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Write a User ReviewCharacterised by its hills and offering easy game drives in pursuit of the Big Five
This is one of the few parks in KwaZulu Natal where you can see the Big Five, and I’ve had very rewarding game drives here. But it’s not typical terrain of rolling plains that most people expect, and ‘hilly’ and ‘woody’ are the best words to describe the landscape. Nevertheless the hills provide good vantage-points to look down on clearings in the bush, and from Hilltop (the main camp) the views stretch into neighbouring Swaziland. Game viewing is excellent from the Sontuli Loop, the corridor linking Imfolozi to Hluhluwe, where I’ve seen plenty of rhino (the reserve is famous for its breeding programmes) and the normally rare and beautifully marked nyala. At the Hluhluwe River I’ve often seen elephant and another rare specimen, the samango monkey. Predators are not often seen but cheetah, lion, leopard and wild dog are all present.
Home of the Rhino
The first thing I associate with Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is rhinos. These twin reserves, now jointly administered and connected by a corridor reserve, have been instrumental in rhino conservation. Practically all the world’s remaining white rhinos are descended from a bottleneck population of around 30 conserved here in the early 20th century. Today, the park hosts the world’s densest rhino population. White rhino are particularly numerous. It is unusual to go on a game drive without encountering a few individuals. Hluhluwe-Imfolozi offers a better chance than most parks of seeing black rhino too. All the rest of the Big Five are present, along with cheetah and African wild dog. While elephant and buffalo are common, large carnivores are scarcer. Indeed, the only sightings I had over several visits were an early morning glimpse of a leopard crossing the road, and a wonderful look at a full-maned male lion alongside the Imfolozi River.
Other attractive features of this reserve
Other attractive features of this reserve
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are the scenery, dominated by rolling green hills and the forest-lined rivers for which it is named. Birdlife is excellent, too. There is no better place in South Africa to see the bizarre trumpeter hornbill, pretty eastern nicator and mop-topped crested guineafowl. The rest camps in both sectors of the reserve are good value for money. Several are unfenced, so quite a bit of wildlife passes through. On my most recent visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, it seemed to be busier, thanks to the fleet of open-sided 4x4s that bring in day trippers from Memorial Gate. Most of these stick to the immediate vicinity of that gate, however, so self-drivers seeking to avoid the crowds are advised to head deeper into the park.A Very Well Managed Park
This is a lovely, large, flagship reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal boasting the Big Five and much more. The speciality here is rhino, black and white, both in very large numbers. The rangers know their reserve and its animals intimately, which makes it a brilliant place to start off your game viewing and you should come away with a healthy ticked list of animals. There’s also a good range of accommodation options inside the park with some of the tamer species like warthog, impala and zebra grazing outside your door. I have marked the wilderness vibe only ‘2’ because it’s very organised and gets pretty busy during holidays and although you only see the fences at the entrance gate, for me it’s not really wild enough. All my South African friends love it though and you probably won’t find a better introduction to southern African game viewing and the Big Five.
Rhino retreat
This beautiful park, Africa’s oldest proclaimed game reserve, became famous as the last stronghold of the white rhino when the species was hunted to near extinction at the turn of the 20th century. Today, sightings of these huge, tank-like animals are guaranteed, and I have also had frequent success searching for the more elusive black rhino. Elephant, lion and cheetah are among a number of species that have been reintroduced in order to restore the area’s original complement of large mammals, while nyala are conspicuous among the many antelope. As in much of Zululand, birding is excellent, with Narina trogon and African finfoot among my best sightings. The park’s habitats extend from the higher, moister grassland of the Hluhluwe section to the drier bushveld of Imfolozi, with the latter bisected by the meandering Black and White Umfolozi Rivers. Though one of KwaZulu-Natal’s largest parks, this joint reserve is small by African standards, and population pressures along its boundaries
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have made fencing inevitable. Nonetheless the habitat inside is pristine. To get the best of it, try one of the famous – and highly popular – wilderness trails: my five days of crossing rivers, camping out, tracking lions and dodging rhinos on the Primitive Trail ranked with the best bush adventures anywhere in Africa.South Africa’s top spot for rhino-watching
The tongue-twister of a name (shla-shloo-we oom-fer-lo-zi) is well worth mastering, because, despite its small size, this a good park for Big Five wildlife-watching, with the highest concentration of white rhinos anywhere, thanks for a conservation programme spanning decades. Of all the places I’ve visited in southern Africa, this is the place where I’ve had the best views of rhinos – closer, and for longer. You may also see wild dogs here.
