Imfolozi Extended Short Wilderness Trail 3 Nights 4 Days
Extended Short Wilderness Trail
Probably One of the best ways to get in-touch with the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Wildlife ..
Its geared to people who are not super fit Or Would like to take bit more leisurely pace
Big 5 All Around you...A Walking Safari
Incredible Wildlife Experience...
Extended Short Weekend Trails Are 3 Nights 4 days
Imfolozi Park Extended Short Weekend trails are run from about 14 February to about 10 December, and start on Tuesdays. They are 3 nights and 4 days in duration.
This trail is fully catered, and all food will be transported into the wilderness trails camp on donkeys, but hikers are expected to carry a daypack with their personal effects, water and lunch.
Personal items will, however, be transported back from the wilderness on the donkeys at the end of the trail.
Guests who overnight at Mpila Camp the night before the trail, may arrange to have the bulk of their personal belongings carried into the wilderness camp in "donkey bags" that are available from the Mpila camp reception.
These are then transported to the wilderness camp by donkeys. These bags must be dropped off at the Mpila Resort office by 16:00 the day before the trail.
Please note if you are staying overnight outside the Park that the gate times are 06:00 to 18:00. Gate times are strictly enforced.
Arrival and Registration
Safari Hikers,are required to check in at Mpila Resort by 11:00 as the trail starts at 12:00 on the first day. The Mpila trialists will be met by the trails staff and given a briefing. After their bags have been packed, trailists walk approximately seven kilometres to the wilderness camp.
Where they will spend the following three nights in dome tents, with two mattresses per tent. The camp has no ablution facilities, apart from a traditional bucket shower, hung in a tree. A spade, toilet paper and matches serve as a toilet.
Hikers will walk back to the Mndindini Base Camp on the fourth day, carrying only their personal affects and snacks. The trail ends at about 10:30.
The distance walked on the first day is approximately seven kilometres. The average distance covered on the second and third days can be up to 15 km, But its flexible depending on conditions.
Hikers carry all their personal equipment on the first day. On the second and third days they carry only a light pack containing their picnic lunches and water bottles.
This trail is by no means an endurance test, but a fair level of fitness will ensure greater enjoyment.
It is important to arrive early on the date indicated on the reservation voucher, to allow time to pack and walk to the trails camp before dark. Once the trail departs from the Mndindini Base Camp, any latecomers cannot be accommodated.
It is thus important to make adequate provision for traveling time between your point of departure and the Mpila Camp office. The driving time between Johannesburg and Mpila Camp is approximately seven hours. Durban to Mpila is approximately four hours.
Equipment Provided by KZN Wildlife
All food, tea, coffee and fruit juice
• All cutlery and crockery
• All daypacks
• Water bottles
• All bedding
• Towel
• First Aid kit
Catering
The trail is fully catered and Hikers will be provided with three meals per day, starting with supper on the day of arrival and concluding with lunch on the day of departure. Meals are tasty, simple but nutritious and quantities provided should satisfy most appetites. The menus have been developed with input from previous hikers and we welcome any comments.
If you are a vegetarian or have other special dietary requirements, please notify the Trails Consultant when making a booking. The Trails Manager will try to make appropriate arrangements, where possible.
People with any special requirements may of course bring their own food and every assistance will be given to prepare it. Regrettably there can be no reduction in the cost of the trail.
Tea, coffee and a cold drink are also provided. Fruit and nuts are provided as snacks between meals. Trailists are more than welcome to provide their own between-meal snacks and refreshments.
A little alcohol may be brought into the wilderness area
Packing List & Some NB Advice...
