Hluhluwe & Umfolozi Game Reserves

In summer it is very hot, with day temperatures not uncommonly rising above 35°C/95°F, accompanied by high air humidity and frequently also by thunder showers (after heavy rain some of the tracks become impassable). Temperatures are more agreeable in winter. The months May to October, when the vegetation is less dense, are the best times for observing the game.

The reserves are in a malaria-risk area.

The fauna in both reserves is almost identical. There are 50 species of mammals, including buffaloes, blue wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, elephants, dwarf antelopes, klipspringers, reedbucks, bush pigs, lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, black-backed jackals, baboons and crocodiles. There are large numbers of rhinoceros: white rhinos are more commonly seen than black rhinos, which almost always live in impenetrable thickets. There are 400 species of birds.

Four rhinos were shot in Umfolozi Game Reserve in December 1994 by poachers seeking rhinoceros horn, one of whom paid for it with his life. Powdered rhinoceros horn is much prized, particularly in the Far East, as a means of increasing male potency. A single horn will fetch as much as $30,000, of which the poachers will get between $1,600 and $4,000.

The Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Game Reserves are famed for their large numbers of elephants. The white rhino, shown here, is only slightly lighter in color than the black rhino,

In the Umfolozi reserve there are two well equipped hutted camps, the Masinda camp and the Mpila camp. In the Hluhluwe reserve there is the new Hilltop hutted camp (220 beds), with accommodation ranging from modest huts to the luxurious Mtwazi Lodge. There are also privately run camps outside the reserves. Within a few km/mi of the village of Hluhluwe are the Bonamanzi Game Park camp and Bushlands Game Lodge, where the accommodation includes comfortable "tree houses".