Mkhaya Private Game Reserve Travel Guide – Map, Best Time and More!

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.

Best Time To Go

May to September (Dry season)

High Season

Dec to Jan and Jul to Aug (It never gets very busy)

Size More info

100km² / 39mi²

Altitude More info

200-355m / 656-1,165ft

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Pros & Cons

• Sanctuary for endangered species
• Good place to see black rhino
• Well-run private reserve with excellent guides
• Open-vehicle drives and walking safaris offered
• Excellent safari lodge offering a great bush experience
• Safari animals are kept in separate enclosures
• Big cats aren’t seen
• Small game-drive circuit
• Lack of wilderness appeal
• No self-drive allowed
• Only one expensive lodge

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.

Want To Visit Mkhaya GR?

• Mkhaya Safaris & Tours
• Tour Operators for Mkhaya