• 2 dull-coloured shirts/blouses
• 3 changes of underwear
• 2 pairs shorts or the equivalent
• 1 pair of trousers or jeans
• 1 tracksuit
• 1 hat
• 1 swimming costume (optional)
• 1 light raincoat
• 1 warm bush jacket or jersey
• Sun protection cream
• Torch with spare batteries
• Insect repellent
• 1 pair of comfortable boots or the equivalent and 1 pair of sandals for around the camp
• Toiletries, including environment friendly/ biodegradable soap
• Binoculars, camera, Fresh batteries, Small solar charger big as you can carry,field guide, Journal etc. (optional)
NB: It is imperative that you wear a comfortable pair of hiking boots, which are well worn in. Bayticol spray (from your pharmacy) is recommended as ticks can be a problem at certain times of the year. Zululand winters are cold, with temperatures dropping significantly at night, whilst the summer temperatures can rise fairly high by midday and rain can be a factore. But the rain is welcomed, it cools the bush down .
What To Do Next
Pick a Trail that fits you the best , from time to fitness Level.
Step Two
Click on the enquiry button on the page and we will get intouch with in few hrs Or 24 max..
Imfolozi Base Camp Trail 3 Nights 4 days
The Basecamp Trail- Probably One of the best ways to really get in-touch with the Bush & Wildlife ..
Its geared to people who are not super fit Or Would like to take bit more leisurely pace
Emagine Your, Walking Out Into the African Bushveld, Big 5, All Around you...
A Truly Life Changing Experience...
The Base Camp Trail Imfolozi 3 Nights 4 days ...Price R 5395.00 pp
A Trails Officer One with the Gun to protect, assisted by a Field Ranger,
Both are fully qualified ,Their experience and knowledge of the bush will enrich the experience, as well as ensure the safety of hikers. All three nights are spent at the comfortably equipped Mndindini Trails Camp, where hikers are housed in comfortable 2-bed tents.
The camp has a communal ablution facility with hot and cold water as well as flushing toilets. The kitchen has a fridge for cold drinks. Hikers motor vehicles remain here. After booking in at Mpila Resort, Hikers are directed to the Mndindini Trails Camp where they will be greeted by the Trails Officer, Field Guide and the cook.
It is recommended that visitors check in at Mpila Resort by 13:00 on the first day of the safari. So that they can settle in at their leisure, in time to meet the Trails Officer for a briefing at 14:00 at the Mndindini Trails Camp.
During the briefing please advise the officer if you would like to go on an afternoon walk or you would like to relax at the camp.
The following two days will be spent walking in the Imfolozi Wilderness Area.
Hikers depart after breakfast, carrying only a daypack each, containing their personal effects, water and lunch. The trail party will cover between 7 and 14 km per day depending on conditions. For this reason, a reasonable degree of fitness is required.
River crossings are sometimes necessary during the walks. The daily routine varies according to the time of year and Trails Officer’s personal style of guiding. On the final day trailists will do a morning walk, returning to Mndindini for a snack after which hikers are free to pack up and leave by 11:00.
It is essential that you wear a comfortable pair of hiking boots, which are well worn in. Base Camp Trails are run from mid-February to mid-December and can accommodate a maximum of eight pax..
Arrival and Registration
Please check-in at Mpila Resort by 13:00 on the first day of the trail. From there, hikers may drive around the game reserve (should time allow it) or go directly to Mndindini Trails Base Camp to arrive by 14:00.
Here Hikers will be welcomed by the Trails Officer, Field Guide and cook, and will be shown to their accommodation. guests may not, under any circumstances leave the immediate area, base-camp on foot, Unless accompanied by an officer or guide.
Remember, this is a Big Five Park! There are no mosquito nets available.
Equipment Provided by KZN Wildlife
All food, tea, coffee and fruit juice
• All cutlery and crockery
• All daypacks
• Water bottles
• All bedding
• Towel
• First Aid kit
Catering
The trail is fully catered and Hikers will be provided with three meals per day, starting with supper on the day of arrival and concluding with lunch on the day of departure. Meals are tasty, simple but nutritious and quantities provided should satisfy most appetites. The menus have been developed with input from previous hikers and we welcome any comments.
