uMkhuze Game Reserve

This game reserve is about an hour's drive north of the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve and is a very good park for birding. The large water pans, when full, contain an abundance of water birds. The park also contains the big five and has very good hides for photography and watching game. The park in in the northern section of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park.

Great reserve with wonderful viewing hides

The best hides in Africa

uMkhuze Game Reserve is a little visit reserve with possibly the best hides in Africa. There is one particular hide that is in the middle of a water hole. Instead of driving all around on dusty roads looking for wildlife, you can relax at a comfortable hide and watch all the animals come to you. What was most interesting was listening to the wildlife. The hide allows you to be quiet and unseen so that you can observe more nuisances of the animal's behavior. We didn't stay in the park, however, the parks staff were very passionate about the park and took very good care of it.

I visited uMkhuze many times and remember it as a photographer's paradise. There were three comfortable hides and game kept coming to drink without stop right through the day. The last time I went the hides were closed because of the rain and I was very disappointed. The bird life is very good though.

Wildlife does not include all of the big five, but can be good for Black Rhino and especially good for Nyala.
This is a beautiful reserve with incredibly varying habitats, ranging from open savanna to sand forest to fever & fig forest. An added bonus is Nsumu Pan with it's hippos and fever tree-lined shore.
The bush vibe is good, you can really feel that you are out in the bush and away from it all, but can be quite busy at times.
This has to be one of the better birding spots in South Africa, with too many specials to list. This is mostly as a result of the incredible variation in habitats coupled to the warm sub-tropical climate.