Zulu Nyala Private Game Reserve

Zulu Nyala was an great experience of a life time.

My Mother, our male friend and I drove from Durban to Zulu Nyala in October if 2010. It was spring time on the reserve with flowers blooming everywhere and green grass starting to grow. The game was easily observable since the foilage wasn't overgrown. We saw a moma Cheeta with 3 cubs twice in the week we were there, once skinny and hunting and other time lounging tummies full from a recent kill. We were lucky to see 4 of the Big 5. We enjoyed the elephants, rhinos and George the one horned Giraffe and many Wart Hogs.

Very touristy, but a good place for close encounters with wildlife. The tented safari camp is great!

Could have stayed for another week or two.

Missed the leopard and we knew there was no lion. Had very up close and personal time with Elephants, Cheetah, Buffalo, Wart Hogs, Zebra, Giraffe, Hippo's, various impala, Salt water and fresh water crocks, wildebeest, dodgers, a puff adder, a boa and great birds. Plenty of local color. Reasonable food, entertaining guides. Took side trips to Santa Lucia, and very up scale neighboring park. Learned lots, met good people and had a lot of fun. Food was so-so (typical for S. Africa). Nice weather every day, but got a little cool at night. Two trips a day. Am going back in 2016, just bought my trip. Will stay in the lodge in the park this time.

Zulu Nyala was very intimate — the park is smaller than some others, but you also get much closer to the animals and don't have to go quite so far between encounters. The lodges were great, well beyond our expectations. We have recommended Zulu Nyala to everyone who asks about it.

Fantastic. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our time. Great guide , readily answered questions.

Our trip was thru a non profit auction. We knew 4 couples that had previously taken the trip all of whom raved about their experience. We arrived about noon, were escorted to our Hemingway Tented Lodge, which we requested, and went on our first photo safari at 3:00 that afternoon. Each day there is one safari in the morning, meet the guide at 5:45 to 6 and back at the lodge about 8:15 tho 8:30 and one in late afternoon until dark. Meals are available in the morning and evenings after you return from your photo safari and of course at lunchtime.

From the first day our guide, Peace which is the meaning of his Zulu name, was friendly and informative. Anyone who has Peace as their guide consider yourself lucky. The first day we saw a cheetah, many impala, wildebeest, hippos, nyala, zebra, black and white rhinos and giraffe. The next day we saw the elephants. Yes the animals did become repetitive after a few days, but we saw them in a different setting so it was not exactly the same. We did take several side trips including a trip to a nearby preserve and not only saw lions but also a leopard who walked within 10 feet of our safari vehicle. One day we went to St.Lucia for a boat trip on a lake where hundreds of hippos were and then visited the market and the beautiful beach on the Indian Ocean. Another day we visited an elephant rehab facility and the next a big cat rehab facility. Of course the extra trips cost additional but they were worth it for the experiences they provided. All of the extra trips were completely voluntary and were set up by our guide.

Overall we could not have been happier with our experience. Certainly Kruger or some other park may be much bigger, but with a larger area your guide may not be able to put you on all of the different wildlife we were able to see up close and personal.