Piet van der Hyde, an old leadwood of the Kruger National Park (KNP), as described by one of his close friends, has passed away on January 7.
Former colleagues and friends remembered Van der Hyde as a lover of the bush who dedicated his time to family, friends and his work in the KNP.
Van der Hyde had also published a book called Bosveldstories – Kruger Adieu!.
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In one of the tributes, Joep Stevens said he was privileged to be a colleague and close friend. “Piet started with the park on January 6, 1960, as an accounts clerk.
He loved the bush and was transferred to the biological section as a technician in 1963. He was relieved as a ranger in the Pretoriuskop section in October 1963 and was appointed permanently as a ranger in the Kingfisherspruit section.
He married the love of his life, Noeline, on August 14, 1965. The couple suffered some personal setbacks and he was transferred to the Crocodile Bridge section in December 1969. Due to personal reasons, Piet was compelled to resign in July 1970. However, in February 1971, he was reappointed as a buyer in the conservation service division. He retired from the park in 1995, and the couple settled in Kleinmond.
“I was privileged to be his colleague for five years and also maintained contact after his retirement. He was highly committed to the conservation cause, maintaining high ethical values and practices. He loved his family and children and was a dear friend. He is certainly a legend, not only as section ranger, but also in the buyers’ office. Our heartfelt condolences to his wife, daughter and all his family, friends and colleagues. RIP, dear Oom Piet, your work here is done.”
Another tribute came in from Robbie Green.
“In February 1989, I walked into his office for the first time to report for my first day at work. He looked up and said, ‘Robbie Green… Are we English or Afrikaans today? Oh, and by the way, vriendelikheid kos niks…’ which totally baffled me. ‘And the monkey on your shoulder. When you leave my office, take it with you. Look after it and don’t feed it too long so it becomes a big gorilla that will push you onto the ground. If you struggle with the monkey, my door is always open. [Seeing the puzzled expression on Green’s face, Van der Hyde next says:] What? It is the influence of the bush on people that have worked here for so long.’
“He was always friendly, no nonsense, see to your own challenges, do not let anything get too big to handle, and his door was always open.
“We had many things in common, especially the love of nature and conservation, fishing for tigerfish out in remote places, camping at hideouts only available for staff, and sitting still and listening at night when a lion is so close by that you can hear it breathe.
“After he retired, we had our half-hour talk every Sunday, longing for the bush and sharing stories. There is a fountain named after Oom Piet in the KNP, and I had the privilege to find it and send some pictures to him. ‘Ja, Oom Piet, ek het by jou fonteinwater gedrink. Net soos die wildebeeste wat daar verby trek. Rus in vrede. Volgende jaar lam die rooibokke en die wildebeeskalfies huppel oor die nuwe gras en reën. Mis my, het Oom altyd gesê. Ek doen, en ja, ek stuur groete vir die kaptein.'”
