Day 4-5
A group of Bachelor Lions lying around in the rain. One kept bellowing.
After an early breakfast we say goodbye to Sodwana and head for the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Big 5 game park, Africa’s oldest having been established in 1895. In the early 1960’s the park introduced a Rhino Protection Program to prevent the eradication of these beautiful pre-historic looking beasts. Hluhluwe-Imfolozi was originally two separate parks which were united in 1989 and today comprises South Africa’s fourth largest park. The park is host to the Big 5 of Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo. We arrive at Mpila camp, headquarters of the southern Imfolozi region, were we are met by our guide for the start of our three day walking safari in the pristine Wilderness region. There is no vehicle access to this section of the park and the environment is very untouched. We will walk between 7 and 15 kilometers a day between the rustic camps. This will be a rich experience in learning at close hand about the nature of the bush savannah. It is very likely we will encounter giraffe, buffalo, rhino, several antelope species and hopefully one or more of the cat species. Further information on this three day hike is attached below.
Day 6
I fell In-Love with the giraffe's, they were gentle, tall and stately.
After a bush breakfast we return to Mpila camp around lunch time concluding what will be a very rich and rewarding bush experience. But we will need some pampering so we head from Mpila to our four star Zulu Lodge in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. This was South Africa’s first World Heritage Site and is South Africa’s third largest at 1,700 square kilometers and hosts an incredible five ecosystems. Late afternoon we head on a boat cruise up the St Lucia river which will guarantee us fantastic views of Hippo and Crocodile as well as a wonderful selection of bird life. The day is rounded off with a dinner at a fine local restaurant and a comfortable night’s sleep in our lodge.
Huge, Huge and Ill Tempered. Rhino
