The road to Shiluvari, situated between Polokwane and Makhado, formerly part of the Bantustans of Venda and Giyani, doesn’t seem to have much to recommend it to tourists at first glance. It has its fair share of arid land eroded by the ubiquitous goats, flanked by potholed dirt roads and a procession of weary women and children lugging huge water containers from the communal pumps to their homes. It seems like an odd place for a tourist lodge — neither game reserve nor beach paradise or mountain retreat. It is, to be honest, a piece of underdeveloped rural South Africa, a living reminder of the damage deliberately wrought not so far back in our history.
And it is this unprepossessing first impression that leaves you so unprepared when the beauty of the landscape and the charm of the people sneak up to enchant you.
We arrive at Shiluvari mid- afternoon, after an unhurried drive up the N1. Set a few kilometres off the main road, down a dirt track, the lodge is a bit of an oasis in the bush, with its garden of well-manicured indigenous vegetation and swimming pool flanked by carvings that look like a hybrid of snake and fish (apparently representing peace and happiness).
Drinks are served in front of the fire in a room beautifully furnished with works by the area’s celebrated artists and craftspeople.
Assistant lodge manager Betty Hlungwani, who has worked at Shiluvari since 1998, says there has been a noticeable increase in, particularly, international tourists since the lodge won Fair Trade accreditation in 2003. ”Fair trade means everything is done fairly, from the way workers are treated to the fact that we sell local artists’ work for them and don’t take a profit from it. The customers can feel that the staff is happy and then they enjoy their stay more.”
Hlungwani was working at a local petrol station when she heard that the lodge was expanding and applied for a position as a housekeeper. She soon rose through the ranks and was trained to work in the bar and restaurant. As assistant manager, she is now learning marketing skills and her ambition is to open her own lodge, to create more jobs for local people. ”There is a lot of unemployment here — tourism can be our future.”
One of the tenets of fair trade is local sourcing of raw materials and this is abundantly obvious in the Shiluvari dining room. Everything has been locally bought, from the tablecloths that were custom-made by Tsonga Textiles to the hand-painted plates and jugs by local potters. Just over the hill lies the lush Levhuvhu valley, which produces a large proportion of the bananas, avocados, paw-paws, pecan and macadamia nuts found in supermarkets across the country.
The menu is a blend of good old home-style cooking with a modern twist, and it reflects the rich variety of agricultural produce available at the nearby Elim and Tshakuma markets.
Everything from the appetisers to the after-dinner coffee is excellent and comes at a fraction of the price you’d pay in the city.
The next morning we set out on the Kuvona cultural trail with community guide Daniel Khosa of the Ribola Tourism association, and we soon began to understand why tourism is booming in this region. The area is home to some of South Africa’s most highly acclaimed artists, including Noria Mabasa, Jackson Hlungwani and John Baloyi.
Khosa takes us to visit Hlungwani, or ”Oom Donkey” as he is known to the locals. He tells me this is because he is ”a donkey for God”. To say Hlungwani is eccentric would be to put it very mildly indeed. He welcomes us into his home with shouts of ”hallelujah!” and refuses to continue the conversation until we respond ”amen”. He then launches into a parable featuring ”Jackson and the Devil”, in which he plays a starring role as Jesus’s right-hand man in the battle against evil. He tells us about various pieces of work, all of which have a strong spiritual theme. ”I only use dead wood, I would never cut down wood that is alive,” he says as he works on his latest piece — an enormous ”hand of God that will beat the Devil”.
He talks about being ripped off by big-city art dealers who take his sculptures and never pay for them, and says he prefers to sell directly to tourists as he is then assured of getting his cash. It’s a sentiment echoed by John Baloyi, who has set up his own Mashamba gallery in Makulani village to try to prevent the exploitation of rural artists. Baloyi, whose massive ”Angry Godzilla” sculpture stands as a guardian at the Constitutional Court, says many art dealers buy pieces at next to nothing from artists and then sell them at a huge profit in galleries. ”Sometimes they buy a piece for R9 000 and sell it for R65 000 — he is profiting and he has done nothing.”
Baloyi, who started out creating pots and grass mats, says cultural tourism has had an interesting spin-off: ”I’ve had seven white people from overseas who have come to learn sculpture with me.” Like Hlungawani, Baloyi is acutely aware of environmental issues: ”We don’t cut trees, otherwise our children will not get enough oxygen in future.”
This combination of arts, culture and the environment is attracting a particular kind of tourist to Limpopo. They are the kind of tourists who want to do more than take the cable car up Table Mountain and spot the Big Five on a game drive. Shiluvari acts as a base for tourists from France, Germany, Holland and Italy to explore the area. Chatting to some of these visitors over breakfast, it soon becomes clear that they are intensely interested in our history and politics, as well as being mindful of issues such as fair trade and the environmental impact of tourism. In fact, many will only book trips that conform to these criteria.
Petra Happe (49) a schoolteacher from Germany, was part of a group of six women on a three-week trip around South Africa organised by a local tour operator. The group visited a Venda family home, attended cultural ceremonies and dances and learned about the art of the region. ”I didn’t know much about South Africa, but I have been very impressed. We have learned a lot about traditions and politics and I think that’s important — for me a holiday has to be more than just fun.”
Nicole Johnston was a guest of Shiluvari Lakeside Lodge
The lowdown
Getting there: 440 km from Johannesburg on the N1 or fly into Polokwane airport
Rates: standard rooms R375 on a bed and breakfast basis; deluxe chalets R450 per person sharing
Contact numbers: (015) 556 3406
Website: http://www.shiluvari.com
Daniel Khosa at Ribola Tourism: 072 235 4543