If you are a vegetarian or have other special dietary requirements, please notify the Trails Consultant when making a booking. The Trails Manager will try to make appropriate arrangements, where possible.
People with any special requirements may of course bring their own food and every assistance will be given to prepare it. Regrettably there can be no reduction in the cost of the trail.
Tea, coffee and a cold drink are also provided. Fruit and nuts are provided as snacks between meals. Trailists are more than welcome to provide their own between-meal snacks and refreshments.
A little alcohol may be brought into the wilderness area
Packing List & Some NB Advice...
• 2 dull-coloured shirts/blouses
• 3 changes of underwear
• 2 pairs shorts or the equivalent
• 1 pair of trousers or jeans
• 1 tracksuit
• 1 hat
• 1 swimming costume (optional)
• 1 light raincoat
• 1 warm bush jacket or jersey
• Sun protection cream
• Torch with spare batteries
• Insect repellent
• 1 pair of comfortable boots or the equivalent and 1 pair of sandals for around the camp
• Toiletries, including environment friendly/ biodegradable soap
• Binoculars, camera, Fresh batteries, Small solar charger big as you can carry,field guide, Journal etc. (optional)
NB: It is imperative that you wear a comfortable pair of hiking boots, which are well worn in. Bayticol spray (from your pharmacy) is recommended as ticks can be a problem at certain times of the year. Zululand winters are cold, with temperatures dropping significantly at night, whilst the summer temperatures can rise fairly high by midday and rain can be a factore. But the rain is welcomed, it cools the bush down .
What To Do Next
Pick a Trail that fits you the best , from time to fitness Level.
Step Two
Click on the enquiry button on the page and we will get intouch with in few hrs Or 24 max..
The Explorer Trail 4 night Walking Safari In The Imfolozi Game Park
The Explorer Trail- Probably One of the best ways to really get in-touch with the Bush & Wildlife ..
Emagine Walking Out Into the felt, African Big 5, All Around you... A Life Changing Experience...
Definitely Best Photo Video Ops...
4 Nights In The Very Wild Region Of Imfolozi... Price R 3750 pp
This popular trail combines the best elements Of Real Safari. The way of exploration in 1700s In Africa. On Ancient migration trails. Using the Mdindini As Base Camp..
This is the adventurous Primitive Trail. The first and last nights are spent, in the comfort of Mdindini Camp with hot and cold showers and a fridge.
While the second and third nights are spent under the stars out in the infamous iMfolozi Wilderness Area. This allows hikers to start the trail refreshed and to undertake the journey home after a comfortable night's sleep in the Base Camp.
After booking in at Mpila Resort, trailists will be met by the Trails Officer and his Field Guide assistant, and directed to the Mndindini Base Camp where they will be able to settle in and also meet their cook who will prepare their food on the first and final nights.
The Trails Officer and the Field Guide will prepare food on the second and third nights, although hikers are welcome to assist. It is recommended that visitors arrive at Mpila Resort reception by 13:00, as they need to be at Mdindindi by 14:00.
It is further recommended that everyone leave their watches and cellular phones,Use it for photos but if it rings your in trouble... But really, in order to benefit fully from the freedom best to disconnect for outside for wile...
Small camps are set up at night, with hikers sleeping under the stars around a small fire after enjoying a meal prepared by the Field Guide.
A lightweight rain shelter is provided in case of bad weather. Distances covered each day are not excessive due to the need to carry all equipment.
Backpacks are sometimes left at a campsite, however, and day walks taken to explore the wilderness area in relative freedom. As with all iMfolozi Wilderness Trails,
A reasonable degree of fitness is recommended in order to derive the greatest enjoyment from your trail. Explorer Trials are conducted from mid-February to the end of November and take a maximum of eight Hikers.
Catering
KZN Wildlife will supply all equipment and provide all meals. You may bring your own equipment as long as it blends into the bush environment. You may bring you own additional snacks and drinks should you feel the necessity.
