Tag Archives: travel

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi’s Giants

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park is home to giants; behemoths that can cause the earth to tremble with every step. And they’re not shy about showing themselves either, as we found out again during our visit in December.

Buffaloes were in evidence throughout the Park, whether as lone bulls, in small bachelor groups or in huge herds.

Buffalo bokeh

Buffaloes always look ready for a fight!

Buffalo cows eyeing us with suspicion

Herd enjoying a mud spa

Barrier of spears

Big Buffalo Bull

Buffaloes always look ready for a fight!

Lord and Lady Syncerus

We could never tire of seeing elephants!

Elephant Bulls enjoying a mud bath in the heat of the day

Elephant herd on the move

Tuskless Tusker

Elephant Cow and Calf

Elephant friends

Elephant trickster

Small group of elephants claiming an island in the Black Mfolozi

Big elephant herd feeding in a reedbed

Big Old Bull

The curious giraffes tower over everything else in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, except the magnificent scenery…

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi giraffe

It is thanks to Hluhluwe Imfolozi that we can still see the Southern White Rhino in the wild today.

White Rhino

White Rhino cow and calf

White Rhino

White Rhino drinking

White Rhino

White Rhinos

We didn’t get to see the hippos on this trip, and only managed two quick sightings of black rhinos that were too fleeting for photos, but still, these galleries should be proof enough that giants still roam Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

The staple diet…

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A selection of five common herbivore species form the base diet of most of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park’s predators. Apart from the warthogs we showed you yesterday, the majority of their menu is mostly made up of impalas, nyalas, plains zebras and blue wildebeests with the more “exotic” fare consisting of primates (like the samango monkey), kudu, waterbuck, buffaloes and giraffes (we’ll share some pictures of the latter two tomorrow).

Looking at the excellent condition of the game following good rains just before our December visit, you’d be forgiven though for thinking that it is an easy life for a herbivore in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi!

Impala ram

Impala lamb

Impala lambs

Immature Impala male

Kudu cow

Nyala ewe in Mpila Camp

Nyala bull

Nyala ewe

Nyala bull

Blue Wildebeest

Even Blue Wildebeest appreciate a beautiful spot, like Bhekapanzi Pan

Zebras at sunrise

Heavily pregnant Plains Zebra mare

Plains Zebra mare and foal

Plains Zebras drinking at Zincakeni Dam

Waterbuck drinking at Zincakeni Dam

Male Samango Monkey

These little piggies

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During our visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in December we found that at least two warthog sows decided that Mpila Camp would make an excellent nursery for their tiny piglets.

Aren’t they adorable!?

One of the proud mommies

Warthog piglets

One of the proud mommies

Family Portrait

Happy family

Encounters with Cheetahs at Imfolozi

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Many of our friends here at de Wets Wild are great fans of cheetahs, so they especially would be thrilled to know that we had three wonderful encounters with these lithe cats during our December visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

Cheetah with a tracking-collar

Cheetah in the long grass

Cheetah with a tracking-collar causing a traffic-jam

Cheetah with a tracking-collar

Monkey Cuteness

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This tiny vervet monkey, playing with his toes and being amazed by the things he sees around him in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park’s Hilltop Camp, must be one of the cutest things I’ve seen in a long time!

The cutest monkey in Hilltop

This baboon youngster on the other hand reminds me of that evil doll Chucky…

Bird Watching in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi

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Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is blessed with a rich diversity of avifauna – this gallery shows just a small selection of the 104 bird species we identified during our visit in December.

Mocking Cliff Chat (male)

Lanner Falcon

Three-banded Plover

European Roller

Golden-tailed Woodpecker

Familiar Chat

House Sparrow

Martial Eagle

Woolly-necked Stork

Yellow-billed Kite

Narina trogon

Trumpeter Hornbill

Green-backed Heron

Black-bellied Bustard

White-backed Vulture

Tawny Eagle

African Green Pigeon

European Roller

Black Cuckoo-shrike (female)

Violet-backed Starling

White-browed Scrub-Robin

Water Thick-knee

Mocking Cliff Chat (male)

White Stork

European Honey Buzzard

Pin-tailed Whydah

Red-winged Starling

Southern Black Flycatcher

Common (Kurrichane) Buttonquail

Secretarybird nest building

Nest Building Secretarybirds

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A pair of Secretarybirds had just started building their platform-nest on top of a small tree near the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park’s Cengeni Gate when we visited in December. It was quite interesting to watch them searching the surrounding area for sticks and twigs to use in the construction.

Secretarybird nest building

Mauritian Tomb Bat

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Taphozous mauritianus

When we found a small colony of Mauritian Tomb Bats on the outside walls of the reception office at the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park’s Nyalazi Gate, it presented a good opportunity to learn a bit more about this seldomly seen creature.

Mauritian Tomb Bats are quite large for insectivorous bats, weighing as much as 36g and up to 11cm long. They occur in the moist savanna areas of north-eastern South Africa, further north into Central and East Africa, as well as on a few of the islands of the Indian Ocean. By day they roost in small, loosely associated groups on the shaded walls of buildings or on tree trunks, and not in caves or tombs as their name might suggest. At night they forage for moths and other nocturnal invertebrates, which they catch and eat in flight.

Most females raise a single baby at a time, though some do give birth twice annually. Dependent young cling to the mother as she flies around and at their roost, but as soon as they can fly themselves they become autonomous.

Mauritian Tomb Bat, Nyalazi Gate, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park

Mauritian Tomb Bats, Nyalazi Gate, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park

Mauritian Tomb Bats

Mauritian Tomb Bat

Mauritian Tomb Bat (photo by Joubert)

The IUCN considers the Mauritian Tomb Bat of “Least Conservation Concern” owing to its wide distribution, large population, and tolerance for habitat change.

Don’t forget to look down!

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When you’re surrounded by a landscape filled with big and dangerous animals it is easy to forget that there’s a wholly different but equally fascinating world of smaller creatures to enjoy down on ground level! While out exploring Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in December we used the time we spent in camp and at the numerous picnic spots, hides and viewsites throughout the Park to appreciate the smaller fry as well.

Striped Skink

Spotted Jokers congregating on rotting fallen fruit in Mpila

Female Tree Agama

Foam Nest Frog at Thiyeni Hide

A Flying Handkerchief – the male Mocker Swallowtail – seen along the trail in Hilltop Camp

Rock monitor lizard at Sontuli

Natal Hinged Tortoise

Caterpillars and Cocoons at our Chalet

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It appeared our accommodation unit (#21) at Mpila (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park) in December was some kind of magnet to some very large and very hairy caterpillars intent on spinning their cocoons in any available nook or cranny. We didn’t mind, of course, as the whole process is just so darn interesting!