Where My Roots Are: meet Lucan our Thornybush Game Reserve Ranger of over 20 years

Safari guiding has a reputation for restlessness, not so at Shimungwe. Lucan joined and never left, and has been guiding at Shimungwe for over 20 years. He was there from the start and even played a key role in its name, Shimungwe.

Noticed from the Driver's Seat
Lucan's connection to the property started before the lodge existed. He grew up in the area and his uncle did maintenance work on Thornybush. Lucan helped out with this work from time to time until eventually he took over the role himself. From there he trained and worked for a year at nearby Waterbuck Lodge, not knowing that a familiar face would soon change everything.

While Shimungwe was being built, Lucan found himself driving Grant around the reserve, and Lucan didn't think much of the questions Grant kept asking along the way.

“Little did I know it was Grant's way of getting to know me better” says Lucan. Grant had already decided he wanted Lucan on the team. Lucan said yes and joined to help oversee construction, stepping in whenever the owners couldn't be on site themselves. His knowledge of this particular region was already built into him from growing up in the area, long before he trained as a guide.

The Word that Named a Lodge
One moment from those early days  has stayed with Lucan more than any other. While driving with Grant they spotted a Bateleur eagle, close to the area where the lodge was being built. Grant asked what the bird was called in Shangaan.

“Ximungwe” Lucan told him. 

Grant knew instantly he'd found the lodge's name. The spelling later shifted from the Shangaan “X” to “SH” at Lucan’s suggestion, after guests kept spelling it that way instinctively and Shimungwe had its name.

We've told this story once before, from Grant’s perspective of the same drive. For Lucan, being part of it hasn't faded with time.

“The fact that I got involved with the naming of the lodge is one of the most special conversations I have had, and it will remain with me forever” he says.

Every Safari Told for the First Time
After more than 20 years guiding in the same reserve you might expect the sightings to blur together. Lucan says the opposite is true.

“Every day excites me” he says “we are always excited to see what's next, what the animals plan to do next, just like a first time safari goer, it's the first time for us too”.

That sense of surprise held on one particular morning when the team was preparing wake up calls for a family staying at the lodge. Lucan heard a commotion and went to investigate. What he found were lions chasing a leopard through the camp – proof, Lucan says, that at Shimungwe the wilderness isn't kept politely at a distance, sometimes it's right outside the door!

Two Names Guests never forget
Lucan doesn't do this alone. His brother Daniel, known to plenty of guests simply as Danny, has been tracking alongside him for most of those 20 years and the two are frequently noted in guest reviews.

“Lucan and Daniel were relentless in finding us the big 5 and so many other animals,” one guest wrote. “Lucan and Danny are excellent on the drives, very knowledgeable and everyday is a surprise” said another. Ask Lucan what he's proudest of after 20 years at Shimungwe and it isn't the growth of the lodge itself.  Whilst he has loved seeing the lodge get better and busier, he says “I am most proud of our team and our managers, without them we would not be as successful as we are today.”

Roots that Run Deeper than the Lodge
Shimungwe has grown a great deal since those early days and Lucan has watched it happen. From a property that felt like a family home to a luxury lodge welcoming guests from around the world. It's the same instinct behind why guests, to Lucan, are never just guests. “We don't just make friends with our guests,” he explains. “When guests leave here, we say to them ‘until next time’, like they’re part of the Shimungwe family.

Ask Lucan to sum up Shimungwe in 3 words and he doesn't hesitate: “cozy family home” he says.

“The Thomas family have been good to me and my family. I owe them a lot for what they've done for me, and I will always be grateful,” Lucan says. Then simply, he adds “Shimungwe is where my roots are.”

If you're planning a Big Five safari in the Greater Kruger and want to be guided by someone whose knowledge of Thornybush runs as deep as his own roots, we'd love to help you plan your stay at Shimungwe.

Written together with Lucan and Grant, owner of Shimungwe Lodge in Thornybush Game Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger ecosystem.