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Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, iSimangaliso, Ithala, Northern KwaZulu-Natal, Phinda, Thanda, uMkhuze

Northern KwaZulu-Natal

The northern portion of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province is one of the wildest and most bio-diverse areas of the country. This region includes The Elephant Coast and iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and it stretches from the Umfolozi River in the south all the way to the Mozambique border in the north.

Once inaccessible to all but the most intrepid of off-road drivers, the coastline and wildlife reserves are now more easily accessed on tarred roads from the N2, although you'll still need a 4WD vehicle to reach some of the more remote spots along this 200-km (124-mile) stretch of nearly uninterrupted beachfront, dunes, coastal sand forest and warm Indian Ocean water.

Phinda Game Reserve

Established in 1991 and operated by the AndBeyond safari company, the Phinda (pronounced "pin-dah") Game Reserve is widely regarded as the best wildlife reserve in KZN.

The reserve was created in 1991 from overgrazed livestock, agricultural, and game farms, with a goal of rehabilitating the land to its natural state and eventually reintroducing the indigenous species that one lived there.

The property was completely fenced and the indigenous Zulu people living around the new reserve were employed, which invests these communities in the project. Over time the reintroduced wildlife thrived and safari tourism was introduced.

The Phinda Reserve covers 155 square miles (299 sq kms) and borders the uMkhuze section of the iSimangaliso Park to its north. The name 'Phinda' means "return" in the Zulu language, which refers to the return of this land from farming to its natural state and part-ownership to the local people.

The reserve has an incredible diversity of ecosystems, with seven distinct habitats ranging from savanna, woodland, wetland, dry sand forest, open bush, and mountain bush. There are are also dramatic rock outcroppings rivers, marshes, and rain pans. Phinda protects 3.9 square miles (10 sq kms) of South Africa's dwindling dry sand forest.

All of Africa's Big Five animals (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and both species of rhino) are found here, as well as abundant cheetah, spotted hyena, giraffe, impala, zebra, greater kudu, warthog, baboon, and more.

Crocodiles and hippos are resident in the Mzinene River, which forms the reserve's southern border. Bird life is also abundant owing to the diverse habitats, with a species list over 400.

Phinda is involved with multiple ongoing research and conservation projects in the reserve, including efforts to study and conserve rhino, lion, cheetah, leopard, suni antelope, pangolin, and others. Guests are offered a chance to participate when the researchers are available.

The reserve offers several safari camps, all operated by the same company, which makes for an exclusive game viewing experience, and similar to that of the private reserves bordering Kruger National Park. The guiding is superb and game drives are conducted in open 4WD vehicles, with wildlife sightings well controlled to minimize vehicle numbers.

Visitors to Phinda will have a diversity of options for activities, including safari drives and bush walks in the reserve, as well as day trips to the unspoiled beaches and rich coral reefs of the Indian Ocean, located a short drive to the east. Sea turtle nesting on the beaches takes place between November and January.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve

The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Reserve is a well-known conservation success story, most notably for its work protecting white rhinos. The reserve was originally two separate parks two separate parks, Hluhluwe (pronounced "shloo-shloo-wee") in the north and iMfolozi in the south, both created in 1895.

The R618 road that ran thru the once-fenced corridor separating the two reserves still remains, but the fences were removed in 1989 and the combined reserve has operated as a single entity ever since.

The reserve covers 350 square miles (906 sq kms) and offers some of the country's best game viewing, including all of the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino), plus cheetah, spotted hyena, African wild dog, greater kudu, impala, zebra, giraffe, nyala, red duiker and more. Birding is also excellent.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi is widely recognized for saving the white rhino from extinction in Africa and as early as 1960, its Rhino Capture Unit was responsible for relocating its abundance of these endangered animals to other parks and reserves in Africa.

Today it is the black rhino which faces ever severe pressure and reduced numbers, and the reserve's authorities hope to do the same for this species that they did for the white rhino. An estimated twenty percent of the country's remaining wild black rhinos live in the reserve.

There are plenty of options for accommodation, both inside the reserve or in the surrounding area.

Thanda Private Game Reserve

Thanda is one of the newest reserves in KwaZulu-Natal, created in 2002 by a Swedish entrepreneur, who restored former farmland and hunting grounds to its original wild state.

The reserve covers 60 square miles (150 sq kms) and has three safari properties which focus on a combination of wildlife, Zulu culture, conservation of the environment, and local community partnerships. Thanda means "love" in the Zulu language.

