Zululand Conservation Miracle

Join a self-drive tour with go! Drive and Camp Tours and Bhejane 4x4 Adventures to Zululand

DAY 1

We meet at 2 pm in the campsite at Ithala Game Reserve, giving us enough time to settle in and do a short 4X4 sundowner route in the game reserve. Ithala is an easy half day’s drive from Gauteng, and the reserve is unique in that it has the feeling of the Natal Drakensberg in its high-lying areas and the Zululand bushveld in the valleys.

DAY 2

After a nice big breakfast we do another 4X4 route in Ithala Game Reserve. This gives us the opportunity to really explore the reserve and be on the lookout for black and white rhino, among other wildlife. We return back to camp in the late afternoon.

DAYS 3 & 4

Today we head towards the HluhluweUmfolozi Game Reserve which was once the private hunting ground of King Shaka. Due to a pilot project we are involved in with conservation authorities, we get to camp in a private campsite on the banks of the river, in the heart of the reserve. We are also allowed controlled access to a 4x4 route not available to the general public. The reserve has the Big Five and the game viewing is excellent. This experience gives us the opportunity to feel like real game rangers as we trek into the heart of both black and white rhino conservation. The proceeds of this unique off-road and camping experience go directly to rhino protection in the reserve.

DAY 5

Today it’s time to visit the tropical Zululand coastline. We enter the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (Greater St Lucia Wetland Park) and do a sandy 4X4 track around Lake Sibhaya, South Africa’s largest freshwater lake, on the constant lookout for hippos and crocs. Our route takes us along the edge of the highest vegetated dunes in Africa and into narrow tunnels of coastal dune forest. Our campsite for the next two nights is on the beach at Mabibi.

DAY 6

Today we have a well-deserved rest day to enjoy the Zululand coastline. The Mabibi camp site has a pristine beach and you can swim, snorkel, fish and just relax. Weather permitting, there is an opportunity to take a rubber dinghy boat ride out to sea (this activity is not included in the tour cost). Later we go back onto the Lake Sibhayi shoreline for sundowners.

DAY 7

We head further north up the coast to the Kosi Bay Mouth on the border of Mozambique, where the traditional fish traps are still being used. Our campsite for the next two nights is in Ndumo Game Reserve with its huge natural pans and prolific birdlife.

DAY 8

Today we visit Tembe Elephant Park, winding our way on the sandy 4x4 tracks in the reserve on the lookout for Africa’s biggest tuskers. We enjoy our last afternoon together driving along the narrow tracks along the riverine forest and pans of Ndumo Game Reserve.

DAY 9

After breakfast it’s time to say goodbye and head out on the tar road that crosses over the Jozini Dam wall and meet up with the N2 near the town of Mkuze.