Peoples and Culture – Traveling again? Galavanting with Kathryn Costello

The Nyami Nyami of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s river denizen is the Nyami Nyami, which is also regarded as a river God by the Tonga People. It has rarely been seen, but when it swims past you, the water turns red.

This was the undoing of Dona Leonor. Having survived a walk of over a thousand kilometres through African bush and jungle, hunger, and all sorts of hardships that a noble woman had never dreamed of in her worst nightmares of ever enduring, her nakedness was the last straw. She buried herself in the sand, refused to move, and she and her children died of starvation. Her husband, who seemingly had gone mad from his wife’s actions, disappeared into the wilds and was never seen again.

Nkanyamba – the river monster of Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa

When the monster gets angry, it takes its frustrations out on the people of Kwa Zulu-Natal, in the form of massive wind storms and rains which cause flooding. The December 2023 storm around Ladysmith was said to be an Nkanyamba unleashing its fury over the area. An Nkanyamba was also blamed for causing the devastating destruction of Tongaat in June 2024.

uMamlambo – The water People of the Eastern Cape

….a ‘half horse, half fish brain sucking monster’ was reported to be killing people in the area. Nine people, including children had been killed….

A trip up the Sani Pass

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Historically, what is now a sensational road, was a bridle path, and was used to convey goods between South Africa and Lesotho, by donkey, mule and oxen.

Pondoland, Transkei and the tragedy of the SS Mendi.

‘You are going to die, but that is what you came to do… let us die like warriors. We are the sons of Africa. Raise your war cries, my brothers, for though they made us leave our assegais [spears] back in the kraals [villages], our voices are left with our bodies.’

What’s in a name? Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa.

Kwa Zulu-Christmas.
That doesn’t sound quite right, does it?
What if the history books wrote about Port Christmas?
Or the Colony of Christmas?

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, aka HIP

South Africa's oldest game reserve

…a huge black mamba, one of Africa’s most deadly snakes, rose up between them. They froze, and the snake went on its way, but came back when……

The Shongweni Falls and Railway Tunnels

As waterfalls go, it isn’t very spectacular, but if you venture down to the bottom of the gorge you will be awestruck by the railway tunnels there.

Uganda – of Gonoleks, Piapiacs and Plantain Eaters

Murchison Game Reserve is awe inspiring. It’s huge. It has a rain forest with chimpanzees. It has the Nile River. It has Murchison Falls. It has hundreds of animals. Thousands actually. Buffalo. Elephant. Hippo. The biggest wickedest Nile Crocodiles you’ll ever see. It has the Uganda Kob, which is Uganda’s special version of an impala gazelle. It is bigger and heavier than the common impala. It has Rothchild’s giraffe, lots of them, and until very recently, only on one side of the Nile.

Category: Peoples and Culture