Wildlife in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi

                       


Established in 1895 Hluhluwe-iMfolozi (pronounced Shooshloowee Umfolozi) is the oldest game park in Africa. As it offers self drive tours, we decided to spend two full days driving ourselves around the park in our little rented chartreuse Kia Picanto. Including an organised parks night game drive, we spent at least 24 hours driving around the site. For one night we stayed in a rondavel at the Hilltop Resort for around £40 including a fabulous buffet breakfast. This was amazing value for money as it was super comfortable and we even had our own fridge, cutlery, crockery and brai outside. Definitely mega awesomemoon.

The reserve is particularly rich in black and white rhino, elephant and various antelopes such as nyala and impala and we were incredibly lucky to spot many of these and much more.  

Large game

• A lioness lying on the bank by a river, across the water from us whilst we were eating our bbq lunch at a picnic spot. This was a real treat for us as we had not seen any large cats and we spotted it just before we had to leave the park.
• 8 white rhino- some individual males and other rhino in small groups. On the second morning we drove right up to a lone male sleeping and disturbed him. Needless to say our hearts were pounding as he stood up and stared, stomping his back feet and snorting at us just a few metres away.
• Many giraffe- including a female giraffe and her calf as our first spot entering the park.
• Burchell's zebras
• Elephants 
• Many buffalo 

Antelope

• Many nyala wandering around the picnic spots and at river banks 
• Many impala 
• Red duiker (Ty spotted one on the night drive- a very good spot as they are tiny) 

Small animals

• Many warthog 
• Chacma baboons eating in a tree 
• Vervet monkeys at Hilltop camp 
• Large spotted genet (hiding in a tree on the night drive) 
• Thicktailed bushbaby (on the night drive)
• Scrub hare
• Banded mongoose
• Cane rats

Birds

• Malachite kingfisher
• Cape glossy starling (beautiful iridescent blue/green colour)
• Southern black flycatcher
• Crested francolin
• Egret
• Wagtail
• Yellow fronted canary
• White fronted bee-eater
• Dark capped bulbul
• Burchell's coucal
• Wooly necked stork
• Night jar
• Glossy ibis
• Brown hooded kingfisher
• Emerald spotted wood dove
• Cape turtle dove
• Fork tailed drongo
• Cape vultures
• Crested Guinea fowl

Always wanted to spend a few days in this park.  Good times.