JOIN USFrom a distance we watch a lion guarding its kill, a mighty water buffalo. Though we wait for 20 minutes, the lord of the jungle does not budge an inch. He has a snooty look to show to the gawking audience.
I can’t capture good images because of the vegetation patch that’s obscuring the animal. We wish to linger, but due to paucity of time we move on, searching the place for other ‘big’ games. It’s an amazing start to our wildlife safari in the stunning Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa. (It’s pronounced shlu-shlu-wee.)
The park has quite a few claims to its credit, being a reputed ecotourism destination, the oldest game reserve in South Africa, and the only state-run park in KwaZulu-Natal where the big five are seen. Sprawling over 96,000 hectares of diverse terrain, it lies in the heart of the Zulu Kingdom, where ancient trails lead through the thornveld and along the mighty rivers of Africa’s oldest-established wilderness area.
Glimpse into the past
Once the exclusive royal hunting ground of King Shaka (where the first conservation laws were put in place), this rich tapestry of natural and cultural history still beats with the rhythms of Africa. “We manage over 120 protected areas including this and two World Heritage Sites — iSimangaliso Wetland Park and uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. In terms of its ecotourism sections, we are the biggest accommodation provider in the province, of which Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is the flagship of the organisation,” says Jeffrey Makwala, Regional Manager, Ecotourism, East, KZN Wildlife.
“Much of the history of the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park centres round the 30-year-old anti-nagana campaign, to battle the disease-carrying tsetse fly. Earlier, thousands of wild animals were shot in an attempt to control the flies, but only rhinos were spared. It was only in 1947, after an intensive campaign of spraying DDT and BHC, that the flies were exterminated. A massive translocation exercise followed. It succeeded in ferrying wild animals from neighbouring reserves — lions, cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, wild dogs and yellow-billed oxpeckers — into iMfolozi,” explains Makwala.
The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi reserve was formally established in 1895. This was the scene of Operation Rhino, which worked to rehabilitate the rapidly diminishing white rhino population. This movement was so successful that the park now boasts of the world’s largest population of white rhino (a misnomer; they aren’t white, merely widely lipped). In the 50s, it won the park world recognition for its white rhino conservation and its specialist Game Capture unit.
After an exciting start to our wildlife sojourn, more excitement keeps us on the edge in Hluhluwe. As the park is relatively free of tourist vehicles, the chances of animal sightings are more. We can spot the big five — the majestic lion, the elusive leopard, the African elephant, the Cape buffalo, and the rhino (black and white) — all within the 2.5 hours driving distance from Durban. The park plays host to the blue wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, impala, waterbuck, reedbuck, kudu, bushbuck, duiker, warthog, wild dog, hyena and many others. It’s also a birder’s paradise, with around 340 species.
All around us are towering grassland hills interspersed with diverse terrain and vegetation. Quite contrary to the stubby yellow grass, we find lush green rolling hills covered in bush. In the course of our game drive, we spot rhinos and buffaloes grazing in the distant bushlands, and leaping impalas. This park is one of the best places in the world to observe the nyala, a forest antelope. A nyala with beautiful marking on its head sprints across the road and retreats to the bush on seeing our vehicle. We also spot several female nyalas browsing on grass. The colour of the male’s coat differs considerably, and becomes darker as the animal matures, whereas the female sports a rusty or rufous colour coat.
Wilderness at leisure
Around the first corner, we spot countless zebras grazing at the side of the road. Some of them are browned after a relaxing wallow in the mud. Several giraffes saunter down the road. “They are plentiful, like the omnipresent KFCs,” exclaims our driver. We could never tire of seeing the graceful forms. They are a treat to watch every time, and no doubt are fond of the camera. We are amazed at having seen these many animals during the 2-hour game drive. On our drive back, we notice some birds of prey hovering and waiting to swoop on the kill that the lion is still zealously guarding.
Fact file
Getting there: The park is 2.5 hours from Durban and 6 hours from Johannesburg.
Accommodation: Two resorts and
a bush lodge have been set up through the community levy collected by the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife on behalf of the local communities.
Also visit: The curio centre and the museum there.