Bushveld spring, Mkuze Zululand

South Africa has been held hostage by a devastating drought for almost 3 years. The effects can be seen across the country but to me it is most obvious in Mkuze Northern KZN.

The red earth appears to be bleeding

It is spring in the bushveld here in Mkuze Zululand. A time when the ground and trees erupt with life decorating the otherwise monocronous landscape with dots of colour. As I survey the land locking me in from all corners, the red earth appears to be bleeding a honeycomb of cracked lines. They have cut a deep scar into the soil. Green, the colour usually synonymous with spring in the Mkuze bushveld, has been replaced by a drab shade of brown.

The bushes crack like a whip

The wheels of the 4×4 embed their tracks into the red earth, the clear crunch of shrubs between tyre and rockhard earth assaults my ears. As the bushes break under the burden of the 4×4, it sounds like a loud whip. Obviously, a clear sign that all moisture has escaped the branches and left a wooden skeleton.

The fever trees have managed to catch the spring fever

This spring, bushveld in Mkuze may be dry and the grass dead but the fever trees have managed to catch the spring fever. In defiance to the drought, the blossoms of bright yellow lie thick on the lime green branches and the gentle breeze brings the sweet aroma floating down into the road below. As a result, my olfactory senses come alive craving more. The knobthorn trees follow suit by featuring a burden of white.

The clouds are heavy

This spring, the African bushveld surrounding Mkuze is expectant. It is waiting on the heavens to rain down life. Above, the clouds are heavy and light is fading under the weight of a dam of water held up by these threatening clouds. Besides the devastatingly loud crack of thunder, a silence reigns. Is this the break that the red earth has been begging for?

Tonight, as I lie awake under a tin roof, the rhythmic beat of gentle splashes surprise me. It is such an unusual sound that I almost misinterpret the morse code as wind or metal contracting.

But this is flowing. This seeps deep into the red earth of the spring bushveld. What a special experience to wake up to a misty cool morning with evidence of the life giving liquid all around. Life survives another day in Africa, something that cannot be taken for granted on this beautiful continent. Let us pray that we can send this drought packing now.