Some House Keeping
About Drinks On The Trails..
A little alcohol may be brought into the wilderness area, however no excessive drinking will be allowed for reasons of safety, and to avoid detracting from the wilderness ethic, which involves quietly blending in with the environment.
If the rules are broken, the walks will proceed no further than one kilometre from the base camp or wilderness camp, depending on the trail.
In order to maintain the wilderness ethic and character, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife wilderness trail facilities remain as simple as possible. Remember that you will have to carry all your alcohol for two days!
Packing List & Some NB Advice...
• 2 dull-coloured shirts/blouses
• 3 changes of underwear
• 2 pairs shorts or the equivalent
• 1 pair of trousers or jeans
• 1 tracksuit
• 1 hat
• 1 swimming costume (optional)
• 1 light raincoat
• 1 warm bush jacket or jersey
• Sun protection cream
• Torch with spare batteries
• Insect repellent
• 1 pair of comfortable boots or the equivalent and 1 pair of sandals for around the camp
• Toiletries, including environment friendly/ biodegradable soap
• Binoculars, camera, Fresh batteries, Small solar charger big as you can carry,field guide, Journal etc. (optional)
NB: It is imperative that you wear a comfortable pair of hiking boots, which are well worn in. Bayticol spray (from your pharmacy) is recommended as ticks can be a problem at certain times of the year. Zululand winters are cold, with temperatures dropping significantly at night, whilst the summer temperatures can rise fairly high by midday and rain can be a factore. But the rain is welcomed, it cools the bush down .
Hluhluwe Imfolozi-Park
iMfolozi Wilderness Trails
Hluhluwe Umfolozi park
St Lucia Hippo
Fish Eagle
Linon In Trees Hluhluwe
Hluhluwe Lions Feeding
Short Wildnerness Trail
Review of Hluhluwe - iMfolozi Park Wilderness Area
We went as a group to do the 2 nights, 3 days short wilderness trail in the park. On the drive to the Mpila Resort starting point we saw rhinos, elephants and zebras alongside the road.
From Mpila we went further into the park, to the starting point of the trail. We crossed the river twice without shoes (a little scary as our guide pointed out crocodile trails!) and got to our base camp.
The tents provided are excellent, as is the cooking by the chef - the bush bread on arrival each afternoon was fantastic.
We would highly recommend the wilderness trail - we saw loads of rhinos, buffalo, giraffe whilst walking around with our guides. The guides were excellent at spotting the wildlife and explaining features and plants.
Sleeping in the tents at night was an incredible experience, hearing lions and hyenas walking near the campsite was scary, but completely amazing!More
HLUHLUWE
Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve
South Africa big 5 Daily Sightings
Also, st Lucia Hippo & Croc River cruises These are the Amazing sites to witness on safari with Heritage Tours And Safaris ..
We are officially Open and Ready to assist you in your next safari, www.heritagetoursandsafaris.com/
We are ready are you ready for an amazing and incredible safari? www.heritagetoursandsafaris.com/
www.stluciasouthafrica.com/world-heritage-sites/
World Heritage Sites - St Lucia South Africa
www.stluciasouthafrica.com
What determines World Heritage Sites, we explain how. We have also included all World Heritage Sites in the world. KZN is fortunate to 2 Heritage SitesSome amazing sunsets and sunrises in Zululand, as winter slowly approaches they are just going to get better.
Hluhluwe St Lucia Day Safaris
Go in-search of the Big 5 on this incredible yet shorter Safari into the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. All Safaris are conducted in Open Game Drive Safari Vehicles.
Hluhluwe Imfolozi Safari Packages
Join us as we travel too, Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve ( the oldest proclaimed reserve in Africa) & iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa's very first world heritage site)
Pristine beauty is preserved in two exceptionally scenic parks.
St Lucia Isimangaliso Wetland
Take a trip up the St Lucia Estuary Africa's largest and home to more than 800 Hippos, 1200 Nile crocodiles and an incredible array of Bird-life on this 2 Hour Trip.
