Game Lodge

We were staying at the Rhino River Lodge on the Zululand Rhino Reserve next to Hluhluwe. There were only 12 in total when we arrived – 8 Brits, 2 South Africans and 2 Dutch – so quite relaxed.

Usual routine: up at 5.00 am for coffee and muffins; morning game drive; back at 8.30 for breakfast; lunch at 13.30; afternoon game drive at 16.30; drinks and dinner at 20.00. Hard work but…..probably need a couple of hours in the gym to work off the excess calories!

Great start with some good sightings – all the usual suspects: Giraffe, Zebra, Impala, Kudu, Nyala, Blue Wildebeest, warthogs, ostrich, and a large group of very relaxed Water Buffalo

The next morning we were really lucky and came upon 3 groups of White Rhino – two calves with their mother,

a family group of 5 and a lonely old lady who had survived being shot in the head during a poaching attempt a couple of years ago and was blind in one eye as a result. You will see that they decided to dehorn all the Rhinos in the reserve to discourage poachers. It definitely takes something away from their appearance but if it saves their lives then perhaps it is worthwhile.

In addition we spent a good bit of time in company with ‘Fat Albert’ a male elephant in his prime who was much more interested in his food than us. 

We caught up with him again at dusk as he stripped the bark of a Fever Tree just to get at the cambium layer for the minerals and nutrients - by the time he had finished there wasn't much chance that the tree would ever recover.