Durban Overnight Big 5 Safari
We began our Durban Overnight Big 5 Safari on the Bluff in Durban. Here I collected my client and we headed off to Hluhluwe Imfolozi Big 5 game reserve. It would be a safari from Durban to remember!
The usual story took place with me covering the general history of Durban and KwaZulu Natal on route to our first stop, the endangered cat project for Cheetah interaction.
We had a great time as we got to interact hands on with 3 endangered Cat species.
Durban overnight Big 5 Safari; My clients with the Serval
Once we left the Cheetah project we made our way into Hluhluwe Big 5 game reserve a mere 20 minutes away. It was now time for our Durban overnight safari to begin!
Our first sighting was of some Zebra, Buffalo and Warthog. Having told me guests not to expect too much early bells, I felt some added pressure build as I knew it would be hard to keep up the success.
Durban overnight Big 5 Safari | Zebra Crossing
The Warthogs were just up the road so we spent some time being entertained by them before moving on with our Durban safari.
Warthogs on Durban overnight Big 5 Safari
Video: Sounder of Warthogs on our safari from Durban
We then made our way through to Hilltop camp for some lunch and to check in. It had been a good start and it wouldn’t be long before we would be back out to see what we could find on our Durban overnight safari.
Lunch was great and after 30 minutes of rest we headed back out.
Crash of Rhino – 9 of them!
We were very lucky as we had a great sighting of a Crash of about 9 Rhino which was unbelievable. Sadly for us the photos were not the best so I didn’t put them up.
We checked over the Hluhluwe river and enjoyed the great views of Nyala feeding and it wasn’t long after this we spotted a big old male Giraffe. It was strange as he was so focused on what must have been female in the distance that his male part was erect for a moment before he crossed the road in front of us.
Durban overnight big 5 safari; Giraffe
We continued on and came across a huge male Elephant a few meters from the road and he was in Musth but was very relaxed so after watching him we moved closer to enjoy him more.
Elephant in Musth
This great shot of the Elephant my client took for me when the Elephant opened up his ears to cool the blood down and help regulate his temperature. I decided to try and be a bit creative as the Elephant had some Rhino and a small breeding herd of Elephant behind him. Have a look at this picture below.
Elephant and Rhino
It was getting dark now and we needed to make our way back up to the camp. We had been very lucky and our Durban overnight safari had really begun very well with us having seen 3 of the Big 5 in the first day.
Arriving back at camp right on time we then got ready for dinner. After a quick dinner it was time for bed it had been a long day and we had agreed to start at 6am the following day to see if we could find some cats.
Day 2: Durban overnight big 5 safari
Our second day of safari from Durban was like a dream in Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve. I could not believe the luck we had and nor could my clients.
We started with Giraffe and Rhino before having the most special sighting of Lions you could ever wish to have on a safari.
We had a pride of 7 Lions walk onto the road in front of us and basically play around for about 15 minutes. It was very special and we got amazing footage.
Lions play on road right in front of us | Big 5 on Safari
This was pure bliss as these Lions rolled around and wondered in and out of the bushes near the road. I managed to get a couple of video clips so you can try and feel what we experienced.
Video: Durban overnight big 5 safari, Lions playing on the road
We were very lucky as we almost had this sighting to our selves with just one car coming behind us after a while to share it with us.
Durban overnight safari; Lions on road
Video: Durban safaris with Tim Brown Tours, Lions on the road
The Lions played and it was also clear that they were marking territory. One Lioness actually did what we call the Flemen grimace. She inhales the scent over a gland on the upper pallet of her mouth to check if it needs resenting. This is also done by males to check if a female is ready for mating or even to check if other Lions had made the scent.
Lioness does Flemen grimace
This had been an amazing sighting and we very happily continued on down south to see what else we could find. Clearly our Durban overnight safari had heated up!
It wasn’t long after this that we found a young Giraffe, we couldn’t spot her mother she must have been around, well we hope so!!!
