​Overview – Mkhaya GR

Alan Murphy
Expert
By Alan Murphy

Alan is a renowned Africa expert and has authored many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the Swaziland section of their 'South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland' guide.

Alan has authored many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the Swaziland section of their 'South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland' guide.

Alan has authored the Swaziland section of Lonely Planet's 'South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland' guide.

Alan researched and wrote about Swaziland for Lonely Planet.

Mkhaya Game Reserve is the top private reserve of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Self-drive is not allowed; excellent guides take guests around in open safari vehicles instead, and walks are offered as well. Visitors may have the opportunity to track both white and black rhino. There is a good variety of wildlife (though no lions or elephants) and luxury accommodation.

Best Time To Go May to September (Dry season)
High Season Dec to Jan and Jul to Aug (It never gets very busy)
Size 100km² / 39mi²
Altitude 200-355m / 656-1,165ft

Pros & Cons

  • Sanctuary for endangered species
  • Good place to see black rhino
  • Well-run private reserve with excellent guides
  • Open-vehicle drives and walking safaris offered
  • Excellent safari lodge offering a great bush experience
  • Safari animals are kept in separate enclosures
  • Big cats aren’t seen
  • Small game-drive circuit
  • Lack of wilderness appeal
  • No self-drive allowed
  • Only one expensive lodge

Mkhaya GR Safari Reviews

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Wildlife

Mkhaya supports the only black rhino, tsessebe, sable antelope, buffalo and Livingstone's eland populations in Eswatini. It is also home to roan antelope, white rhino, hyena and other species. Smaller animals that often come through camp include warthog, nyala, suni, and grey and red duiker. Leopards are around, but these shy creatures aren’t easily seen.

Scenery

Mkhaya’s habitat consists mostly of acacia savannah with some thicker woodland in the north of the reserve. Several rivers cross the reserve, each fringed with beautiful riverine forest. Spring and summer bring a lot of color with the beautiful wildflowers that grow here.

Weather & Climate

Mkhaya has a defined winter and summer (at opposite times as those seasons in Europe and North America), which corresponds with a Dry and Wet season. The wet summer months tend to be humid and very hot. It rains regularly in this season, but mostly in the late afternoons only and seldom for the whole day. Dry winter months offer warm days, but the nights and early mornings are cold.

Best Time To Visit

Wildlife viewing is not much affected by the seasons in Mkhaya, as animals are mostly kept in drive-in enclosures. That said, the best time to visit is in the dry winter months, from May to September, when the climate is mild and rain minimal. The shoulder months, April and May and September and October, are particularly agreeable as it is less cold at night and in the early morning than in mid-winter.

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Mkhaya Safaris

Mkhaya GR Safari Reviews

  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
  • User Rating
    0.0/5
    0 Reviews
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
Most Helpful Expert Review
Expert
Stephen Cunliffe  –  
South Africa ZA

Stephen is a travel writer and avid conservationist whose work appears in prestigious magazines such as Africa Geographic and Travel Africa.

Bastion of the black rhino
4/5

If there’s just one word to encapsulate what this park is all about, it’s ‘rhinos’. From the moment you arrive at the Phuzamoya Ranger Station on your way into the reserve, you are confronted by a shocking display of mutilated...

Full Review