A JOURNEY FROM GOLF TO THE GREATER KRUGER!

For Canaan Mathonsi, waking up every day in the heart of the southern Klaserie surrounded by wild animals is pretty much par for the course. It's the end point on a journey that has taken him from the fairways of one of the South African Lowveld's most dramatic golf destinations to the fabled Greater Kruger National Park, where the African wilderness has become his home from home.

For the softly spoken 41-year-old, the team at Baobab Ridge is a second family that includes his older brother, safari guide David Mathonsi. Canaan is the lodge's maintenance manager - a role that sees him responsible for a wide range of duties, from taking care of the gardens to fixing geysers and plumbing, and pretty much everything in between!

David is Canaan's older brother, and a good one at that, he says. "He's great and takes good care of me, helping me wherever he can," smiles Canaan. He also has three sisters and everyone stays close to one another in their family home of Acornhoek, not far from the Klaserie.

Canaan has been at Baobab Ridge since 2006, way before current owners Nini Gouveris and Jason Fleischer became involved. "I came here 16 years ago, and Nini and Jason took over in 2011, so I had already been here a while when they arrived," he explains, adding that life in the bush was not part of his plan when he left school many moons previously.

"When I left school in Acornhoek I played golf," he smiles widely. "I was a caddy for many years, working at Drakensig golf course in Hoedspruit, and I loved it," he says. The course is renowned for its stunning backdrop of the Northern Drakensberg Escarpment and the local wildlife that regularly visits its fairways. 

"I had a handicap of 23 and loved caddying, playing when I could. I did this for three years and loved every minute of it, but was then offered a job by a man who I caddied for. He was in construction and had built Baobab Ridge and was managing it at the time and he offered me a maintenance job here, so I took it and moved to the bush," laughs Canaan. "He taught me all about construction and how to look after equipment, how to build and maintain things. I have not looked back since I moved here," he adds. In fact, Canaan has passed his tracking exams with flying colours with extremely high marks, so he is indeed a tracker in the making!

Like everyone on the team at Baobab Ridge, Canaan is very glad that tourism is beginning to recover after a very tough two years, thanks to the global pandemic. "It's been very hard," he says. "We were suffering, but now things are getting better again, even at home in Acornhoek."

At the lodge, Canaan spends every day checking that everything is working properly. "I prepare the pool deck every morning for visitors to use after their morning game drive, making sure the gardens are clean and well maintained, cleaning the boma and getting firewood ready for dinnertime and doing lots of things like this," says Canaan proudly.

At home is Canaan's wife and 11-year-old daughter. "She'd like to become a teacher, but I would like to one day become a tracker," says Canaan. "I enjoy what I do tremendously. It's a wonderful place to work and even though I was scared at first, especially of the lions, now I am really interested in the bush and the animals and have learned how to do tracking, with help from my brother, David. So maybe I would even like to be a guide like him one day," adds Canaan hopefully.

Canaan says that he practices his tracking skills every day when he gets up and leaves the staff village to come up to the lodge and start work. "I stop and look at the tracks in the road, which are like a morning newspaper, telling you what's happened during the night and which animals have been to visit," he explains. "I am always checking to see what's going on. My favourite animal is the spotted hyena, I just love the way they walk and how clever they are."

Another part of Canaan's job he truly appreciates is doing transfers for guests to and from Eastgate Airport in Hoedspruit. "I love meeting our guests and chatting to them, finding out about them and where they are from," he says. "I am truly blessed to work in such a wonderful industry and in such a great place."