Queen Elizabeth Park Nature Reserve is located in the hills in the northern suburbs of the city of Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal Province, and about eight kilometres from the city centre. It serves as the location for the head office of the provincial conservation agency, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, world renowned especially for their achievements in saving the white rhinoceros from extinction.
Queen Elizabeth Park
Entrance is free and a short drive into the reserve provides access to three shady picnic areas and the self-guided iDube trail. There’s no accommodation available inside the reserve.
The road through the reserve
One of the picnic spots
iDube Trail
Several game species (including plains zebra, bushbuck, dassie and the rare blue duiker) and a wide variety of birds occur in this small nature reserve, established in 1960 and only 93 hectares in extent, which protects a surprising diversity of habitats ranging from grassland to forest surrounded by a sea of urbanisation.
Chorister Robin-Chat
Bushbuck
Drongo
Forest patch
Aloes
Bushbuck ewe
The Queen Elizabeth Park Nature Reserve is a fantastic asset to the people of Pietermaritzburg and especially those in search of some respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. It is a good thing though that we aren’t employed at the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife headquarters, because we won’t ever be in the office!
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I would love to go there.
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Forgive me for posting twice, I thought my comment had not gone through.
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😀
Loved it so much, you had to comment twice!
😀
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I would love to spend hours on your blog. I would love to visit this place.
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Thank you very much Kalyen, and glad we could introduce you to this lovely little reserve!
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I’m going to be an intern here and wondering how I’m going to get any work done with these views! So easy to lose yourself in such beauty!
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What a fantastic opportunity Myuri! We’re sure you’ll enjoy working in such beautiful surroundings. All the best with your career!
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Thank you very much, almost 8 months in and still enjoying it! Sadly im about to go for a jog in the park and the storm begins! No stunning views for me today.
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Good to hear from you again Myuri, and wonderful to know that you are still enjoying QEPNR and your job! You must have had some memorable experiences already?
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Now that you’ve mentioned work… I’ve wondered in the past if you’re working in conservation…?? 😉
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Spot on AJ! I work at the head office of our country’s (and one of the world’s) premier conservation agency in Pretoria and Marilize operates her own travel business specialising in South African outdoor destinations. Aren’t we blessed!? 🙂
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I love the colors in that robin, I have never seen one like that.
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This particular species inhabits forests and other densely vegetated places on the wetter eastern side of South Africa PJB, and they are normally very shy and secretive. We were very surprised at this one’s calm disposition!
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That’s really neat, and I guess lucky that you got such a great shot.
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Wonderful informative post! the park looking best for the wildlife watching..
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Thank you!
Queen Elizabeth Park is great if you are looking for a place where you can safely walk around and enjoy nature.
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Lovely shots. Was once told by a Kenyan naturalist in the Rift that the presence of aloes signalled an absence of elephants, since they love to eat them. I’ve smiled about this for years since – whenever I see aloes in fact.
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Thank you Tish! That’s a very interesting observation, one I wasn’t aware of at all!
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Looks like a great place just to be. Any wild animals that will attack humans?
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Hi Seeker! There aren’t any animals that would deliberately try and kill people for a meal at Queen Elizabeth Park, but if they feel threatened or cornered most of the larger animals may decide to charge so it is always better to give the animals enough space when you encounter them on foot.
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