Hluhluwe Imfolozi Safari
Hluhluwe Imfolozi Safari with Tim Brown Tours. I met my clients for their Hluhluwe Imfolozi Safari 2 days safari in Umhlanga(Durban) and we made our way to the world famous Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve. On route we would stop at the cat rehabilitation centre to interact with Cheetah hands on as well as a couple of other endangered wild cats.
We had a great start as we chatted about the history of the area and then stopped for some coffee and a rest before we would arrive at our first destination for this 2 day Durban safari.
The cat rehabilitation centre was amazing and my clients really enjoyed the interaction with the big and small cats.
Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari; two of my clients interacting with the Cheetah
We then departed the Cat rehabilitation center for Hluhluwe Imfolozi Big 5 game reserve. It was here that our safari would really begin. It was a hot day at 30 degrees and a little humid. This added to the atmosphere and we had some amazing sightings in the first hour and a half before we got to the Hilltop camp for lunch.
In this time we spotted 3 of the Big 5, Rhino, Buffalo and Elephants as well as other smaller species of animal.
The Big 5 is what most people want to come and see so we were lucky with the start we had.
Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari; Warthogs
After enjoying the Warthogs next to the road we quickly found Rhino in the distance as well as Impala.
Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari; Rhino and Impala
As we continued a herd of Buffalo were in the distance and we watched then and a Rhino mother with calf.
Buffalo in Hluhluwe Imfolozi
As we continued we managed to find some Elephants in the thickets near the road and this with patience became a really good sighting.
Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari; Elephant
We departed to the lodge and settled in to some lunch before checking in and taking a 20 minute rest before heading back out on safari.
It wasn’t long before we spotted some Rhino near to the road and we got a great few photos to add to the collection.
Rhino on Safari
We then had an amazing sighting of Baboons and a Bush buck as well as Rhino mother and calf. The Baboons always seem to intrigue humans and we watched them for some time before continuing our Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari.
Baboon sighting
As we continued we spotted Nyala, Rhino, Wildebeest and Zebra in a short space of time it had been an amazing day!
Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari; Zebra
It was now time to get back to the lodge for the clients open vehicle game drive and it was here that I got some time to write this. I would meet my clients again at 8pm for dinner and as it was only a 2 day safari we planned to head out very early at 6 am the next day to see what we could find.
After a good night sleep we met at 6am and began day 2 of our Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari.
Day 2: Hluhluwe Imfolozi Safari
It was a 6am start and and we were all a little tired after a long day before but all very happy at the prospect of seeing more animals and experiencing another great day on safari in Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve.
Our first major sighting was of these amazing Giraffe on and next to the road. The big male was testing all the female urine to see if they were ready to be mated.
Giraffe during our Safari at Hluhluwe Imfolozi
Video: Durban overnight safari; Giraffe tests female for mating readiness
After this amazing sighting and the first Giraffe we has seen we continued further south in the quest to find more Lions.
We found some Leopard tracks and scat but no cat. We continued spotting Zebra, Rhino and Nyala before finding a lovely herd of Elephant after the Umfolozi river crossing the road in front of us.
Elephant baby
We continued on and had some lovely sightings of Rhino the best probably being this one of a mother and small calf. Wow, we had been having a great Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari.
Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari; Rhino mother and calf
We were running out of time now and the day was getting hot so we headed back to the Umfolozi river and were very lucky to spot four bull Elephants that went to have a drink at the river as well as a sand bath.
Elephants
After another amazing sighting of Elephants we made our way towards the gate and it was now time to head off to St Lucia – Isimangaliso wetland park.
We took a breather and then we were there at South Africa’s first world heritage site. It is one of the only places you can find Hippos, Crocodiles and Sharks in the same waters.
We first had lunch and then we head to the St Lucia estuary for our 2 hour boat cruise.
Our Cruise was awesome and we saw lots on Hippos and crocodile.
Hluhluwe Imfolozi safari; Hippos at St Lucia
We had my best sighting of an African fish eagle that I actually captured on film! I was really stoked.
African Fish eagle in flight during our Hluhluwe Imfolozi Safari
After an amazing 2 days of safari from Durban in the World famous Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve and World heritage site of Isimangaliso wetland park – St Lucia we headed back to Durban.
On route we stopped for some coffee and to stretch the legs before we covered our final questions and arrived back in Umhlanga near Durban.
What a great 2 day Durban safari.
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Durban 2 day safari tour
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