The map was only ever the beginning for this Saldanha resident.
If Africa has a pulse, it has accompanied author, photographer & cinematographer Leon Nell all his life. He was born in Mufulira, Zambia, then Northern Rhodesia, on 27 April 1956. His earliest memories were framed by the untidy grandeur of the bush where his father loved hunting and fishing, and a childhood scented with dust, woodsmoke and rain on red earth. ‘Humming with cicadas, Zambia and the Congo became my first classrooms,’ he said.
When the family moved to Thabazimbi in 1964, another landscape demanded to be understood. ‘I couldn’t speak a word of Afrikaans and had to adapt pretty fast. Being the only Rooinek in the school at a time when most other kids’ grandparents were involved in the Anglo Boer War had its own challenges, but that’s a story for another day.’
The wilderness never loosened its hold. As tourist officer at Etosha National Park between 1979 and 1982, his workplace unfolded beneath skies immense. For many, Etosha is a destination. For Leon, it became another chapter in learning how landscapes speak.
His transfer to Loskop Dam Nature Reserve marked the beginning of a distinguished conservation career that eventually saw him rise to principal nature conservator. The title mattered less than the privilege of stewarding places where nature still set the agenda. His responsibilities eventually stretched from Steenkampsberg Nature Reserve near Dullstroom to Pongola Nature Reserve—a geographical contradiction almost poetic in its extremes. ‘There were mornings where frost gripped the grass at -8oC at Steenkampsberg and afternoons where heat shimmered above the earth at 42oC in Pongola.’
Then, as life so often does, it changed direction. In 1996 he accepted a severance package and opened a pub in Knysna the following year. Every good story needs an unexpected turn! This was when he began to write. His first book, The Garden Route and Little Karoo, appeared in 2003. More followed after he sold the pub and moved to De Rust: Knysna, Oudtshoorn, The Great Karoo and Die Oervlakte.
As a registered tour guide, Leon spent a week guiding Johnny Clegg through the Garden Route forests for an SABC documentary. ‘We stopped at a Wilderness lookout point next to a bus with noisy German tourists. It wasn’t long before someone pointed a finger and said, ‘Look, Johnny! Johnny Cash!’ We left at high speed, chuckling at the promotion he’d just been given!’
Late in 2013, Leon and his wife Tilla settled in Saldanha Bay to manage Pikkie Cottage B&B for relatives. This was when the West Coast with its deceptive simplicity drew him in. He travelled its length with the curiosity of a naturalist and the eye of a poet. The result was The West Coast, published in 2021.
These days his storytelling has found another language. Through cinematography, he’s produced well over 1 000 videos for SA Today on social media platforms. The still image has learned to breathe.
Home itself carries echoes of literature. It once sheltered writer Margaret Murgatroyd during the 1940s and 50s. Today, four cats share the home: Charlie, Smudge, Wollie and Sussie—each simply wandered in and stayed.
Leon has spent a lifetime looking closely. The rest of us have the privilege of seeing what he found.
WHAT I LIKE
My slice of West Coast paradise is Hoedjiesbaai & Pepper Bay Harbour in Saldanha
A favourite West Coast restaurant is Alegria, St Helena Bay
The food I can never say no to is fresh hake (without batter!)
What’s usually in my glass: an ice-cold Black Label
When the remote’s in my hand, it’s set to either Netflix or YouTube
Cheering from the sidelines? International rugby, boxing & athletics
To read? Everything from Ayn Rand & Dalene Matthee to Dostoyevsky
