Phinda Vlei Lodge

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Hotel overview

Vlei is probably our favourite lodge on the reserve. The suites are like individual chalets sited in the tree line on the edge of an open area of grassland (the vlei). The suites are sizeable and the furnishings are contemporary and very stylish. The front and sides of the suites are floor-to-ceiling windows that also fold away, so you really feel connected to the bush outside. The whole feel of the lodge is understated, elegant and very peaceful.

Phinda Private Game Reserve, part of the outstanding &&Beyond family, was conceived in the early days of KwaZulu-Natal eco-tourism and became a flagship project for &&Beyond. 23,000 hectares of pineapple and cattle farms were turned over to conservation and restocked with indigenous game. Today the game is flourishing, including the Big Five, and Phinda is also well known for its cheetah sightings, probably the best place in the province to see these sleek speed merchants. Phinda also covers an impressive seven different habitats, including the very rare sand forest.

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Quirky excursions

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Excursion

KwaZulu-Natal Bush Walks

Most lodges in private game reserves, in the period around lunchtime between the two usual daily safari drives, offer guests the chance to go on a short safari walk. The focus on these is not the game you’d see on drive. Instead you’ll concentrate on learning about the trees and plants, including their various uses in bush medicine and bush craft. You’ll also have the chance to look at the much, much smaller animals like spiders and millipedes, no less worthy of your attention than the bigger animals in the reserve! Some of the private reserves offer a more intensive walking safari experience, where you’ll walk for large parts of a day through the bush, or even for a couple of days, camping out. Sometimes these will be to walk with cheetahs, which seem particularly comfortable being accompanied or tailed by humans; other times it will just be about the thrill of spending protracted amounts of time on foot in what has become an alien and fascinating environment for modern man, never knowing what is around the next corner, and really getting the chance to understand and appreciate nature. In the public reserves like Hluhluwe–iMfolozi, daily safari walks are operated by the parks board and can be booked on to when you arrive. If safari walks are something you are particularly interested in, please let us know so we can direct you towards appropriate lodges and reserves.

Excursion

Zulu homestead visit

Zulu culture is alive and well in the Battlefields area. Interest in Zulu culture, in part fuelled by historic British involvement in the battles with Zulus, which has helped keep it alive through the creation of cultural villages and traditional homesteads that receive visitors. Here you can learn about traditional Zulu building techniques, see how Zulu beer is prepared and enjoy the energetic and expressive Zulu dancing. One of the most interesting elements of traditional Zulu life is the role of the sangoma who is part herbal healer, part ritualistic shaman for the community. A consultation with the sangoma is an integral part of any visit to a Zulu community.

Excursion

Coastal visits

The remarkable KwaZulu-Natal coastline in and around Lake St Lucia is within easy striking distance of the game areas of the province. As well as being attractive, and boasting quiet rock pools amidst the surf for swimming and snorkelling, this is also an area replete with wildlife. Offshore are whales, sharks and dolphins, whilst Lake St Lucia is home to crocodiles and hippos. In the bush that backs onto the shores, you’ll find small antelope and monkeys, and the air teems with birdlife. Most private lodges can arrange a visit to the coastline, or if you’re staying at Hluhluwe–iMfolozi, you can drive yourself over to the area for the day.

Excursion

KwaZulu-Natal Self-Drive Safari

For those not staying on a private reserve, but staying in the Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Reserve, self-driving here is an interesting alternative to a guided safari. Unless you really know a lot about safari, it should never replace the experience of guided game drives and walks in the company of an expert who can not only find the animals but also explain them to you. However to complement guided game drives, or for those who feel they know their way around their African wildlife, it makes an exciting and rewarding way to see game. The park is laced with a network of roads, some tarmac and many more graded tracks (passable in a normal saloon car). There is a real thrill in setting off into the park, under your own steam, equipped with a map showing roads, waterholes and notable features, a pair of binoculars, a bird and mammal guide, and perhaps a packed lunch. You can then do whatever takes your fancy: spend half an hour with a herd of zebra or impala (which would never happen on a guided game drive), or head for a waterhole and sit with your bird book trying to identify as many species as possible, or simply to drive slowly around, taking in the amazing scenery and hoping to spot some big game.

Excursion

KwaZulu-Natal Game Drives

When staying at a private safari lodge, the bulk of your game viewing will be done on safari drives. These take place in the early morning and late afternoon, as many of the animals everyone wants to see (notably the predators) are most active around dawn and dusk. In the morning you’ll be wakened by a call from your ranger, who will then be waiting for you with coffee or tea before you get into the safari drive vehicle. You may stop during the morning drive for more coffee! After a drive of around three hours, you’ll be returned to the lodge for a massive breakfast. Your time is then yours to do as you please until mid/late afternoon. Usually lunch will be served (although sometimes not during their winter) and you may have the chance to go on a bush walk. Then you meet your ranger again for afternoon tea before heading off on your evening drive. You’ll stop for sundowner drinks, and the last hour or so of your drive will be in the dark, using a spotlight to try and spot some of the nocturnal creatures. Upon your return its time for a gorgeous dinner before retiring to bed in order to be as fresh as possible when that morning call comes! Drive times are determined by dawn and dusk. So in their summer, morning drive starts very early and the evening drive starts quite late, allowing for a big chunk of free time in the middle of the day. In their winter, these times get compressed as the day is shorter – hence some lodges skipping lunch during the winter months. When out on drive your ranger (and his tracker in those reserves where they are used) will use his skills and experience of the bush, plus information from other rangers out on game drives, to pinpoint the best game viewing. He (or she!) will also provide a running commentary on the animals you are seeing – it is truly amazing how much information they are able to pass on. If you particularly want to see certain animals, do let your ranger know and he’ll try to oblige wherever possible, although much is dependent on the animals cooperating, and of course the wishes of the other guests in your safari drive vehicle (unless you have paid for a private vehicle). In a public reserve like Hluhluwe–iMfolozi, safari drives are operated by the parks board twice a day and can be booked on to when you arrive.

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