Meet our rangers
Head Ranger Gerry Jacobs
I’m originally from Cape Town but have been guiding in the Kwazulu Natal for a good seven years, two of which were part of my studies and practical. Since moving to the Zululand region it has been hard to leave as it has captured a chunk of my heart. It’s a bit of paradise compared to other places in and around South Africa, offering us fantastic summer rains making it a very tropical region attracting only the prettiest and unique wildlife e.g. a vast number of birds making it a birders haven, an array of different butterfly species, toads and frogs as well as a large variety of flora and fauna.
I have been lucky to be part of the Falaza family for the last four months, where I was soon appointed head ranger, this has been a great achievement and the second time been honoured with such a position in my guiding career. I am loving the work I get to do at Falaza Game Park & Spa as it is situated in one of my favourite spots in KZN having False Bay right on our doorstep, where we are blessed with stunning sand forests surrounding us giving us an immense amount of biodiversity to experience and explore, often capturing fantastic finds that would fascinate any nature lover. Our False Bay walk been one of my favourite and educational for any human being.
Having the Hluhluwe Imfolozi is just an extra bonus to have just down the road to add some spice to the Falaza experience even more to jump on an early morning drive giving us the opportunity to offer the Big 5 experience to all our guests from all over the world, as well as the chance as well as to seek out more birds is said to hold over four hundred odd species, adding to the twitches paradise.
In the time period that I have been here our team of rangers has managed to get quite a bit of work done around the Falaza by opening new roads as well as clearing up the old ones allowing us to show our guests more of the beauty of this amazing property
To add to the excitement we have also started clearing the part of the Mzinene River on one of our sister properties which stretches for about four kilometres, with some pristine bird life as well as a couple of hippos and crocs giving us the chance to offer our guests the Falaza Boat cruise once again after a very heavy drought since 2012 and finally we were blessed with a much needed rainy season.
Ranger Steve
I am Steve Jonathan Bwenzi. A field guide by profession, a Malawian by nationality has been in South Africa since 2009 until date.
I started guiding in 2011 upon completing my level 1 Fgasa with Bhejane Nature training. During my working time with different guests from all kinds of different backgrounds and cultures, I have had some amazing experiences with them all on our game drives, and my interactions with them have been incredible.
My most exciting experience.
When I came across an elephant bull in musk that got cornered while on a game drive in Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park. I had no option but to stop the vehicle and switch off the engine. To avoid irritating the bull, I reminded my guests to remain quiet and stay in their seats. The bull turned around and started walking towards us.
The elephant bull approached on my side, stretched his trunk and started sniffing at me. Just after a few seconds, it started moving, walking past me with his judgemental eyes glaring at the guests. As soon as it got to the back of the viewer it gave all the guests an unexpected loud trumpet making everyone jump in their seats.
A really special experience.