Many visitors to St. Lucia see it as a quick overnight stop and book with us only for one night and add a two hour hippo and croc tour on the lake to their rushed itinerary before heading south to Durban to board their plane, or to head on to some other destination.
What they find to their chagrin and disappointment is they underestimated how much there is to do in the area, and as a result miss some wonderful experiences and game viewing opportunities. St. Lucia is the perfect place to base yourself for your explorations, and Eco Lodge has magnificent surrounds, spacious rooms, self-catering facilities, as well as our famous Hog and Hippo restaurant, and not to mention the beautiful views, making it the perfect place to base yourself for discovering this pristine part of South Africa. When guests contact us wanting to make bookings we always recommend they spend a few days in the area to make the most of our beautiful parks, beaches and safaris.
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park first opened in 1895 as a park, and is the only state run park in Kwazulu-Natal that is home to the African Big 5. It is only a 45-minute drive from St. Lucia. It is the oldest reserve in Africa with 960 square kilometres of wilderness filled with a wide variety of animals, and is world re-known for its conservation efforts. The Northern section is known as the Hluhluwe side of the park while the southern section is known as the iMfolozi. The iMfolozi Park is 720 square kilometres in size and the Hluhluwe Park is 240 square kilometres in size. Hluhluwe has it all, rolling hills, early morning sunrises, and magnificent game watching opportunities, Big 5 sightings and wonderful photographic moments.
Set in the heart of Zululand, the game reserve offers visitors self guided walks, auto-trails, and magnificent picnic sites. If you would like to arrange for a guided safari of the park please enquire as this can easily be arranged for you. Viewing hides overlook pans and waterholes with incredible birding opportunities and enable visitors to see animals at close range without feeling threatened by our presence. Whether you are a twitcher, or a birder, or just a bird watcher there are up to 340 species to be discovered within the area.
The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is home to 86 species of wildlife including the Big 5. Some of these species are listed below:
Nyala, Nile crocodile, hippo, giraffe, African Wild Dog, cheetah, kudu, impala, bush pig, common warthog, hyena, water buck, duiker, blue wildebeest, jackal and much more. It is a magnificent park and if visiting this part of KwaZulu-Natal it should be on your must see list. Our booking staff at Eco Lodge are more than happy to assist our guests create an itinerary that will include all the beautiful sights and safaris in the area at no extra charge, just ask us.
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