Meet the Black Mambas
South Africa's Fierce Female Anti-Poaching Unit Is Making An Inpact
There's a war raging across the African continent, but we don't hear much about the hard work done on the front lines. At the center of the conflict? Rhino horns. They're highly sought after on the black market, worth more than gold, and people will kill—or be killed—to poach them. In South Africa, home to about 80 percent of the world's rhino population, 1,028 rhino were poached in 2017, amounting to nearly three rhinos killed every day, per official stats from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs.
Thankfully, those numbers are down from 2016
In part thanks to patrols by the Black Mambas, a mostly female anti-poaching unit based in the Balule Nature Reserve in South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park. Their mantra: If we don’t stop the poaching, who will?
“I want to protect nature and make sure that my children and future generations can see rhinos and all other wildlife [in real life], not just [as] pictures in books,” says Collet Ngobeni, a 33-year-old member of the Black Mambas.
Ngobeni is one of 33 women (and two men) fighting off the destruction of the rhino population in Kruger Park, once considered a hotbed of poaching. Unlike most anti-poaching units, this one is almost entirely comprised of women—and the members don’t use guns. It sounds bonkers. Anti-poaching units are usually made up of heavily armed military men who descend on poachers in helicopters. But the Black Mambas believe the battle needn't be fought with bullets. They are the eyes and ears on the ground. Their goal isn't to kill poachers—it's to save the rhinos.
"Being a Black Mamba empowers you. Through our hard work, confidence and all our achievements, we have made people from all over the world accept us."
The unit spends much of its day on foot in the field. They seek out poachers on daily monitoring patrols, gather intel, remove snares meant to trap wild animals, and scour for bush meat kitchens and poacher camps. If they come face-to-face with a poacher, they're armed with walkie talkies to call for backup. Crossing the thicketed plains of the reserve for eight hours a day in the heat (temperatures can easily pass 100 degrees) is not an easy assignment. And poachers aren't the only threat—so are the elephants, buffalo, and lions in their tracks.
“The biggest challenge is the training and working in the bush with the dangerous animals,” says Ngobeni. “But what I love most about my work is being in nature and seeing the animals”—animals that she hopes will be around for the younger generations to encounter.
Fighting poaching and poachers is invaluable, but educating surrounding communities about the effect of poaching is just as important.
The Black Mambas are role models to that generation
Thanks largely to the the Black Mambas Bush Babies program. By working with children between the ages of 12 and 15 years, the Black Mambas teach them the different behaviors of wildlife, how to protect them, and an in-depth knowledge about ecology and conservation.
During the school holidays, the kids are taken to the reserve to see the animals they’ve been learning about. Watching the elephants rustle through bush or the hippos wallowing in a pool of water gives them a deeper connection with the animals they’ve come to know on paper. Bush Babies has been so successful since it launched in 2015, it's already been introduced in ten schools around the Greater Kruger National Park.
Unintentionally, the female Black Mambas, many of whom are mothers and breadwinners, have become heroines within their communities. In an industry notoriously dominated by men—in a part of the country where women are often expected to stay home—they are proving that doesn’t have to be the norm. “To be a woman in this role is like a being a queen of the jungle,” says Leithah Mkhabela, 25. Showing this precedent is as important to the unit as protecting the wildlife and educating communities about conservation.
“Being a Black Mamba empowers you,” says Mkhabela.“
Through our hard work, confidence, and all our achievements, we have made people from all over the world accept us.”
Much like the job itself, the journey to get where they are today has been challenging. When the women first started out in 2013, many of the men in their communities laughed at them, they say. But their success rate has quieted the disbelievers (poaching and snaring in Greater Kruger is down by more than 70 percent), and the unit is thriving. “I want see the Black Mambas grow so that there can be many more women working in this job—all over the country and the world,” says Ngobeni.