The wildlife at Thanda has been reintroduced with great success and guests have a good chance at seeing all of the Big Five animals, plus all of the region's general game species like, cheetah, hyena, Nyala, zebra, giraffe and more. One of the highlights at Thanda are the cultural interactions with the local Zulu people.

uMkhuze

uMkhuze (also spelled Mkuzi, Mkhuzi, Mkuze, Mkhuze) was established in 1912 and is one of South Africa's oldest reserves. Covering 155 square miles (400 sq kms), uMkhuze has been incorporated into the greater iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

The reserve contains a huge diversity of habitats, from the Ubombo Mountain foothills on its western boundary, to savanna, wetland, riparian forest, and various varieties of woodland in its interior. The rare sand forest habitat that is well known in this region is also present in uMkhuze.

Lions were reintroduced to the reserve in 2013 and all of Africa's Big Five animals are found in the reserve. The reserve hosts various conservation initiatives, including monitoring of cheetah, lion, African wild dog and elephant.

Other wildlife in the reserve includes spotted hyena, hippo, crocodile, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, warthog, bush pig, baboon, vervet monkey, waterbuck, greater kudu, nyala, and impala. Lesser known small antelopes include sunny, steenbok and duiker.

uMkhuze is also famous for its huge number of bird species, owing to the rich diversity of habitats here. The reserve has recorded over 420 species and it attracts birdwatchers from around the world.

Ithala Game Reserve

Situated close the the Swaziland border, Ithala was proclaimed in 1972 and covers just 114 square miles (296 sq kms), but makes up for its small size with its high  diversity of habitats.

The reserve contains rugged terrain, with steep slopes descending down from the Ngotshe Mountains into a deep river valley. The landscapes include amazing rock formations, sandstone cliffs, gorges, waterfalls dropping into deep pools, grassland savannas, and massive plateaus.

There are no lions, but the other four of the Big Five (leopard, elephant, buffalo, and both species of rhino) are present in good numbers. Other wildlife includes cheetah, spotted hyena, brown hyena, giraffe, wildebeest, tsessebe, red hartebeest, mountain reedbuck, and many others. The reserve is also excellent for birders.

Accommodations include several exclusive bush camps and a main camp with chalets.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Previously known as the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park (renamed in 2007), iSimangaliso Wetland Park is South Africa's third largest protected area, running from Maphelane in the south to the Mozambique border in the north. The reserve covers 1 266 square miles (3 280 sq kms), including 174 miles (280 kms) of coastline.

Due to its incredible diversity of habitats, including fragile offshore coral reefs, miles of pristine beaches, vegetated sand dunes (some of the world's highest), coastal sand forest, coastal dunes, grasslands, mountains, inland lake systems, estuaries, papyrus wetlands, iSimangaliso was declared as South Africa's first World Heritage Site in 1999.

There are four Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance in iSimangaliso: Kosi Bay, Lake Sibaya, St. Lucia System, and Turtle Beaches/Coral Reefs of Tongaland.

The greater iSimangaliso Park is made up of several previously protected reserves that have been combined into a single national park:

• uMkhuze - borders the Phinda Game Reserve (formerly Mkuze Game Reserve).
• Maputaland Coastal Forest - the northern coastal portion that stretches to Kosi Bay and the Mozambique border (formerly the Maputaland Coastal Forest Reserve).
• Maphelane - the far southern coastal area stretching to the Umfolozi River (formerly Maphelane Nature Reserve).
• St. Lucia - the central coastal area that spans inland, protecting Lake St. Lucia and the associated wetlands (formerly the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park).

Wildlife in the reserve includes elephant, both black and white rhino, buffalo, hippo, and various antelopes including greater kudu, common reedbuck, waterbuck, bushbuck, red duiker, sun, and others. Predators sometimes seen include lion, leopard, and crocodile.

The offshore protected area is home to whales, dolphins, whale sharks, coral reefs and the resident tropical fishes that live among the coral. The remote beaches, especially in the northern parts of the reserve, are used by five species of marine turtle as nesting sites.

The turtle nesting sites are crucial to the survival of these species, especially for the critically endangered leatherback turtle, which is a genetically distinct population from leatherbacks found in the Caribbean. The turtles here have been under continuous research since the 1960s, and visitors staying at Rocktail Camp have an opportunity to ride along with researchers on late night nest monitoring or turtle release (seasonally available).

As expected in such a massive and diverse area, birding is spectacular throughout iSimangaliso, with a species list that tops 500.

The remote northern section of the reserve (previously known at the Maputaland Coastal Forest Reserve) is one of the best places in the country for SCUBA diving. Numerous offshore reefs hold some of the best tropical fish viewing anywhere in the world.

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Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, iSimangaliso, Ithala, Northern KwaZulu-Natal, Phinda, Thanda, uMkhuze