Ithala Game
Reserve Guide
Ithala
is a picturesque game reserve situated in Northern Kwazulu
Natal. The terrain is very rugged and diverse, crisscrossed by several
rivers and streams with hilly areas occurring across the whole park,
interspersed by open plains.
At
296km2 (115mi2),
about 20
km (12 miles) as the crow flies from the furthest
western to eastern
border and approximately 15 km (9 miles) from the
furthest southern to
northern border, the Ithala Game Reserve is a small wildlife
area.
If
your aim is to see the big five animals (lion, rhino,
elephant, leopard, buffalo) then this is probably not the
best place to do it because lions don’t occur here and
elephants and leopards are not often seen.
But
on the other hand, this is an excellent place to see that most elusive
of all big game, the black rhino (I’ve been blessed
to see a mother and baby black rhino here) and the rare
tsessebe and red hartebeest.
Ithala
Game Reserve Map
The satellite map is interactive so use the
controls in the left hand corner or double click to magnify. You can
magnify to such an extent that the details of Ntshondwe camp
become very clear. See if you can spot the camp's swimming pool. The
icons are clickable with descriptions...
View Larger
Map
Ithala
Distance Calculator
Based on an average speed of 30km/h (19mph)
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Finding your way between the camps and/or
main gate normally doesn’t take very long because the reserve
is not that big but it's also dependant on how much wildlife you are
seeing.
Use the distance calculator here to find out
exactly what the
travel times and distances are inside the Ithala Game Reserve.
Most of the road network is concentrated in
the southern and central areas of the park and the only portion that is
tarred is between the Mvunyane entrance gate and Ntshondwe Camp.
The
rest of the gravel roads can be driven confidently with a normal sedan
vehicle because they are reasonably well maintained but some will be
off limits during the rainy season.
You should be able to cover all the roads in
the park within a period of two days if you go for morning and
afternoon drives each day.
When
To Visit
Wildlife viewing is good all year round.
This is a summer rainfall area but showers are normally short lived,
violent thunderstorms.
If you visit during the colder months
between May and August you should bring some warm clothes along because
temperatures can drop sharply at night. Frost only occurs a few days
each year.
Ithala
Game Reserve History
Ithala was incorporated as a game reserve in
1973 by the then Natal Parks Board (now Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife)
and at that time there was very little game left because of intensive
hunting in the area.
Since 1973 about 20 species have been
re-introduced into the game park like black and white rhino, eland,
giraffe, elephant and brown hyena and the park has been enlarged from
8000 ha to 30 000 ha.
There is still evidence here of the people
that inhabited the land before it became a nature reserve such as the
old
Zulu kraal where you can clamber through the low door into the single,
thatched, round room that served as their whole living area.
Old, underground grain pits are also apparent at the end of the kraal
but most have collapsed with the passage of time.
A small distance from the kraal is the
remains of an old iron workings mine where the ore was collected to
make assegais and other metal implements. Bushmen (San
hunter-gatherers) also made use of this area and left traces
of their habitation in the form rock art which can be found in the
eastern part of the Ithala Game Reserve.
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This budget spreadsheet will help you work out the
cost of a Ithala
Game Reserve self drive safari...
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