Hluhluwe Game Reserve

by svtrance

Tuesday November 9, Day trip to Hluhluwe (sh-lew-sh-lew-we) Imfolozi Game Reserve. It is a Big 5 Game Park in the KwaZulu Natal Region of South Africa. The oldest reserve in Africa, 96000 hectares of Wilderness.

Our guide was Hayden Elliot from Outdoor Africa , he was extremely knowledgeable about the animals, plants and birds we saw as well as the park and South African history. Hayden picked us up from Zululand Yacht Club in a comfortable van where the second seat windows opened to the side for photo opportunities. Included in our tour was a mid-morning coffee/tea and biscuits break in the park, as well as a delicious lunch early afternoon, at a picnic table with Impalas and Zebra roaming nearby.

The weather was not ideal, it was chilly, and very windy with a few rain sprinkles. With a lot of searching, we did see 4 of the Big 5 animals, African Buffalo, Elephant, Rhinoceros, Lion and several other species. The fifth being the Leopard, a nocturnal animal is typically seen at night or sunrise if you’re lucky. They are called the Big 5 as these five large African animals are known to be dangerous and historically considered a triumph by trophy hunters.

Zebras
African Buffalo
Vervet Monkey
Impala, males have horns
Warthog
Crocodile
Nyala, male is the dark gray with horns, females are light brown
African Wattled Lapwing, about 14 inches tall.
White Rhinoceros. Subject to poaching for its horn. Within the reserve we saw armed anti-poaching patrols.
Giraffe. Red Billed Ox Pecker birds, they are about 8 inches in length. The birds cling to cattle and big-game animals to remove ticks, flies, and maggots from their hides. When the birds are alarmed, they hiss, alerting their hosts to possible danger in the area such as a predator.
Little-Bee Eater, native to South Africa, they hunt insects whilst in flight. They are 6 inches in length.
Elephant
  • Female on the left, young male on the right
Lion. She did not like us being there, started walking and roaring as if she was alerting other lions of our presence. Hayden mention during his 20 year career, this was the fourth time he’d heard a lion roar.
  • White Umfolozi River
  • Wallows or watering holes are natural depressions that hold run off water. There are several throughout the park.

19 thoughts on “Hluhluwe Game Reserve”

    1. Thanks Terry, I purchased a new lens after Alaska, 100-600mm zoom. It’s heavy, over 12 pounds, needs a monopod or tripod for me to use it.

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  7. Really enjoyed your excellent photos of the game preserve. We spent 3 weeks in S. Africa in 2006 entranced with the gorgeous birds, amazing wildlife and friendly people. Jim especially loved photographing the zebras, too. Love following your adventures!

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  9. You did very well to see so many animals and get such great photos . Rhino are my favorite in the wild, like a tank they can co anywhere they want!

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    1. Thanks Warren, I think our guide was a little frustrated for the lack of animals around to see, the weather kept them hiding. Late in day we hit the jackpot and saw the elephant, rhino and lions.

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  10. Pingback: South Africa – Week 2 – Sailing Trance

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