The strong sense of family at Pungwe makes all the difference, he says!

Every morning at 4am, long before guests wake up and Pungwe comes to life, the fireplace is prepared, a fire lit, the famous Pungwe kettle filled and the camp swept clean. This magical transformation happens thanks to the dedication of Pungwe's maintenance manager, 51-year-old Nandrick Mthabine.

Nandrick is the behind-the-scenes man - the mysterious figure who flits silently between tents lighting the donkey boilers that provide piping hot water for showers and baths, the genius who patiently repairs water pipes dug up by the elephants he so loves and the friendly face guests see as he does his "rounds" through camp, checking that everything is where it should be and working perfectly.

He's been at Pungwe for five years now and still loves every day he spends here, but it's been a long journey getting here... Born in Gothenburg village just outside Bushbuckridge, Nandrick left home after finishing high school to work in Gauteng province, far from his family and his roots. 

"I trained as a boilermaker," he explains. "I worked in Vanderbijlpark - a busy industrial city on the Vaal River southwest of Johannesburg. I did my apprenticeship and worked for seven years there." When the opportunity came for Nandrick to move to Midrand to work for car manufacturer BMW, he took it, spending another five years away from home building up his experience.

"City life was hard and I always missed my home," he says. "So eventually I had had enough of urban life and decided to move back home to be with my family," says the father of three. After a period of no work whatsoever, fate eventually caught up with Nandrick and he got the opportunity to take on the maintenance role at Pungwe.

"I immediately felt like I was coming home," he says. "There is such a strong sense of family here at Pungwe, everyone supports each other and we all work together very well," he adds. He does admit that working in the bush has its challenges... "The elephants do love the water pipes," he laughs. "They keep me busy but it's fine, because they are my favourite animals. I have had to adjust to working in a place where there are wild animals, but I love it and would not change it for anything," he adds. 

Of course, the last 18 months or so have added new challenges for both Nandick and all of the staff at Pungwe. "COVID-19 has been very hard for all of us," Nandick says with a sigh. "But we are still here, carrying on, and now we are beginning to see guests again which is good. Without tourism, we suffer and our communities suffer, so I hope that tourism will begin to grow again."

Would he go anywhere else if he could? "No. I love Pungwe. This is where I will stay. It's like home to me."