Around the fire: James McCulloch

Our monthly series gets to know every member of our team through a series of rogue and unexpected questions. Today, we speak to our managing director, James McCulloch

Staking out the future room 4 which would also be my home for the entire lockdown

If you had to swap roles with someone in the team for a week, who would it be and what would you be most excited to do?

I’d swap with Ntombi because I do love cooking and I wish I could be in the kitchen more, however, I never have time to dedicate a full day to it unless it’s menu planning time.

Can you share an “only at Big Skies” moment you’ve had?

There are many, however, the very first was in my first week in the area. Myself and David had left the construction site for a swim at the ocean. I was pretty unsure about the place as I had always been quite keen on a life in the bush and in the safari world so a place with cows and no wild creatures seemed a little less interesting. However, that day, it was a beautiful afternoon and the light was hitting the ocean in the most memorable way. The warm Indian ocean was brimming with marine life and my eyes were on tenterhooks. As we came out of the ocean we noticed a truly massive object emerging down the shore. We walked toward it and found a loggerhead turtle on it way to laying its eggs. It was the moment I really fell in love with Maputaland.

When did you start working here and what roles have you done?

I first went up to the camp in 2015, with David to work as a builder. David and I were very incapable of building and Willis, who was the foreman, asked us to tear an old building down. We went at it with a chainsaw for about twenty minutes before becoming concerned we weren’t doing it properly. We then hatched a plan to attach the central structural pole to a tow rope and drive our car to the point that the building collapsed. Of course this was a total waste of materials that we could re-use but we were very wet behind the ears. Cynthia Zungu, who is now our head of housekeeping then arrived on site and single handedly cleared up the mess we had made. It was on this day that we realised we were city folk with no idea of what we were doing. Over time, I worked in various positions in the lodge and the nearby Rocktail. From bar tender, to manager, to chef and to fire fighter. Maputaland throws everything at you and even though I knew absolutely nothing, I was forced to learn as I went along.

What's the most surprising skill you’ve picked up since working at Big Skies?

Management of cows. I really would never have thought that growing up with a silverspoon, I would have A) learned how to herd cows as a result of getting them away from our swimming pool at the camp and B) that I would have loved cows so much that I now own two: Versace and Unnamed.

Describe your typical day in Maputaland, but as a weather forecast

Haha, I’d have to say its usually a beautiful morning, followed by an overcast day as Maputaland inevitably throws a curveball - from a bat disturbing a guest to a fire starting near our water supply. But it always ends as a beautiful cloudless sunset into lovely big sky evening.

This tent was my home for a good few months

I could pose when we were building, but couldn’t build