Zulu Nyala Private Game Reserve

Nice place to see African wildlife

The Zulu Nyala game lodge was a nice place to see many different African wildlife. One thing we noticed early on was that after going into the park a couple of days, we had pretty much seen all they had. We then needed to go to other parks and areas to see different wildlife. The food was excellent. The rooms were just ok, though I'm sure they were fine by African standards.

We saw all but the big game--Lions--up close and it was amazing.

We had won this safari trip at a fundraiser for Room to Read and when we got there we learned that all of the other guests had also come through winning a charity auction from a soccer league to a Providencetown gay support group. while this game reserve was on a much smaller scale than the ones you hear about at Kreuger, Tanzania or Kenya, it was spectacular nonetheless.

Our guides were great in taking us out and finding all sorts of wildlife up close including the buffalos, elephants, wildebeest, zebra herds, giraffes, rhinos, nyalas and other type of antelopes. The waterholes were teeming with all types of animals and birds. We were glad to be in the big safari trucks as a herd of elephants with their babies brushed against the vehicle.

We did a bit of a walkabout behind our guide with a loaded gun as we rousted out several rhinos who were hiding in the bush. Good thing they ran away from us rather than charging.

The lodge was in a beautiful setting with vistas over the entire jungle area. One of the help at the lodge removed a green snake from one of our deck chairs. He didn't say whether it was poisonous or not.

On one evening we had a group of Zulu performers provide dance and singing while we had dinner. The same group plus other were in a made up village like you would find in Disneyworld who showed us some of the activities of daily living including a visit to the shaman, crafts, and cooking, and a bone throwing fortune teller. they also had samples of typical huts you would find in the bush.

Zulu Nyala was an great experience of a life time.

My Mother, our male friend and I drove from Durban to Zulu Nyala in October if 2010. It was spring time on the reserve with flowers blooming everywhere and green grass starting to grow. The game was easily observable since the foilage wasn't overgrown. We saw a moma Cheeta with 3 cubs twice in the week we were there, once skinny and hunting and other time lounging tummies full from a recent kill. We were lucky to see 4 of the Big 5. We enjoyed the elephants, rhinos and George the one horned Giraffe and many Wart Hogs.

A small fences reserve. A great first safari.

Very touristy, but a good place for close encounters with wildlife. The tented safari camp is great!

Could have stayed for another week or two.

Missed the leopard and we knew there was no lion. Had very up close and personal time with Elephants, Cheetah, Buffalo, Wart Hogs, Zebra, Giraffe, Hippo's, various impala, Salt water and fresh water crocks, wildebeest, dodgers, a puff adder, a boa and great birds. Plenty of local color. Reasonable food, entertaining guides. Took side trips to Santa Lucia, and very up scale neighboring park. Learned lots, met good people and had a lot of fun. Food was so-so (typical for S. Africa). Nice weather every day, but got a little cool at night. Two trips a day. Am going back in 2016, just bought my trip. Will stay in the lodge in the park this time.

Zulu Nyala was very intimate — the park is smaller than some others, but you also get much closer to the animals and don't have to go quite so far between encounters. The lodges were great, well beyond our expectations. We have recommended Zulu Nyala to everyone who asks about it.

Fantastic. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our time. Great guide , readily answered questions.

Our trip was thru a non profit auction. We knew 4 couples that had previously taken the trip all of whom raved about their experience. We arrived about noon, were escorted to our Hemingway Tented Lodge, which we requested, and went on our first photo safari at 3:00 that afternoon. Each day there is one safari in the morning, meet the guide at 5:45 to 6 and back at the lodge about 8:15 tho 8:30 and one in late afternoon until dark. Meals are available in the morning and evenings after you return from your photo safari and of course at lunchtime.

From the first day our guide, Peace which is the meaning of his Zulu name, was friendly and informative. Anyone who has Peace as their guide consider yourself lucky. The first day we saw a cheetah, many impala, wildebeest, hippos, nyala, zebra, black and white rhinos and giraffe. The next day we saw the elephants. Yes the animals did become repetitive after a few days, but we saw them in a different setting so it was not exactly the same. We did take several side trips including a trip to a nearby preserve and not only saw lions but also a leopard who walked within 10 feet of our safari vehicle. One day we went to St.Lucia for a boat trip on a lake where hundreds of hippos were and then visited the market and the beautiful beach on the Indian Ocean. Another day we visited an elephant rehab facility and the next a big cat rehab facility. Of course the extra trips cost additional but they were worth it for the experiences they provided. All of the extra trips were completely voluntary and were set up by our guide.

Overall we could not have been happier with our experience. Certainly Kruger or some other park may be much bigger, but with a larger area your guide may not be able to put you on all of the different wildlife we were able to see up close and personal.

Great option for your FIRST safari

Since South Africa has largely confined its large "safari" animals, there are three primary venues to see them.

Roadside Attractions - ranging from wineries to rehabilitation facilities these are very small, but intimate viewing options, but not pristine or very natural. We preferred the rehabilitation facilities since it seemed "less exploitive."

Small to Mid-sized Game Reserves - These offer a wider range of animals and relatively consistent viewing opportunities since the facility had a limited expanse of fenced-in land, along with a fairly natural environment. In terms of "seeing animals," these may offer the best "bang for the buck."

National Parks - These offer vast acres of land and the opportunity to see animals in their most natural setting. Of course, the large expanse may also mean less frequent sightings, but those sighting might be considered the "most authentic" of the three options.

Zulu-Nyala is a smaller game reserve, plenty of sightings, reasonably natural with enough other nearby options to keep the week fully occupied. We felt it offered what we wanted, a daily opportunity to regularly see the animals consistently, thus a solid "first-time" or "only" safari experience.