I always like to tell a good story including a few facts, such as dates, and of course, if you know me there should always be a hint of humour. But this story starts a little differently because after hours of searching here at home and reaching out to try and find my first booking, I cannot date my first visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. There is no anniversary to be marked but it really does not matter, because I know that I have been visiting the park for around twenty five years and have probably stayed in the park around thirty times. And my reason for this article is simple. I want to encourage you to visit the park and spend some time in Zululand.
Way back in 1994 when I first met Melanie, my now wife, I picked up a leaflet in Durban and asked her if we could go to “Haloo-Haloo-wee”. My pronunciation was terrible and, in some cases now, not much better. But I keep trying and now will start with a “shush” and finish with shloo-wee um-foh-lozzi and if you are English, you might think I am a local to Zululand. My first hint of humour. We ended up not going and settled for a couple of game reserves, Weenen and Giants Castle, which I could pronounce.
Moving forward a few years my wife’s grandfather Godfrey, known in Zulu as “babumkhulu” which translates in Zulu to their grandfather, asked me where my best elephant sighting had been. I gave my answer some serious thought and had to confess to having never seen an African elephant. He muttered something through his silver moustache made a couple of phone calls and handed me his car keys. The next day Melanie and I were off to Zululand and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in Godfrey’s, Mel thinks old brown Peugeot and I think white Toyota Cressida. But whatever it was it got us there and into the park.
We were booked into Mplila Camp, which as it is now, is self-catering only, and our accommodation was a basic rondavel. A round thatched hut with two single beds and a couple of small windows. The ablutions, showers and kitchen, a short walk from our rondavel, were all shared with other guests. After checking in we headed out into the park and within minutes a fellow self-driver pointed us in the direction of a cheetah sighting. Our first wow moment as, under a tree there lay a cheetah with three cubs. My memory also takes me back to how incredibly hot it was in the park but that did not deter our sightings and encounters. White rhinos were common in those days ranging from lone territorial bulls to large crashes, one containing seven beautiful creatures all with magnificent horns. A male lion and a lioness were our last sighting that afternoon as headed back to camp. One of my most vivid memories is not sleeping very well. It was pitch black and I had no idea what the noises were coming from outside of our hut. It was seriously noisy with at one point a noise, that seemed to shake the hut, of what sounded like someone sandpapering down concrete. The next morning, opening our door very cautiously, I was greeted by a neighbour, but I had no idea what he was saying. He was very slight, dressed in only a skintight pair of faded pink rugby shorts, which stood out against his deep brown tan. As he spoke to me, he continually brushed his bottom against the wall of his hut. Luckily Mel appeared to translate his Afrikaans into English. He was asking if we had seen the rhino rubbing itself against our huts during the night.
On our second morning as I drove around a corner on a deserted dirt road, there was my first African elephant. A second wow moment but I was seriously shocked at the size of this huge bull. He was walking in front of us his head slightly bobbing, tusks glinting in the sun, trunk swaying, that came into view when his enormous rear end allowed. Then what really amazed me was when he moved off the road and into the bush barely making a sound. I listened but there was no noise as he vanished into greenery. Like London busses once one elephant came along there were dozens more, more lone bulls and breeding herds of various sizes.
Our third, lets call it a wow, wow, wow moment, came as we made our way to the gate and depart the park. We were watching elephants grazing on the side of the road when I noticed something appear on the road a few hundred meters in front of us. I remember saying to Mel, that’s a cat. I eased the car up the road and there sitting only a few meters in front of us was the most stunning leopard. It stood, looked at us, walked to a fallen tree and with it’s claws gripping the trunk it simply stretched, gave us one last look before wandering off into the long grass.
In those days we didn’t have a camera, we simply bought cardboard cameras from a well-known chemist here in the UK. When the film in the small cardboard box was full the camera went back to the chemist and a week or so later you collected your photos. And of course we don’t have a photo from that memorable first trip. This is because I have put them somewhere so safe, that I cannot find them. But the search continues.
In 2004 I got an invite from KZN Wildlife to join a wilderness weekend as a guest, joining their staff in the wilderness section of the park. This was my first time on foot in the Zululand Wilderness and again what an incredible experience. Being on foot without the protection of a vehicle is an adrenalin fuelled adventure. Then to celebrate a big birthday I signed up to a primitive trail in the park. I joined a small group of paying guests spending 5 days walking the wilderness. We slept on the ground, no tents, and carried only essentials for our wilderness journey.
Over the years I have travelled into the park alone on solo self-drive and self-catering safaris. I have also spent time there with friends and family, including my mum & dad who found the size of their first elephant quite overwhelming. I tend to split my visits between both the northern Hluhluwe and southern Imfolozi sections. Remember the pronunciation? In recent years I have taken advantage of the facilities at Hilltop Camp in the north and booked bed & breakfast and dined in the restaurant for evening meals. I have to say the food has been excellent and great value for money.
This is not an anniversary celebration, but it is a celebration of this wild land locked island. A fence surrounds the near one thousand kilometres of African bush, under conservation, keeping the wild inside. And these islands do an incredible job and of course have to be managed as the wildlife is kept within its boundaries unable to roam freely as all species once did.
The animal sightings are never guaranteed but for me continue to be memorable. I stop at everything including the common mammals like the beautiful impala, the often-farting zebra and the nervous nyala. There are also huge herds of buffalo always on the lookout for potential danger. These and many more need to be nervous, as they are on the predator’s menu. Leopard sightings for me in the park have been scarce, three ever, none with a photo of proof. Lions are there in good numbers and over the years I have been so lucky with encounters. To see the king of beasts is always a thrill. That first trip into the park provided two cheetah sightings. Since then, I have been privileged to see and encounter many more. The cheetah for me is a real island conservation success story. And if the cats don’t get you the dogs could. Along with hyena sightings wild dogs have been unbelievable. Like that first elephant I still remember that first wild dog. I was confused as to what had just run past our car and had to ask if I had really seen what I had seen. Luckily on that occasion I did have a camera.
I have not even mentioned the birdlife, which is prolific in the park, and the smaller creatures. Hares at dawn always make me smile, vervet and samango monkeys are ever the opportunist of the bush, dung beetles and tortoises always have the right of the way on the roads. And on a road you may encounter, if exceptionally lucky, a rock python, or a chameleon.
To read more about my travels in the park please scroll through my bush articles https://safarikzn.com/safari-bush and to make you smile, I hope, check out my campfire tales https://safarikzn.com/category/campfire-tales/
