Mkhaya Private Game Reserve
Overview
Eswatini Parks
Alan is a renowned Africa expert and has authored many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the Swaziland section of their 'South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland' guide.
Mkhaya Game Reserve is the top private reserve of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Self-drive is not allowed; excellent guides take guests around in open safari vehicles instead, and walks are offered as well. Visitors may have the opportunity to track both white and black rhino. There is a good variety of wildlife (though no lions or elephants) and luxury accommodation.
Pros & Cons
Wildlife
Mkhaya supports the only black rhino, tsessebe, sable antelope, buffalo and Livingstone's eland populations in Eswatini. It is also home to roan antelope, white rhino, hyena and other species. Smaller animals that often come through camp include warthog, nyala, suni, and grey and red duiker. Leopards are around, but these shy creatures aren’t easily seen.
Scenery
Mkhaya’s habitat consists mostly of acacia savannah with some thicker woodland in the north of the reserve. Several rivers cross the reserve, each fringed with beautiful riverine forest. Spring and summer bring a lot of color with the beautiful wildflowers that grow here.
Weather & Climate
Mkhaya has a defined winter and summer (at opposite times as those seasons in Europe and North America), which corresponds with a Dry and Wet season. The wet summer months tend to be humid and very hot. It rains regularly in this season, but mostly in the late afternoons only and seldom for the whole day. Dry winter months offer warm days, but the nights and early mornings are cold.
Best Time To Visit
Wildlife viewing is not much affected by the seasons in Mkhaya, as animals are mostly kept in drive-in enclosures. That said, the best time to visit is in the dry winter months, from May to September, when the climate is mild and rain minimal. The shoulder months, April and May and September and October, are particularly agreeable as it is less cold at night and in the early morning than in mid-winter.
