Walking on sacred ground

“The view from Sithlawayise; place of rest. An ancient granite koppie that sits in the northwest of MalaMala. A place which has never known anything but wild…

Hundreds of thousands of years of wild. And most likely tens of thousands of generations of leopard and lion cubs that have grown up within the safe embrace of its secluded refuge, spending their days gazing over this spectacular vista, hunting lizards on the warm rocks and sheltering from mid-afternoon thunderstorms.

Human bones and ancient pottery litter the ground in untouched places, a sign of untraceable human habitation. A people who grew up and lived amongst the awesome megafauna of Africa, taking their place in the wild nature of things.

To climb up here and be in the presence of such massive and ancient rock formations is special in a way I find hard to describe. All of the history. All of the life. A place so many before have known so intimately. To share this sacred space and shared history with so many who came before us is an unbelievable honour.”

By ranger Steff McWilliam