|
After we returned
to Thula Thula to pick up our car we drove 92 kilometres, via Empangeni to
do our food shopping, to Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve. This was where
we had exceptional game viewing the last time we were in South Africa, so
we were both looking forward to our time here.
As there had been
an unusually large amount of rain for the time of year, the landscape
looked completely different. It was beautiful and green with lots of
young grass shoots and plants starting to appear. What this did mean was
that the game viewing was going to be more difficult as the animals didn't
all have to congregate around the permanent waterholes.
The first place
we stopped at, for a couple of nights, was Mpila Tented Camp. Here they
have locks on the fridges to keep the monkeys out and they also
occasionally have bite marks in them from the Hyenas trying to get in!
We didn't see any
cats on the iMfolozi side, but we did see plenty of the usual game, plus a
few Elephants and lots of White Rhinos. A Bateleur, which is a
magnificent bird of prey, posed particularly well for us one of the
evenings! Also, the morning we drove from iMfolozi to Hluhluwe we spent a
long time watching Hyenas and Vultures fighting over picking rights on a
carcass.
The second camp
we stayed at was Hilltop Camp, on the Hluhluwe side, where we had an
awesome view out over the reserve from our room. Although we were not as
lucky this year as the previous visit, we still feel we were very
fortunate compared to a large number of other people we spoke to. Along
with the same species of animals we saw on the iMfolozi side we also had a
great view of a Cheetah one evening and a Lioness with three cubs at six
o'clock one morning.
Everyday we were
in the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve we saw Elephants, Rhinos and
Buffalo, three of the "Big 5.” In the camp we saw Samango Monkeys and one
afternoon we saw a family of Bushbucks who, as we kept very still and
quiet, became so relaxed around us that they came and ate within just a
few feet where we were sat. |