Today the Zulus might not appreciate the San culture, but they are benefiting from the heritage of the Bushmen.

The hunter-gatherers, the original inhabitants of southern Africa 25,000 years ago, left behind a breathtaking collection of rock paintings in the Drakensberg mountains, earning the area UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

The masterpieces showcase age-old human creative genius, depicting the humble and highly spiritual lives the Bushmen led -- a culture alien to the powerful and proud Zulu nation.

"They are different to us, you understand? They wore animal skins instead of clothes," says Herman Dikobe, the hospitality manager at a nearby lodge, who is a Zulu, but adds the attitude towards San people is beginning to change.

The Zulu-speaking amaNgwane people who moved into the Mnweni valley in the 1850s are earning an income from tourists to the Drakensbergs, also listed as a heritage site for its natural beauty and rich biodiversity.

The park is building a new centre replicating its rock art, among few in the world painted in three dimensions and with different colours, and proceeds are poured into development projects for the three communities living on the edge of the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, including the amaNgwane.

A community levy of one rand for entry to the park, and 10 rand (about 1.4 dollars) for accommodation, has to be paid per visitor.

Outside the San centre, Zulus sell arts and crafts to visitors, earning the vendors at least 800 rand (about 110 dollars) per month, in line with the minimum wage according to South African law.

Community leader Zacharia Dlamini played tour guide to a group of foreigners who visited South Africa to attend a World Parks Congress on environmental issues including how communities can benefit from protected areas.

The tourists arrived on a field trip to the majestic mountains at the start of the rainy season, finding the hills covered in patches of green and sporadic pink blossoms.

But the promise of summer provided little comfort against the icy mist and damp winds.

Despite the unpleasant weather, old and young in the amaNgwane community wrapped themselves in blankets to greet the tourists with wide smiles and spontaneous waves.

The visitors in turn marvelled at their traditional Zulu huts made of brown-red clay walls and grass roofs with the doors and window frames painted blue.

The tourists were promptly loaded into rickety minibuses with cracked windscreens and worn tyres to be taken to the Mnweni community centre.

A group of about 30 boys and men on horseback formed a guard of honour around the minibuses, and proudly escorted the visitors in a slow but special ride to the community centre.

"I feel like a president in a limousine with all the motorcycles driving around him," one of the foreigners remarked.

The community centre consists of a group of bright orange chalets built in the past two years, similar to traditional Zulu homes, where tourists can overnight cheaply, surrounded by forests, rivers and mountain pools.

The locals respect these as sacred places where ancestors and a mythical water snake, Inkhanyamba, and a mermaid-like being, Inkosazana, live. If they do not take care of these sites, they will be hit by drought, tornadoes and ill fortune, they believe.

The community also believes the spirits of the long departed Bushmen still dwell in the painted rock shelters.

The charismatic Dlamini says the descendants of Bushmen living in the community are scared to make their heritage known because they are considered different.

"You can still find some Bushmen here among us but they wouldn't tell you," Dlamini says.

Andrew Blackmore, responsible for the management of community projects, says the Zulus are slowly starting to realise the value of the San heritage.

"But they are very superstitious. The San descendants who live in the community are afraid they will be blamed if something bad happens. You and I will never understand that."

TERRA.WIRE