Hluhluwe National Park and St. Lucia Estuary
More Encounters with South Africa's Critters
 

We knew we wanted to visit Hluhluwe National Park, but we weren't sure how to get there without driving ourselves. We found the solution at the Tekweni Travel Desk at Tekweni Backpackers Hostel, where we were staying. Ben offered a two day tour to both Hluhluwe and the St. Lucia Estuary. We signed up, and the next day, our driver and guide, Sagren, arrived to collect us.

The afternoon drive from Durban north to the village of St. Lucia took us through cane fields and tree plantations. We arrived in St. Lucia after dark, Sagren checked us into a nice lodge, and then we all ate an excellent meal together. We enjoyed our dinner conversation with him, learning more on what we were about to experience. After dinner, we returned to sleep and be ready for the an early start the next morning!

Hluhluwe National Park
It was still very dark when our vehicle arrived (5am) but Sagren was there to make sure we were safely on our way. The ride in the safari vehicle was pretty chilly. Arriving at the gate of Hluhluwe Park, David, our safari driver and guide, raised the plastic sides for good viewing. Five other guests joined us and we were off at first light.

Just inside, moments later, David stopped the truck. In the tall grass, a male lion was resting, not 15 meters away and other lions were resting nearby. Soon, the increasing light revealed that a pride of perhaps 12 lions, including 4-5 cubs, were hanging out in the immediate area. We sat quietly, just watching. Magical! Soon, the lionesses and cubs crossed the draw and headed across the road and disappeared into the bush. Last to leave was the young male lion. He looked directly at our vehicle before disappearing into the bush.
What a wonderful way to start our day !!

David drove slowly along the road and before long, we spotted a family of white rhino. We had not met up with rhinos in Addo Elephant Park so we were anxious to see them here. We knew that they are endangered by poaching so we were thankful to have the privilege of a meeting
Rhinos are really big and even the baby looked like a small tank! We stopped and just watched them a while.

We continued on to a picnic ground. As David set out food for our breakfast, a group of warthogs wandered through, munching on tender vegetation, while we munched rolls and yogurt.

Now the sun was warming us as we continued on. We drove through high rolling hills covered with tall reddish gold grass. and dotted with small trees. This is Zululand, David explained, his homeland.

During our drive we encountered: