Tag Archives: Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park

Summer at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi

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Over the last couple of weeks we’ve shared with you several exciting sightings we enjoyed at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, during our December holidays in the bush. Time to wrap up that part of our trip now.

We left the cheese farm near Mtubatuba very early in the morning of the 24th of December, and made it to the Memorial Gate just in time for it opening at 05:00AM (it’s a drive of about 75km only). We used Memorial Gate so that we could explore the Hluhluwe-section of the reserve on our way south to Mpila Camp, where we could check in 14:00 in the afternoon.

Buffaloes on the way to Maphumulo Picnic Site
Yellow-throated Longclaw
Red Duiker in Hilltop Camp
Nyala at the Hluhluwe River bridge
Single-striped Grass Mouse at Centenary Centre
Elephant browsing at Imfolozi

Mpila is a favourite camp of ours. It is unfenced, except for a single strand of electric wire strung high enough to only keep out elephants and giraffes. Other wildlife, including large predators, regularly roam among the accommodation units. Visitors should keep a special eye open for raids by vervet monkeys during the day, and for hyenas at night while preparing their evening meals on the barbeque fires.

These impalas considered Mpila a good place to raise their lambs
These impalas considered Mpila a good place to raise their lambs
Hyenas come into camp every night. This one we saw at Masinda Lodge, a short distance from Mpila, one morning
Mpila, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, December 2014

That afternoon, we went for a quick drive and had some fun with a cute white rhino calf. Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is renowned as a rhinoceros haven, and we pray that the hard work and dedication of the rangers protecting them against a terrible onslaught from armed poachers will not be in vain.

Black rhinos
I’m coming for you!

When we made our December 2014 plans a year before, we specifically wanted to spend Christmas at Mpila. A special day at a special place. We set out for a quick drive on a glorious morning, then went back to camp to prepare and enjoy Christmas lunch. In the afternoon the Park was inundated by a quick cloud burst, luckily the gravel roads are in good condition and we could continue to explore the Park soon after.

Chistmas sunrise over Hluhluwe-Imfolozi
Beautiful Sontuli Picnic Spot on the banks of the Black Umfolozi
Heavy clouds threatening to dampen Christmas
Heavy rain falling over HIP on Christmas Day
Three-Banded Plover at uBhejane Hide
Yellow-billed kite
Elephant and dung beetle
Spotted hyena

Boxing Day brought us our memorable encounter with lions in trees, but Hluhluwe-Imfolozi has much more to offer and our sightings this day was particularly varied. Our day ended with our best ever sighting of a wild African Rock Python, almost as long as the road was wide!

Elephants crossing the White Mfolozi
Not scared of heights!
Wild lilies in bloom
Warthog piglet
Master of all he surveys
Our best ever sighting of a wild python!
Our best ever sighting of a wild python!

Every day at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi brings something special and exciting, and the 27th of December was no different. Our day started with a thrilling wild dog pack on the hunt, but that wasn’t where it ended!

Wild Dog alpha pair
Browsing elephant
Another sighting of this self-confident bull
Warthog family spa treatment
Warthogs
Mocking Cliff-chat (female)
Young buffalo bull
Muddy buffalo cow
Bad tempered buffalo bull
White Stork
Warthog piglets
Steppe Buzzard

Our last full day at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park seemed to belong to the elephants, with a number of really close-up encounters, but we also had a good laugh at a hyena that bit off more than she could chew.

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi 28122014
The day of the elephants
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
Buffalo mud-wallow
The day of the elephants
The day of the elephants
The day of the elephants
White-fronted bee-eater

All too soon our five night stay at Mpila came to an end. We had collected so many memories, and can’t wait to return. Driving to Nyalazi Gate we tried to postpone our departure as long as we could, even spending half-an-hour looking for a distant pride of lions reported by fellow spotters in the kznsightings group (a group set up so that visitors to the game reserves in Kwazulu-Natal can share what they find while exploring with other visitors).

Zebra in Imfolozi’s misty hills
Spotted hyena sniffing the breeze
Can you spot the lions? 😀

We found the lions and then departed for Midmar in the KZN Midlands.

