After collecting my clients from Durban City for there Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve we began with a briefing on my Job and what the clients can expect on there Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve Day Safari Tour.
Basically I mention to the clients that on there Durban Day Safari Tour I will be there guide and that I will cover the History of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa including each population group and how the came to be here. I also mention information on all the different crops/Plantations we come across as well and as the communities we come across.
Hluhluwe Umfolozi Safari Tours are very popular with our clients as it is a Big 5 Game reserve close enough to Durban to take a Safari Tour there in a Day and preferably overnight.
Once we got going the weather was beautiful and the Temperature got up to 32 degrees Celsius in Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve on our Safari Tour.
We had left Durban City nice and early and by 09:30 we were in Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve to begin our Durban Safari Tour of this pristine nature reserve.
As we entered the Nyalazi gate I spotted some Chacma Baboons playing in the road as well as grooming each other which is very important for there social bonding etc.
Chacma Baboons play in the road on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
Chacma Baboons play in the road on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
We continued down South into the Umfolozi Section of Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve and our Safari Tour from Durban got interesting! We were lucky to come across a huge amount of animal species including 4 of the Big 5 on this Safari Tour.
Next we spotted some Zebra and Impala as well as a big crocodile in the Umfolozi river.
Zebra Hiding in the thickets on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
Zebra Hiding in the thickets on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
As we continued on our Durban Day Safari Tour we came across a Male Giraffe just feeding next to the road on the pods of a Sickle bush. This was really interesting as right next to the Sickle bush was his favorite tree the Acacia(karoo). Clearly he needed some nutrients from the pods and the leaves. The Sickle Bush has anesthetic properties in the leaves…
Durban Day Safari Tours to Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve can be really interesting we you see things like this:
Male Giraffe feeding on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
Male Giraffe feeding on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
We continued on and it had been a little quiet for a while as we the all of a sudden hit some luck. We came across a huge herd of Cape/African Buffalo on our Safari from Durban.
Buffalo with her calf on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
Buffalo with her calf on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
We only had to continue a mere 100 meters and bang there was a small herd of Elephant feeding right next to the road. We waited a short while so we could get them crossing the road for a better photograph and sure enough they did. Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve can be very rewarding but always in the African Bush Patience is the key!
Elephant crosses the dirt road on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
Elephant crosses the dirt road on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
After the Elephant our spirits were high and we soldiered on to see what else our Durban Day Safari Tour would offer us. This usually happens that you have periods of quietness and then periods of busyness.
We then came across a view point and I could see something on the Sand. All of a sudden it moved. It was a Lion! We had found at least 2 lions resting down by the river with a binocular view but it was better than not seeing them at all! Lions on a Safari Tour from Durban to Hluhluwe Umfolozi can be hard as we only get to the game reserve well into the day time and these great animals are nocturnal hunters.
Lioness Crossing the sand bank in the Umfolozi River on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
Lioness Crossing the sand bank in the Umfolozi River on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
At this point in time we had found 3 of the Big 5 on our Durban Safari Tour and were only missing the Rhino and Leopard. Within about 15 Minutes we had our 4th of the Big 5 the White Rhino and could smile again! This Hluhluwe Umfolozi safari tour from Durban was really a good one.
White Rhino on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
White Rhino on our Easter 2014 Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve
After this we were all smiles and began heading back up to Mpila camp for a Toilet break and then to Centenary center for some lunch. All of a sudden our stop at Mpila was not for a toilet break but to clean up one of my clients vomit! No warning it just came all over the inside on my 3 month old car! Damn I was actually lost for words so I didnt say very much…
We arrived at Centenary center for some lunch and to catch our breath of for me to get some air.
After lunch we continued on into the Hluhluwe Section of the game reserve and found more Elephant, impala and warthogs before it was time to head back to Durban after what was a very interesting and successful Durban Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve.
