Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve – Two Day Tour

Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve

St Lucia Estuary-Isimangeliso Wetland Park

R 6 500 per person based on a minimum of 2 Clients.
R 11 800 Solo Traveler rate

Overview

Here in Durban KwaZulu-Natal we are spoiled to have many Safari private game lodges and a few large Big 5 Safari national parks. Around the Durban area Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game reserve, also known as Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game reserve, is the most popular of the larger Safari Parks near Durban. A Durban safari is an opportunity that cannot be missed!

From time of pick-up, it is approximately a 2.5-hour Cheetah Interaction Tour. During transit, your guide will share a bit of history with you and you are encouraged to ask questions to reap the full benefit of the tour.

You will have the opportunity to encounter and learn more about to the fastest land mammal, the Cheetah! This has proven a firm favourite with our guests. From there it’s onto Hluhluwe Imfolozi Big 5 Game Reserve. Have your cameras ready! This will be home for the evening.

Your qualified guide will ensure your Durban Safari Tour will be memorable as he shows off what wildlife Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve has to offer!
A 2-hour boat cruise the following day on the world heritage site of Lake St Lucia in Isimageliso Wetland Park, viewing Hippos and crocodiles making it well worth the experience.

Being a Big 5 Game reserve and malaria free, Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game reserve is our most popular Durban Safari Tour of choice! Your Safari Tour with Tim Brown Tours will be unforgettable from beginning to end.

 

WHY WE THINK YOU’LL LOVE IT

 

 

 Visiting an endangered Cat rehabilitation and breeding centre to learn about their plight.

 Visiting the oldest protected reserve in Africa, home to the Big 5.

 Being in nature where seeing anything is possible while in the capable and safe hands of your qualified and experienced guide.

Day 1

Transportation

After your guide collects you from your Durban Hotel/B&B or Guest house he will take you on a educational 2.5 – 3 hours drive to Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game reserve – The oldest game reserve in Africa established in 1895. Points of interest like the History of Durban, KwaZulu Natal and South Africa are covered as well as different population group and how the came to be in South Africa. There is special focus on the Zulu Nation the major Black African tribe in the area as well as the different crops we come across on route to Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game reserve.

Cat Rehabilitation Centre (optional)

Before we get to the game reserve we will make an hour and 15 minute stop at a Cat rehabilitation center outside Hluhluwe. This is an amazing place where there are trying to get these endangered wild Cats back into the wild. There are 4 Species of Cat; the Cheetah, Serval, Caracal and African wild cat. We get to interact with them hands on. The cheetah being the most special as it is a large an intimidating cat. Always good for a new Facebook profile picture!

Continue to Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve

Once we have enjoyed the interaction with these majestic cats we move on to the World acclaimed Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve. We enter at the North eastern gate and make our way to the lodge of Hilltop camp where we will be spending the night. On route we will stop to enjoy the animals we can find.

Check-in and Lunch

Arriving at Hilltop camp we settle in for some lunch and then chat about the options for the afternoon! Either heading out again till gates closing time 6 or 7pm depending on the season or taking the open vehicle safari with the lodge (extra to clients account) from 5pm-8pm.

Dinner

We return for dinner and bed.

Night Game Drive (optional extra)

 


Day 2

Breakfast

 

Game Drive

A final buffet breakfast is followed by a game drive with your safari guide. This is a final chance to find what we have not or a chance to recap on what we have seen.

Leave Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve

We will then make our way out of Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve and onto the St Lucia Estuary-Isimangeliso Wetland park, for a two hour boat cruise along the Estuary.

2 Hour Boat Cruise

Here we will have the opportunity to see, Crocodile, Hippo, Fish Eagles, King Fishers as well as Monitor Lizards. A perfect opportunity for photographers to capture the beauty of South Africa’s 1st World Heritage Site!

Lunch

After we are finished with the Boat cruise it is time for some Lunch in St Lucia town before heading back to Durban feeling really satisfied!

Departure to Durban

 

Hluhluwe Imfolozi is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve spanning 96 000 ha. In 1890 the white rhino numbered less than 100 in the areas in and around Hluhluwe Imfolozi and it is mostly thanks to this park, which received formal recognition as a protected wildlife sanctuary in 1895, due to the possibility of extinction of this magnificent creature, that we have the fortune of seeing the white rhino in its natural habitat today. At this stage, there were approximately only 20 Southern White Rhino surviving on earth and they were all within the Imfolozi area.

By 1960, their numbers had improved so drastically that intervention was required to avoid over population. Rhinos were relocated to protected areas outside of the park and this initiative was run by the then Natal Parks Board. The relocation process was not always an easy one and there were casualties. However, the operation was considered a huge success. Hluhluwe Imfolozi now has the largest population of white rhino in the world. But, they are under constant siege and it is our duty as protectors of this world, to ensure that we do not face the same catastrophe as we did in the late 1800s.

*Ask your Guide* – There are two different rhino species within the park, the black and the white. Ask your guide on their identifiable traits, habits and see whether you are able to correctly identify the species should you have a chance to see one of these magnificent creatures.

The elephant – gentle, wise and with the ability to walk with such grace considering its size has always fascinated those visiting the park. The males are identifiable by their rounded head, thicker and larger tusks and larger body size. The females have a flat top head which comes down at angle to the trunk. The Big 5 – Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant and Buffalo were classified as such as they were and are the most dangerous animals to hunt on foot, the Buffalo being the most dangerous. Besides the Big 5, and the various other large species of mammal found in the park, the park is home to over some 1200 species of plant, it is abundant in birdlife, reptiles as well as little guys – don’t overlook the little guys. Remember, that here the dung beetle gets right of way.
The St Lucia Wetlands Park, now known as Isimangeliso (meaning miracle and wonder) Wetland Park is an amazing place with 5 different ecosystems ranging from coral reefs and sandy beaches to subtropical dune forests, savannas and wetlands.

Animals occurring in the park include elephant, leopard, black and white rhino, buffalo and in the ocean, whales, dolphins, and marine turtles including the leatherback and loggerhead turtle. The park is also home to approximately 526 bird species making it a bird watchers paradise.

Britain colonised the area in 1895 and turned the place into a wildlife reserve and established the holiday town of St Lucia. St Lucia was first named in 1554 Rio de la Medaos do Oura (River of the Dows of Gold) by the survivors of the Portuguese Ship, the Saint Benedict. At this stage, only the Tugela River mouth was known as St Lucia. Later in 1575 the Tugela River was named Tugela. On 13 December 1575, the day of the feast of St Lucy, Manuel Peresterello renamed the mouth area to Santa Lucia.

Due to the fact that the park is comprised of 5 different ecosystems and its unique global value, the St Lucia Wetlands was named as South Africa’s first World Heritage site, decided upon by UNESCO on 1 December 1999.

 

  • PLEASE NOTE

    • Group Rates are available on request.

    INCLUSIONS

    • Accommodation – Twin Room at Hilltop Camp
    • Dinners and Breakfast
    • Entrance Fees
    • Listed Activities
    • Transport – Pick-up and Drop-off
    • Guide
    • Bottled Water (We only supply a limited number of bottles per day, should you require additional, this will be for your own account)

    EXCLUSIONS

    • Items of Personal Nature
    • Lunch (Restaurant Available)
    • Beverages: Beer; Wine; Cold Drinks
    • Gratuities
    • Any other items not listed in the Inclusion

    in the Inclusion