It doesn’t cost much to stay in the park, particularly you’re travelling in a largeish group: the KwaZulu Natal wildlife authority runs a good number of staffed self-catering camps and a large lodge, Hilltop Camp, which was founded in the 1930s. The more comfortable private lodges outside the boundary are close enough to use as a base for daytrips.
Rhino rapture
My first South African game park experience, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve holds a very special place in my heart. Each time I’m in KwaZulu Natal, no matter where I am going, I always make a special effort to add a couple of days here into my itinerary. Because of the reserve’s infrastructure and built-up nature, highlighted by a network of well-signed, easily navigated self-drive roads – not to mention its close proximity to Durban which makes it a popular weekend getaway with city slickers – it does come across a little more Disney-style safari park than nature at its rawest. Once you enter through the gates though, you’ll find the game viewing here is equivalent, at least in quality if not quantity, to Kruger. It’s comparatively smaller size also means you won’t struggle to find any animals. The drawback of course is that you’ll continually be retracing the same routes throughout your stay. On each visit I’ve easily spied elephants, rhinos (the park is renown as a
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refuge for the endangered white rhino), buffalo, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, antelope and baboons all at very close range. I’ve also had several sights of hyena. While I’m yet to see lions or leopards, there’s always next time.An Oasis for Rhinos
If it were not for the combined parks of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi in South Africa’s KZN province, it’s probably fair to say that we might not have rhinos in the wild today – at least not in southern Africa.
During the 1980s, when illegal rhino hunting was at crisis levels, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi’s anti-poaching staff were instrumental in protecting a very healthy breeding population of these much-beleaguered beasts.
Over the decades, hundreds of black and white rhinos have been shipped out to repopulate the continent and to keep the species from falling into extinction.
There are numerous camps (both basic and quite luxurious) from which to conduct self-drive safaris into these reserves, and whenever I go, I always come away with sightings of the Big Five. The chances of spotting rhinos are high, and I have often seen ‘herds’ of these formidable creatures as they roam across the park’s grassy hillsides like fleets of organic tanks.
Visitors
For those who prefer to explore on foot, the reserves offer a plethora of guided big game walks, ranging from a single afternoon to a multi-day wilderness experience where you will sleep under the stars without a tent, surrounded by elephants, lions, and, of course, rhinos.
During the 1980s, when illegal rhino hunting was at crisis levels, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi’s anti-poaching staff were instrumental in protecting a very healthy breeding population of these much-beleaguered beasts.
Over the decades, hundreds of black and white rhinos have been shipped out to repopulate the continent and to keep the species from falling into extinction.
There are numerous camps (both basic and quite luxurious) from which to conduct self-drive safaris into these reserves, and whenever I go, I always come away with sightings of the Big Five. The chances of spotting rhinos are high, and I have often seen ‘herds’ of these formidable creatures as they roam across the park’s grassy hillsides like fleets of organic tanks.
Visitors
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should also keep their eyes peeled for African wild dogs, leopards, honey badgers, and aardvarks.For those who prefer to explore on foot, the reserves offer a plethora of guided big game walks, ranging from a single afternoon to a multi-day wilderness experience where you will sleep under the stars without a tent, surrounded by elephants, lions, and, of course, rhinos.
