One of the delights of playing at Zebula is the range of animals and birdlife seen on the course. It adds to the enjoyment of the golfing experience. Some appear incredibly tame, the nyala especially, remembering that this is a game reserve and not just animals captive on a golf course. The best time to encounter wildlife is by playing in the late afternoon or early morning. I met a herd of zebra and giraffe on the 14th. The giraffe were shy, but the zebra weren’t to be moved from their fairway feasting. A large family of mongoose were entertaining to watch on the 18th, and there was a small group of impala rams on No 6. One animal not popular with the maintenance staff at Zebula is the male wildebeest which enjoys digging up the kikuyu fairways. All the greens are roped overnight to prevent bigger animals trotting over them. The course itself is greener than it has been for some years, thanks to good rains and a new water supply to irrigate the fairways, which are a vast improvement on this time a year ago.