Young Giraffe on Safari
As we continued our Durban overnight safari we finally had a great sighting of Buffalo where they crossed the road in front of us. We also had them near the road not long after this.
Durban overnight safari; Buffalo
These Buffalo crossed the road in front of us and a bit further along we got a herd walking parallel to the road all in a line heading off to find more food.
Once we left the Buffalo and crossed the Umfolozi river we spotted a bull Elephant and it was another 5 legged one! We watched him feeding and then he walked up to a Rhino midden and started to dust bath with Rhino dung!
Elephant with —- 5 legs???
Video: Elephant dust bathing in Rhino dung
This had been – so far – an amazing start to our 2nd day on safari from Durban in the Big 5 Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve. More was to come as we got further south into more open areas and found some Rhino grazing.
Rhino Grazing
It was now time for a quiet period which was fine but before we could get the words out “Wow its finally quiet” my left eye worked some magic and somehow spotted a Big male Lions laying down looking right at us. I was impressed with my spot as well!
Durban overnight safari; Big Lion – just watching us!
We could not believe that we had seen Lions twice in one day in Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve.
After a few minutes it became apparent that he was not alone and that he was mating with a Lioness who was hidden to us at first. This was amazing on two occasions we got them mating! Wow what a great Durban overnight big 5 safari tour.
Lions mating
We had been seeing vehicles stopped about 200 meters away but we were so into what we were watching we decided to wait before checking what they were looking at. During our time with the mating Lions we also had Rhinos 50 Meters away mud wallowing.
Deciding to leave the mating Lions and see what the fuss was about further up the road we moved on. It was another male Lions 20 meters off the road in clear view! Wow, we had been very lucky.
This male was clearly the less dominant of the two males hence he was not mating with the female.
Big Lion licking his paw – Durban overnight safari
It was clear to see that this male was less dominant he had less black in his mane which has been proven to be less attractive to females.
Video: Lion licking his paw on our Durban overnight safari tour
We were lucky on our Durban safari to see this male Lions so close but also grooming himself in the video above.
It was time for us to see what else we could find. And we found more Rhino, Buffalo and Zebra before stopping at a view sight and you wont believe it spotting another Pride of Lions! This was the third time in the day we had spotted Lions and these ones where far away! The game reserve has about 120 Lions and we had seen almost 20 of them.
I did take a picture but honestly felt it wasn’t worth put up after all the close ups we had got.
We stopped later for lunch and enjoyed the museum about Operation Rhino in the 1950’s and ’60 which brought back Rhinos from extinction.
We then left and found more Elephants before arriving back at camp mid afternoon and had a rest before the evening game drive.
We would all meet again the next day for a 6am safari.
Day 3: Durban overnight safari
We met at 6am for a 2.5 hour game drive to see what we could find. We found Lion tracks, Hyena tracks and even Leopard tracks but only saw 3 of the Big 5, Rhino, Buffalo and Elephant. We actually also spotted some antelope as well as Zebra and Giraffe but as we had been so spoiled the day before it almost was a little anticlimax.
Rhino
After spotting these 3 crocodiles together we spotted pod after pod of Hippos which really is the highlight of the boat cruise on the St Lucia estuary.
Hippo pods
We departed St Lucia South Africa’s first world heritage site at 3pm and made way back to the Hilton hotel where I would be dropping my clients off. It was a relaxed drive back answering any final questions and just having some general chats.
It had been on of the best Durban overnight safaris I have ever had the privilege of conducting!
If you would like to book this tour, click on the link below:
Durban overnight safari
Tim Brown Tours – with numerous awards and a long history of great reviews on TripAdvisor, can help you. So look at our alternatives to visiting the Kruger National Park. And join us for your South African Safari experience! We look forward to hosting you in the near future! Book Now and get an experience of a lifetime.
You can also find us at Tourist Guides and Trip Advisor
Tim Brown Tours and Safari’s : Follow Us
You can follow us on the below links or visit our Website www.timbrowntours.com
Interested in Nature and Travel in South Africa? Then head on over to our Tours and book your very own Safari today – You know you want to!
