St Lucia is one of the unsafest places to camp - on earth, I think. I don't want to scare you but let me tell you what happens in those two KZN Parks Board campsites. The sites are beautiful, with lots of bushes right around. These bushes are full of little paths and hidey holes where the tsotsis hide and attack you from in the night. The most vulnerable sites are next to the bushes and least vulnerable in the centre spots, which as it happens, we all hate. We like our privacy, but so does the skelms. Their modus operandi is grab and run. They'll grab a heavy camp fridge, bike, anything. You have no chance of catching them since their eyes are adjusted to the dark (you've been sleeping and can't see squat) and they know the place inside out. Don't feel assured by the presence of security, they're in on it and never see anything or catch anyone. Sometimes the njatsis (very nasty word for woman) are in it as well. They ululate and create more chaos whilst the raid goes on. There is a tiny little rusted warning at the gate that says something like, lock up your stuff. What the sign should say is "Kindliy note that bands of marauding impis will attack and raid you at night. Put out an armed gaurd." So, chain up your bike, your gas bottle, your stove, your axe, your fridge and certainly your brandy. Parks Board refuses to acknowledge the problem.
