A Last Visit to Hluluwe & iMfolozi

Our last visit to Hluluwe turned out to be one of the best game drives I have ever been on!  Our sightings started about 5 minutes after we had driven into the park.  We came across a family of giraffes that include over a dozen animals.  They are scattered in the bush right by the roadside and we catch them in all sorts of poses and watch in fascination as they amble then run across the road!  

Further down the road we notice that a car has stopped by the waterhole.  Curious about their sightings we reverse our vehicle but even before we get to the waterhole we come across a herd of Cape Buffalo.  They have a baby in the herd and again cross the road right by our vehicle.  It is my first sighting of a baby buffalo.

We get to the waterhole to find a male rhino making his way for a drink.  This is very exciting as the waterholes in this park are few and far between.  We watch him drink and take lots of photos but the rhino has noticed us and he is not happy.  He makes his way toward our vehicle and we start backing away.  He lumbers after us looking rather threatening and we increase our speed. 

I think he was just showing us who was top dog because after a few minutes he gives up the chase and clambers up the adjacent bank for his siesta.

We have been at this waterhole for almost an hour.  Our next bit of entertainment is in the way of a herd of zebras, again with a little one in tow.

We watch them cross the road before reluctantly agreeing it is time to move on.

We have hardly started to move before I spot the elephant charging toward us.  What’s with the animals in this park today?  We are not quite sure why he is angry but we are relieved when he gets off the road.  We are now in front of him but he is still unhappy and keeps coming after our vehicle.  Will this morning’s excitement never end?  We decide we better move on fast and feel relieved yet again when the elephant decides he doesn’t really want to play!

It has been an eventful day and it is hardly half over.  We stop for an early lunch but we can barely get any food down as the picnic spot appears to be the gathering place for Africa’s most colourful birds.

It must be our lucky day. In between bites of our bread rolls, we keep snapping and the above is a small sample of the birds we saw that day!

We have another encounter with a bull elephant later on that afternoon.  He isn’t as angry but again he is on the road right in front of us.  

We haven’t made it to any of the hides today and we learn later on they were quite devoid of any activity.  The rest of the afternoon passes rather uneventfully but as we are making our way to the exit a hyena crosses the road right on cue!   We can’t believe our luck.  It is a spotted hyena and he pauses long enough for us to take lots of great pictures!   We have one last bit of excitement in yet another elephant encounter just before we leave the park.  We are all buzzing from the highs of the day and as we say goodbye to Hluluwe & iMfolozi we smile in complete satisfaction.  It has been one hell of a day!

 “I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life.  The problem is that I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want”.  ~Mark Twain