 

 

The (Over) Ambitious Hyena

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While exploring Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park just after Christmas, we encountered a spotted hyena in the west of the reserve. In typical hyena fashion she was walking determinedly and at some speed along the road, and so we followed in the hope that we might see her hunt.

Not long after, she picked up a herd of zebra standing in the road ahead, and made a run at them. The tables were quickly turned however, as the dominant stallion of the zebra family sent our over-ambitious hyena running for cover…

(Click on any of the photos to enjoy the sighting with us in a carousel gallery)

The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena
The story of the (over) ambitious hyena

Wild dogs on the hunt

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Early one morning during our December visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, we were travelling slowly along one of our favourite game viewing drives, the Sontuli Loop, on our way to a picnic breakfast.

Around a corner, we encountered a pack of African Wild Dogs running down the road in the opposite direction, passing our vehicle at speed. There was at least thirteen dogs in the pack (it is very difficult trying to count them as they duck and dive through the bush and into and out of the road). We made a U-turn and followed them; it is not every day you get to see wild dogs on the hunt! Every now and then they’d stop and scan the area around them for prey, giving us an opportunity to take some photos, before setting of again.

(Click on any of the photos to enjoy the sighting with us in a carousel gallery)

Wild Dog pack on the move
Wild Dog on the hunt
Wild dogs on the hunt
Wild Dog pack on the move
Wild dogs on the hunt
Wild dog profile
African Wild Dog
Wild dogs on the hunt
Wild dogs on the hunt (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi 27122014)
Wild Dog alpha pair
Wild Dog pack on the move

The kill was over in a blur. My eye caught a flash of dogs chasing an impala lamb into a thicket. In between the excited yelping of the dogs the impala lamb gave one of two feeble bleats, and then it went quiet. Suddenly the dogs burst out of the thicket, scattering in every direction, each with a small morsel of impala in their jaws to enjoy away from the rest of their hungry pack mates. A baby impala does not go far when it has to be shared between so many mouths.

Leg of lamb, wild dog style…
Leg of lamb, wild dog style…
Leg of lamb, wild dog style…

Just as unexpectedly as they first appeared, the dogs were up again, heading towards the Black Umfolozi River and out of sight. All that remained on the scene was a lonely hyena lucky enough to have found some entrails, and a bunch of vultures descending from above…

Hyena cleaning up after the wild dog kill

Hyena cleaning up after the wild dog kill

 

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi’s tree climbing lions

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Lions are not generally known for their tree-climbing abilities, and there’s only a handful of prides on the African continent that seem to have this skill and regularly use it. We’ve often heard of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi‘s lions‘ tree-climbing tendencies, but we never saw this for ourselves, despite visiting the Park frequently and enjoying many sightings of these regal cats there.

That is until early morning on Boxing Day 2014, and what an unbelievable sight! We found a lioness (on the ground) with two rather large cubs in a small thorn tree. I did not think that something as big as a lion could get so high up in a flimsy-looking thorn tree, and then be so well camouflaged at that!

Mom resting on the ground
Not scared of heights!
Not scared of heights!
Not scared of heights!
Cubs in the tree
Cubs in the tree
Cubs in the tree (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi 26122014)
Yawn!
Yes, that’s lions hiding in a tree-top!

In the rhinos’ home at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi

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Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park is the place where the southern white rhino was saved from the brink of extinction in the previous century, by legendary conservationists like Ian Player. Today, the white rhino, and it’s smaller but much more aggressive cousin the black rhino, still find protection in this beautiful reserve, one of the oldest on the continent, where a force of dedicated rangers face a daily onslaught from armed poachers on their behalf.

During our December visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, we enjoyed some wonderful rhino sightings, not least of which the cute and playful little white rhino calf we told you about earlier in the week.

Black rhinos in an aggressive mood
Black rhinos in feeding mode
Attentive black rhino
Black rhino at a mud wallow
Black rhinos
White rhino
White rhinos
Keeping an eye on the spectators
White rhinos
White rhinos
White rhinos

This little fellow, one of the tiniest baby rhino we’ve ever seen and probably not much older than a few weeks, gives us hope that the hard-work of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi’s ranger-corps will not be in vane.

