Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve

Better than Kruger

I will start with the Guide, excellent, he took real trouble to make us comfortable and explain the surroundings and the animals and a great deal of patience with people who were 'first time' and as excited as small children.
transport in the Landrover was as comfortable as needed, the pause for a 'picnic' in a central location with good views all around was ideal, no tables or chairs, no luxury that I found just great! it added to the atmosphere, during the Picnic pause the Guide took time to engage in conversation and to point out features and even handed me his binoculars too view Rhino on a distant hill, first class.
The weather was good except for one heavy shower but the weather was irrelevent to the enjoyment.
The Wildlife was in general more observable than in Krüger and the Guide took great care to careful position the vehical in a good observation point without undualy stressing the animals, an excellent guide.
Krüger was good but for me felt far too 'Tourist',
Umfolozi had that 'Personal touch'.

An other great visit

It was my fift visit with always the same pleasure

Mpila Camp Rest Huts: Rustic feel with a great view

I have been going to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve Mpila Camp Rest Huts every few years since I was a child. I love the relaxed and rustic feel of the camp.
The camp is unfenced so all sorts of wildlife visit the camp at night. I've never had to face a lion on the way to the ablution block after dark but Elephants, Giraffe and Rhino are common visitors.

In the reserve in general have seen Elephant, White Rhino, Giraffe and Buffalo on every visit and Black Rhino, Cheetah, Crocodile, Hippo and Lion on occasion.
The bird life is excellent as it is in all of South Africa's reserves.
I have taken part in the guided walks and night tours and I can strongly recommend them.

This is one of my favorite parks. Like Mkuze it has great hides. We saw a pack of wild dogs nearly take out an Impala.

Great park for seeing rhinos but not so much for any more of the big 5. I would recommend it for photographers as the views are amazing.

This is a smaller reserve and while it does include a beautiful stretch of beach, it just wasn't as beautiful as Phinda. But there was plenty of wildlife to be seen.

Wildlife - very great!

Hluhluwe-Umfolozi is a very beautiful, hilly reserve. There are many animals and they are pretty easy to see.

As a reserve it is open to everyone and you can actually drive your car though on your own. This can tend to make it seem a little crowded.

Be sure to include lunch at the Hilltop Lodge which has fantastic panoramic views of the bushvelt (Afrikaans for bush country).

We saw many more big game animals there, which was particularly exciting for us as we often travel to spectacular / beautiful parts of the world but don't often see big game!

One of the best places to view wildlife in KwaZulu-Natal

One of my favourite parks in South Africa, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi has so much to offer visitors. It’s excellent Big Five territory, and the landscape, which varies from gentle woodland savannah to rugged flood plains, is beautifully wild.
Years ago, Hluhluwe and Imfolozi were two separate parks. Imfolozi became known as being ground zero for Operation Rhino, Dr Ian Player’s very successful initiative to bring the white rhino back from the brink of extinction. Today still, the park is a very good place to see white rhinos. Also in the Imfolozi section of the park are the famous wilderness trails, where you go out on multi-day walks through areas accessible only on foot. These walks are not for the faint-hearted, but should be on the top of every serious nature-lover’s bucket list.
Hilltop Camp, in the Hluhluwe section, is the park’s flagship camp. It feels something like a resort, with a busy restaurant (with incredible views out and down over the park) and shops, and there is a variety of accommodation available here. Throughout the park, there is a variety of accommodation that suitable to different size groups: rondavels, cottages and what once were warden’s houses.
The last time I was at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi I came across five collared wild dogs that had recently been released. They’d just killed an impala, and the twilight battle between the dogs and three hungry hyenas will always stick in my mind as a true indication of survival in the wild.