years. When I left Ululapa, I joined Mfafa Safaris for eight months.

Singita was always my dream. On 13 January 1997, I got a job here, and my dream came true. I am so happy to work for such a wonderful company. When I leave Singita for my retirement, I will leave with joy. There are so many young people out there who also dream of working here. I have done my job, and I know this is not just work—it is a lifestyle, and it will stay with me forever.