The tiniest baby rhino we’ve ever seen
The tiniest baby rhino we’ve ever seen
The tiniest baby rhino we’ve ever seen

 

 

The exuberance of youth

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We had plenty of wonderful sightings during our recent three week long holidays in the bush – we already shared much of it with you, and there’s yet more to come in the next few weeks – but this was probably the biggest highlight of the trip!

Late in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, we encountered a white rhino cow and her small calf just where the road goes into and through a thicket of thorny trees. We followed slowly behind as they ambled along, until eventually there was a clearing in the vegetation, just at the spot where there’s also a broad bend in the road. Mom started grazing on the roadside, while her little one decided it was time for some fun. He started running like crazy, at times flying with all four feet off the ground, running circles around his mother and us, then slamming on the brakes in a cloud of dust. Several times he’d charge directly at our vehicle, stopping a meter or two in front of us, only to spin around again, running away at breakneck speed, likely hoping that our silver-grey Jazz was a playmate he could chase and be chased by. Of course, with mom keeping an eye on his antics from close-by, there was no way we could join him for playtime. But inside the car we were laughing out loud in sheer delight.

Eventually he realised that his mom has disappeared around the corner, and he hightailed it to catch up. As we rounded the bend ourselves, we found him next to mom, totally breathless.

We were in awe of the fantastic Christmas present Hluhluwe-Imfolozi had just gifted us.

(you may click on the photos below to view them all in a carousel gallery)

The picture of a well behaved little rhino, staying close to mom…
Now he’s been set loose!
Getting rid of all this excess energy!
Run!
Catch me mom!
Here I come again!
You’ll never catch me!
You can’t keep up!
Still speeding along
Sharp turn ahead!
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Christmas Eve
I’m coming for you!
All tired out…

It’s the end of our summer in the bush…

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We arrived back home in Pretoria after our epic 21-night summer holiday in the bush. We’ll soon start wrapping up with a weekly trip report of the beautiful wild places we visited. Today we’re simply compiling a gallery of the photos we posted on a daily basis while we were away.

Chelmsford 13122014
Chelmsford sunset 14122014
Ithala 15122014
Ithala 16122014
Ithala 17122014
Lions at uMkhuze (18122014)
uMkhuze’s Kumasinga Hide
uMkhuze 20122014
iSimangaliso 21122014
Vervet monkeys hiding from the wet weather (iSimangaliso 22122014)
Western Osprey taking flight (iSimangaliso 23122014)
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Christmas Eve
Chistmas sunrise over Hluhluwe-Imfolozi
Cubs in the tree (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi 26122014)
Wild dogs on the hunt (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi 27122014)
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi 28122014
Midmar 29122014
Golden Gate 30122014
Golden Gate 31122014
Golden Gate 31122014
Golden Gate 01012015
Golden Gate Highlands National Park

Endurance

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The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus, also known as the Cape Hunting Dog or Painted Wolf) must be the African mammal with the most stamina – they’ll easily cover distances of over 40km in a day, trotting along at speeds of around 10km/h, and when hunting can maintain speeds of 48km/h for distances of up to 5km (though they seldom need to chase prey that far before taking down their quarry). At full speed, they’ll easily reach 64km/h!

We witnessed these wild dogs chasing after a herd of impala in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park during a visit in 2008.

On the hunt
On the hunt
On the hunt

“Endurance” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge. Information from “The Behavior Guide to African Mammals”, by Richard Despard Estes.

Dialogue

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Two photos, two photographers, telling the same story from different angles…

My photo, of Joubert eyeing the elephant through the back window of our vehicle

My photo, of Joubert eyeing the elephant through the back window of our vehicle

Joubert's photo of the same elephant :-)

Joubert’s photo of the same elephant 🙂

“Dialogue“

Extra!

51 Replies

Sometimes, you’re forced to get out of the car in big-five territory, for a little extra (unplanned) adventure, like I had to here in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 😀

Extra

“Extra, Extra” is the theme for this week’s WordPress photo challenge