Written by Jabulani Safari General Manager, Ruan Roos.

I came across this old photo a little while ago while going through some of our older images at the lodge, and it stuck with me more than I expected.

It is Obert and Shadrack, standing side by side in the same spot here at Jabulani back in 2011. We decided to go back and recreate it, just as they were back then. Same place, same two men, just many years later. What came out of that felt quite special, and worth sharing.

There is something about time that you do not always notice day to day.

But then you find a photo like this.

In 2011, Obert and Shadrack were standing there, a bit younger, a bit more serious maybe, but you can already see the pride. The way they carry themselves has always been there. And Shadrack had this proper, almost majestic moustache at the time, which we have all been joking about since finding the photo again.

When we asked them to stand there again now, it almost happened without thinking. Same position, same natural way of standing.

Only this time, there is something deeper behind it.

Years of experience. Years of working together. Years of welcoming guests into this place.

You can feel it without anyone having to explain it.

Guests come to Jabulani for what they expect, the wildlife, the setting, the luxury. But what stays with people is something else entirely.

It is the feeling of being properly looked after.

Not in a forced or over the top way. Just quietly, naturally, like it matters.

That comes from people like Obert and Shadrack.

They have both been here for many years, and in that time they have done thousands of small things that most people will never see. Remembering how someone takes their coffee. Knowing when to step in and when to give space. Getting the timing right without needing to ask.

It sounds simple when you say it like that, but it really is not.

It takes time. It takes care. It takes the kind of consistency you only build over years.

Their paths into this were not quick or easy ones either.

Obert worked his way up through different roles over many years before settling into what guests now know so well. Most people just know him as OB. Calm, kind, always there but never in the way.

Shadrack has that same steady presence. There is a warmth to him that guests pick up on very quickly. Nothing feels rehearsed, it just feels real.

And that is what makes it work.

When we took the photo again, there was no need to tell them what to do.

They just stood there.

But now there is a quiet confidence in it. A sense of belonging. Like they know exactly where they stand, not just in that spot, but here at Jabulani.

Fifteen years of early mornings, late nights, long days, conversations with guests from all over the world.

It all sits in that one moment.

What I always find interesting is that when guests return, they do not only ask about the lodge.

They ask about people.

They ask if Obert is still here.
They ask if Shadrack will be around.

Because at the end of everything, that is what people hold onto.

How they were made to feel.

That photo is not really about then and now. It is not about comparing anything.

It is just a small reminder of what happens when people stay, grow, and put their time into something properly.

And it is still going, every single day, in ways that are not always seen, but are always felt.