We began our Big 5 Private Honeymoon Durban 3 Day Safari Tour to the Big 5 Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve in Umkomaas where my client had been diving with sharks.
I covered the usual things like the history of the area we were entering into and of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The history of the world famous Big 5 Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve is always interesting as well as the Flora and Fauna in Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve.
We made good time and stopped twice for coffee on the 3.5 hour long drive.
After these short stops to rest we visited Emdoneni Cat Rehab Centre where my clients could enjoy touching 4 species of endangered wild cats. These cats the Cheetah, Serval, Caracal and African wild cat are all here for sad reasons and now are used as educational tools and for breeding to release more back into the wild.
Once we were finished here we made our way to the Big 5 Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game reserve.
These Big 5 Game reserve can be misunderstood as being a guaranteed sighting of the Big 5 but this is not the case as animals roam freely in an area of 960 Square Kilometers. We were lucky and had immediate success as we got a Kudu near the road.
We were very lucky as we spotted Buffalo in the distance then Rhino and then a large herd of Elephant. I decided to be patient as they looked like they could eventually make there way out onto the road. The other cars all left and 10 minutes later we has a great look at these Elephants with the babies on the road!
Elephants on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Elephants on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
We continued on the main road and we found more Elephants right next to the road. Our Durban Private Honeymoon Big 5, 3 Day Safari Tour was looking good so far! It was like the animals can out especially for us in the heat of the day!
We must have had some good vibes for our Durban Safari Tour to be going so well.
We then spotted an old male Buffalo down at Zicaceni dam where he was resting in the heat of the day and it was 29 degrees on a winters day!
Old Male Buffalo on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Old Male Buffalo on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
At this point we were all getting hungry and it was only the animals that kept the hunger away so we began to head to Hilltop camp.
At the entrance to the staff quarters we spotted a troop of Baboon Browsing the hill turning stone looking for scorpions and spiders to eat.
This was becoming a great Big 5 Hluhluwe Umfolozi Private Honeymoon Safari Tour.
Chacma Baboon female on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Chacma Baboon female on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Our Durban Big 5, 3 Day Safari Tour started.
We settled in for some lunch at Hilltop camp before a rest once checked in.
Our Big 5 Hluhluwe Umfolozi 3 Day Safari Tour continued at 16:45 when we met for the evening open vehicle game drive. I stupidly decided not to come with and true to form a Leopard showed up for my clients!
Sadly I didn’t get a picture to show you.
I had arranged a private dinner for my honeymoon clients and I ate earlier.
It was the end of a successful Day 1 on our Durban 3 Day Safari tour.
Day 2: Durban Big 5 Private Honeymoon 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve
Our Durban Big 5 private Honeymoon 3 Day Safari Tour continued as I got the clients up for a morning game drive in the Hluhluwe section of the reserve.
The saw more Elephants, Rhino and Buffalo with Giraffe and warthog but sadly the cats eluded them.
The returned and we shared a breakfast at Hilltops restaurant. I chatted to my clients and they wanted to go back out on the reserve so at 10:30 we went back out for a few hours.
We were super lucky on this Days Safari Tour in Hluhluwe. About 5 minutes from the camp we found 2 Back Rhino which are highly rare and the male was courting the female. Every so often he would do the Flemin grimace and lift his head raising his upper lip to check if the female was ready for mating! Super cool!
Black Rhino with Flemin grimace on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Black Rhino with Flemin grimace on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
As our Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Private Honeymoon 3 Day safari tour continued we stopped at the Hluhluwe river and spotted a crocodile resting on the bank and Elephants in the distance.
My Clients Picture over the Hluhluwe River on there Honeymoon on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
My Clients Picture over the Hluhluwe River on there Honeymoon on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
We then continued to Maphumulo picnic site and saw some Hippos far down in the river. A great Days Durban Safari!
Baby Nile crocodile on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Baby Nile crocodile on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Our amazing Durban Private honeymoon Big 5, 3 Day Safari from Durban had really turned out well and we still had one and a half days left!
We made our way round to the main road and came across 3 different herds of Elephant which showed off and walked all over the road once we waited a few minutes.
Bull Elephant reaches for leaves on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Bull Elephant reaches for leaves on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
After we got back to Hilltop camp it was time for some lunch and a rest before the evening game open vehicle game drive. Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve had been a good host to us and still had a couple things to show us.
We then spent a bit of time recovering and then it was time for the evening game drive where the clients got to see Hyenas feeding off the remains of a Buffalo carcass. This was amazingly great as they had asked me earlier in the day if we have Hyenas!
So far out of the Big 5 we had seen Leopard, Rhino(Black and White), Elephant(loads) and Buffalo(dead and alive). So 4 out of the Big 5 plus the extra of Hyena and Black Rhino we were truly lucky! What an amazing Big 5 Durban Safari on my clients Honeymoon!
Dinner was excellence as it always is at Hilltop camp and the only sad thing was that Nigeria and Algeria lost there world cup matches which meant there was no African teams in the last 8 of World cup 2014 in Brasil.
It was time for a rest and bed, the stars were so bright and beautiful in Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve that night.
After Waking up to the alarm it was time for the final morning open vehicle game drive for the clients and then some breakfast before we would check out of Hilltop camp and head to St Lucia (Isimangeliso Wetland park) for a 2 hour boat cruise to view Hippos and crocodiles!
We had time after checkout for a final safari drive so we could recap a few animals and we were lucky to get this giraffe nice and close which the clients hadnt seen this close yet on our Safari at Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve.
Male Giraffe on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Male Giraffe on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
This was the end of the Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve Safari experience and we departed to St Lucia – Isimangeliso Wetland park for our 2 hour boat cruise on this World heritage site.
We had amazing sightings at St Lucia and saw lots of Hippos, Crocodiles and even Fish Eagles, Caspian Terns, Pied Kingfishers, Goliath Herons the list goes on.
Hippo at St Lucia on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Hippo at St Lucia on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
We also had a spectacular sighting of this Goliath Heron the World Tallest Heron. We flew up into a pod of Hippos and startled them so just got the picture of him about to fly!
Goliath heron at St Lucia on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Goliath heron at St Lucia on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
After this great sighting at St Lucia Estuary we got to see about 10 crocodiles resting on a bank as there was a dead Hippo near by and they had been feeding. Behind them in the below picture are the Mangrove swamps. What an amazing Durban Safari tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi game reserve.
Crocodiles Basking in the sun at St Lucia on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
Crocodiles Basking in the sun at St Lucia on our Durban Big 5 Private 3 Day Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Big 5 Game reserve 29 June to 1 July 2014
It was not the end of a Fantastic honeymoon Safari Tour to Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve from Durban. I returned my clients back to Durban and would meet them the next Day for a Durban City Tour.
Join Tim Brown Tours on your next visit to South Africa we can arrange the best possible experience for any time frame and ensure you leave South Africa – Durban with a lifetime of memories.
