Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Safari

by Beth Le Roux
(South Africa)

We saw two groups of lions: some females and a male with cubs (next to a very smelly kill), and a group of four male lions, right next to the car. We had to reverse our car for about 20 minutes to get out of the way of an elephant strolling down the road one morning.

Beth's Safari Details: Rating: 8/10 Self guided safari: Learn how to guide your own safari or make an enquiry Parks visited: Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve and St Lucia in South Africa Date of safari: May 2008, 6 days More Hluhluwe-Imfolozi safari reviews » Free Safari Photography e-Book Get your copy of the "Better Safari Photography" e-book at no charge, which pinpoints exactly what you need to know and do before, during and after your safari trip to improve your safari photography results whether you are a novice, intermediate or advanced photographer.

Accommodation and Food

La Rochelle, St Lucia – fairly standard but spacious timeshare resort.

Hilltop Camp, Hluhluwe – well-equipped rondawels with shared ablutions (not the best idea with a potty-training two-year-old), and an excellent restaurant. Very quiet and dark at night, with an amazing view of the night sky.

Mpila Camp, Imfolozi – safari tented camp was comfortable, fun, and very close to nature (no fences!).

Breakfast: rusks and tea after getting up early to go on a drive.

Lunch: sandwiches, salad.

Supper: Very good buffet at Hilltop Camp (excellent ostrich and impala, and other local foods), otherwise braai.

Wildlife

Saw 4 of the Big 5 at Hulhluwe-Imfolozi: tons of white rhino, buffalo, a few solitary elephants and lions.

Rhino around every bend! And lots of zebra, giraffe, impala, warthogs, baboons, vervet monkeys, a few kudu, waterbuck.

Near Cape Vidal, we saw lots of small buck – red duiker, we think – as well as samango monkeys.

At St Lucia, lots of hippos and crocodiles, as well as monkeys and odd guineafowl (black ones).

Logistics

We travelled in a private vehicle – Suzuki Grand Vitara. Usually went out for an early drive and a late afternoon drive, and to bed early. Not exactly the same every day with a two-year-old demanding attention!

Activities other than safari that we took part in was going to the beach at St Lucia, a boat trip on the estuary and snorkelling at Cape Vidal.

A disappointment of the trip is that I still haven’t seen a leopard!

Tips

The great thing about this area is the diversity. Stay in different camps in the same game reserve, and you will see different kinds of vegetation and different animals.

The most useful items in my luggage was mosquito cream (though low-risk time) and binoculars.

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