Founder of the Zulu Trail

Hannes Zoellner, the founder of the Zulu Trail, was born in Germany in 1931.  He is also deeply rooted to Africa, having lived a rural life on a farm in former German Tanganyika (now Tanzania) since he was 10 month old, until being interred in 1940, at the beginning of WWII. The Zoellners, together with other German-speaking families, were housed in a camp in Southern Zimbabwe until 1947, when they were sent back to Germany, a country they found in rubble after the war.

Hannes settled in Germany and lived there most of his adult life, working as an architect and city planner. In mid-1981, at the age of 50, he resigned from the Urban Planning Office of Kiel. He was still young and energetic and decided to begin something new.  His interests at the time were directed at ‘development aid’.  Warm childhood memories of Africa were calling him ‘home’ and it was not long before Hannes and his wife, Kristin, found themselves in South Africa.

Soon after settling in Cape Town, they became involved in the field of youth exchange involving joint projects with rural communities. Soon after that the ‘trail’ followed. In 2001/02, the youth exchange and work programmes were halted but Hannes always dreamt of reviving the Zululand Trail that he documented on a CD, completed in 2006, about the youth exchanges and project work he and Kirstin implemented in South Africa. 

Many other issues occupied his time until 2013, when he met up with Sheila Berry and Sandile Masondo. Hannes, whose Zulu name is Inkomo Edlayodwa meaning 'a bull that grazes alone' was then a spritely 81 year old. Together they revisited the communities Hannes had last visited more than 10 years before. He was delighted that many people immediately recognised him and warmly welcomed him back, asking where he had been!

In early 2014, Sandile and Sipho Msiya, had walked sections of the trail and met with families who were happy to host the students. A gardening project had been established at Ngubevu where the students could be of assistance. Everything was ready for the revival of the Zulu Trail.  In April 2014, the Zulu Trail was reborn again!