6-Day KZN Wildlife Tour

Durban - Durban

Day 1 – Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Park (D)
We will collect you after your breakfast from your hotel or from the airport in Durban and travel along the scenic Dolphin Coast and into rural Zululand, directly to the “big 5” Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Park where we would spend two nights at Hilltop Camp. The accommodation here is in a brick under thatch chalet, each bedroom with its own private bathroom/wash-basin and toilet. Each chalet is also equipped with a fridge. Our game viewing commences immediately upon entering the gates into the park.
This first evening we go on a night drive in an open game-viewing vehicle with staff from KZN Wildlife, the organisation tasked with running this reserve. This is to improve on your chances of seeing some of the nocturnal species such as leopard (always difficult to find), lion, hyena, genet, bush babies and then the other nocturnal animals such as the owls and nightjars. You also get to see some of the diurnal animals, such as are those that are found in the day.

Day 2 – Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Park (Breakfast, Dinner)
Today will be spent on extended game drives to various areas of the Park, with an early start to make the most of the day and to possibly chance upon one of the predators returning to their day-time lair. This is the game reserve famous for "Operation Rhino" which brought the white rhino back from the brink of extinction. Now you should see just how successful KZN Wildlife has been in this endeavour.
Sightings of rhino, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, warthog, baboon, vervet monkey, and antelope such as impala, nyala and kudu are seen frequently and with the possibility of seeing lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, black rhino, hippo, crocodile, monitor lizard, hyena and antelope such as red duiker, steenbuck, waterbuck, bushbuck and then the rare Samango monkey and wild dog, much less frequently. These drives are conducted with your guide in his/her vehicle.
Overnight Hilltop Camp

Day 3 – St. Lucia (Breakfast)
More game viewing follows as we leave the Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Park to overnight at Lidiko Lodge (or similar) in the village of St. Lucia, arriving in time for lunch. We would check into our lodge and then visit the eastern shores of Lake St. Lucia, heading to Cape Vidal, game viewing all the while. After a visit to the beach we would continue on the circular route for a game drive before returning to our hotel. Animals that may be seen here include kudu, reedbuck, zebra, waterbuck and other antelope species, black and white rhino, elephant and on the odd occasion, leopard.

Day 4 –Mkhuze (Breakfast, Dinner)
After breakfast we will board for a two-hour boat tour of Lake St. Lucia, here to see hippos (guaranteed sightings!), crocodiles and numerous water birds in this recently proclaimed World heritage Site. From here we make our way to the Mkuze Game Reserve. A place of great beauty and high contrasts, Mkhuze is renowned as a mecca for bird lovers , with more than 420 bird species on record. The reserve has an astonishing diversity of natural habitats, from the eastern slopes of the Lebombo mountains along its eastern boundary, to broad stretches of acacia savannah, swamps and a variety of woodlands and riverine forest. Mkhuze Game Reserve constitutes the north-western spur of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, a recently declared World Heritage Site. Animals to be found in the reserve include black and white rhinoceros, elephant, giraffe, leopard, buffalo, nyala, blue wildebeest, warthog, impala, kudu and other smaller antelope. Rare species occurring are cheetah, hyaena and suni. Visitors enjoy excellent animal and bird sightings from the hides in the reserve.
After the game reserve it’s onto the town of Mkuze to check into the Ghost Mountain Inn. At the foot of the legendary Ghost Mountain lies the privately owned 4 StarGhost Mountain Inn, a perfect setting for taking time out to relax and experience the charms of Africa in comfort and style. The Inn has 52 tastefully appointed, en suite bedrooms complete with television, telephone and air conditioning where one can take in the golden African sunset from your very own garden patio.

Day 5 - Itala (Breakfast, Dinner)
After a leisurely breakfast we make our way to the Itala Game Reserve, arriving in time for lunch. This magnificent reserve, tumbling from the heights of the Ngotshe Mountains a thousand meters down into a deep valley, carved over the eons by the Phongolo River revealing the world's oldest rock formations, is a game viewers paradise. Situated in the rugged, mountainous thornveld of northern KwaZulu-Natal, the reserve's multitude of habitats host a spectacular array of wildlife species. Its scenic beauty aside, Ithala's most characteristic feature is perhaps its astonishing geological diversity. Some of the oldest rock formations in the world are found here, dating back 3 000 million years. With a topographic profile varying from 400m above sea level in the north to 1 450m near Louwsberg in the south, Ithala's terrain extends over lowveld and densely vegetated riverine valleys to high-lying grassland plateaus, ridges and cliff faces.

Day 6 - Durban (Breakfast)
After breakfast and another game drive we head back to Durban via a different route that takes in some of the rural landscapes of KwaZulu Natal, to drop off at your overnight accommodation or the airport.