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The two reserves of Umfolozi and Hluhluwe
(pronounced Jislui) were originally Zulu Royal hunting grounds and
were separate but have now been consolidated and cover some 96,000ha of
prime Zululand countryside typified by rolling hills with grassland
summits, separated by steep valleys with riverine forest.
The Umfolozi ("zigzag") River divides into
two - the Black and the White Umfolozi. Between the two is some of the
best savanna country in Southern Africa and despite much of the game
being eliminated from the surrounding countryside during the last
century, it remained a haven for black and white rhinos.Hluhluwe is set
in the heart of Zululand, the oldest game reserve in Africa where Zulu kings
such as Dingiswayo and Shaka hunted and put in place the first conservation
laws, where today the "big five" of African legend stalk the verdant savannah.
There are approx. 800 rhinos in the Reserve as
well as many other species, particularly elephant. Lions were not introduced intentionally to the reserve.
A single male appeared mysteriously in 1958, to be joined after
a few years by some females, equally mysteriously. The pride now help to
control the number of buck in the park. Read about the
Lions in the Reserve.
Umfolozi Game Reserve
(now known as Imfolozi) was
one of the first
game reserves to be established in Africa and is internationally recognized not
only for its prolific wildlife but also saving the White
Rhino.
At one
time there were only 60 White Rhino left in the world. Hard work by the
Umfolozi Game Reserve managed to rescue them, but now the Black Rhino is
down to 2,000.
The
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park (one
of the largest Game Parks in SA) is renowned for its wide variety of bird and
animal life. Besides the 'big five'- elephant, lion, leopard. buffalo and
rhino - elusive cheetah, wild dog and nyala, along with many other well-known
bushveld species, inhabit the park.
The park covers 96 000
hectares, and comprises three reserves: Hluhluwe, Umfolozi - two of Africa's
oldest game reserves, both founded in 1895 - and the linking Corridor Reserve,
proclaimed in 1989. |
Rhinos and buffaloes wallowing together in a waterhole in Hluhluwe Game
Reserve
"One-eye", a female
lioness, and one of her cubs, broke through the bush in front of us ...
and totally ignored us! |
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+44 01903 502595