Rendezvous with Rhinos
This is the only major park in Kwazulu-Natal to contain all of the Big Five and it’s fitting that Africa’s oldest proclaimed park has endured as the stronghold of the continent’s beleaguered rhinos. The park’s terrain varies from open savanna grasslands to hilly woodlands and mountainous forest. This diverse range of habitats is the reason why both black (browser) and white (grazer) rhinos thrive here. Although the park is home to a wide variety of animals, including all the cats, for me it is the rhinos that steal the show. Despite a recent surge in poaching, this place still crawls with more rhinos than you can shake a stick at. Whenever I visit, I enjoy spending hours – whether in the vehicle or on a guided bush walk – tagging along with a crash of docile white rhinos as they mow their way through the rich grasslands. The lush green vegetation exudes an atmosphere of rejuvenation and abundance… and if the health of the rhinos is anything to go by, then it’s safe to assume
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that this park is really blossoming. So, come to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi to get your fill of rhinos and stand a good chance to see most of the Big Five in the process.Africa’s Rhino Sanctuary
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is the oldest wildlife reserve in South Africa. Having lived in the province myself, there is a special place in my heart for the cluster of ‘Zululand Reserves’ of which Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is the center point. The reserve, with its rolling hills and lush vegetation, is particularly scenic. It’s also one of the best places in Africa to see white rhinos. In fact, the reserve was one of the last rhino strongholds when this animal became near to extinction in the 1950s. Without a doubt, it’s as a result of the conservation efforts here (Operation Rhino) that we still share this planet with these phenomenal, prehistoric-looking beasts. This is not a reserve to quickly tick off animals, but I’ve seen all of the Big Five here. Predators are a little bit harder to find because of the thick vegetation, but numbers are healthy. Aside from the cats, wild dogs can also be seen. The real beauty of the park is the graceful Nyala antelope. Although it occurs in small numbers
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in other parts of Southern Africa, it is a Zululand special. It always amazes me how this bulky antelope carrying big horns can disappear in no time into apparently impenetrable thick bush.Homeland of African Rhinos
It’s often said that without Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve there might be no wild rhinos left at all in southern Africa. The combined conservation areas of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve once represented a laudable success story (largely through the efforts of Dr Ian Player and Zulu conservation legend Qumbu Magqubu Ntombela who spearheaded Operation Rhino in the 1960s). Eighty years later, however, the plight of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi's rhinos is far from assured: in the face of rampant poaching (some say as many as 300 rhinos were killed in 2023) KwaZulu-Natal wildlife authorities made the hasty decision to start dehorning their rhinos in April 2024.
If you find the tongue-tripper of a name (pronounced ‘ghla-ghloo-we oom-foh-lo-zi’) a bit much simply refer to it as HiP. Rhinos (both white and black) are still a major reason for visiting, but this Big Five park has a lot more to offer too and is well worth spending a few days exploring. HiP is ideally located for a
As befits KZN’s flagship reserve, the landscapes are spectacularly diverse. The southern half of the park (especially along the floodplains of the White iMfolozi River) is relatively flat and expansive and, along with many antelope and water-loving wildlife, offers the best opportunity for seeing cheetah and wild dogs. The beautiful nyala antelope, while rare outside of KZN, are so common that you’ll often see them wandering unconcernedly through picnic areas. The northern sector is my favourite area with plenty of wild dirt-roads, adding to the spirit of adventure and providing heart-stopped views along the dramatic Hluhluwe River canyons. HiP certainly offers a lot more than ‘just’ rhinos.
If you find the tongue-tripper of a name (pronounced ‘ghla-ghloo-we oom-foh-lo-zi’) a bit much simply refer to it as HiP. Rhinos (both white and black) are still a major reason for visiting, but this Big Five park has a lot more to offer too and is well worth spending a few days exploring. HiP is ideally located for a
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combined ‘safari and seaside’ holiday. There are two camps with chalets and tented accommodation (at Mpila Camp in the south and Hilltop Camp in the northern sector) but unfortunately no camping areas within the park boundaries ... so we opted for the excellent community-run Nyalazi Campsite where we could lie awake in our Front Runner roof tent listening to the bickering of hyena and distant roars of the local pride. Nyalazi Gate is the ideal access point (at the eastern coastal side of the park) and we enjoyed several days exploring and sitting quietly among grazing rhino and large herds of buffalo. The ever-present spoor of lion and leopards showed that populations are healthy but unfortunately both the big cats and Hluhluwe’s famous wild dogs eluded us. Birders are attracted by a tick-list that includes sightings such as the rare African finfoot or Narina trogon and large flocks of crested guineafowls and trumpeter hornbills.As befits KZN’s flagship reserve, the landscapes are spectacularly diverse. The southern half of the park (especially along the floodplains of the White iMfolozi River) is relatively flat and expansive and, along with many antelope and water-loving wildlife, offers the best opportunity for seeing cheetah and wild dogs. The beautiful nyala antelope, while rare outside of KZN, are so common that you’ll often see them wandering unconcernedly through picnic areas. The northern sector is my favourite area with plenty of wild dirt-roads, adding to the spirit of adventure and providing heart-stopped views along the dramatic Hluhluwe River canyons. HiP certainly offers a lot more than ‘just’ rhinos.