Hluhluwe-iMfolozi

Proclaimed In 1895 And The Oldest Game Reserve In Africa, And The Place The Southern White Rhino Was Brought Back From Fewer Than A Hundred Animals To Thousands Through Operation Rhino In The 1960s Big Five Country In Green Hilly Bush Quite Unlike The Lowveld, With Wilderness Trails On Foot That Were Invented Here · Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi was proclaimed in 1895, which makes it the oldest game reserve in Africa, and it has one claim that outranks its age: this is where the southern white rhino was saved. By the early twentieth century there were perhaps a few dozen left on earth, all of them in the iMfolozi section, and Operation Rhino in the 1960s took that population and used it to restock reserves across southern Africa and beyond. Every southern white rhino alive today descends from the animals in these hills. The country is green and hilly - broken bush, acacia and thorn thicket quite unlike Kruger's flat lowveld - and it is big five country with far fewer vehicles. It is also where wilderness trails on foot were invented, and you can still walk here with armed guides for several days. Poaching has hit this reserve hard, and you will see dehorned rhino, which is what survival for this species now actually looks like.

In the hills between the Hluhluwe and Black iMfolozi rivers, 280 km north of Durban off the N2, Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Gates open at first light and close at dusk with times that move through the year, so take them at the gate and treat them as absolute. Entry is a daily conservation fee - this is run by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial authority rather than SANParks, so a Wild Card does not apply and the booking channels are different. The Hluhluwe section in the north is hillier and the iMfolozi section in the south is more open; the two are joined and driven as one. WILDERNESS TRAILS ON FOOT ARE BOOKED SEASONALLY AND WELL AHEAD, run with armed guides over several days, and are the reason serious walkers come. Guided game drives and night drives are booked at the camps. THIS IS AT THE MARGIN OF A MALARIA AREA - lower risk than the Kruger lowveld and not zero, which is a doctor's question. Poaching operations have closed areas without notice. Durban is about three hours south.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos