Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Park and St. Lucia

My father, sister, and cousin are visiting for two weeks and we have a jam-packed schedule with touring Durban, game parks, the Garden Route, and Cape Town. While I was insanely excited to see my family, I was equally excited for the chocolate chip cookies my mom packed into my dad’s suitcase. YUMMY! Thank you, ma ma.

The first day, we walked around Durban touring the Botanic Gardens, Florida Road, and the beachfront. Chris and I kept expecting for jet leg to kick in, but they all seemed to be superhuman or robots with little fatigue… until the second night, where it finally hit them and they had trouble sleeping.

The next day, we headed to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Park and St. Lucia wetlands. But before that, we had a series of missteps that delayed our departure three hours, such as our car needing repairs (after we recently brought it in for a service and the mechanics messed it up) and finding the correct bank to change money. So, we left three hours late arriving at the game park only one hour before our game drive started. We rented the “luxurious” Masinda Lodge, and on our way to check-in, we came across baboons, élans, wildebeests, zebras, and giraffes! Somehow, it worked out that dad, Chris and I were in charge of the spotlights during the entire night game drive. At one point, my dad’s shoulder was sore so I asked the lady behind if she was interested in working the spotlight and she replied, “not particularly.” So, I took his place, which was probably best since he was apparently having a rare episode of empathy for animals, afraid to shine the light in their eyes because, “he wouldn’t want the light in his eyes.” Of course, it is hard to see a giraffe when the light is focused on a BUSH right below it. Anyway, during the game drive, we saw a couple of hyenas, buffaloes and rhinos, in addition to the animals above.

So, let’s get back to the Masinda Lodge. First, let me say that it was completely worth the outrageous price due to having élan and zebras grazing in our backyard. When we came back from the game drive, we also had a rhino hanging out on our lawn. So, that was pretty astounding…and, we were sure to close all our doors before sleeping. However, communication with the staff lacked in many ways, from not telling us checkout times and what to wear on outings, to payment information. But most of all, a key piece of information MAY have been that the electricity shuts down at 10 PM, all night. Instead, we all freaked out at 10 PM with dad and Chris attempting to go outside to find the guy that lives near us until they heard what they thought was the rhino in our yard! What we soon learned was no electricity = no fans. It was the hottest night of sleep we have all experienced in a long time, with all of us awaiting 5 AM, our wake up call to go on our guided hike.

Our guided hike essentially consisted of inspecting animal dung, tracks and spiders. At one point, the guide had us smelling some dirt to later find out it was rhino pee. With my dad’s lack of smell, he really dug his nose in it too. The guide would also keep asking us over and over to guess and then acted like we were pretty stupid for not knowing the answer, such as a cross between a zebra and a donkey is called a “Zebroid.” Well, it was a good thing the guide managed our expectations for sights to see on this walk, as it was pretty low key…until we ran into a mom and baby rhino. The rhinos, just 25 yards away from us, made a growl-like noise and the guides looked at each other as they held rocks in their hands. My cousin noticed the rocks of the guide were pretty small (which, of course, concerned her). As it turns out, rhinos have bad eyesight so they were going to use them to fool the rhinos into thinking we were in a different location. Well, eventually, the rhinos ran away and we all breathed again.

After the Game Park, we headed to St. Lucia’s wetlands. St. Lucia is a cute, touristy town with little shops, restaurants, beaches, and a massive estuary. We took a boat tour on the river and saw Nile crocodiles, water buffalo, and hippos. Apparently, hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa (not counting the mosquito). Here is a little information from a website:

“The hippo is extremely aggressive, unpredictable and unafraid of humans, upsetting boats sometimes without provocation and chomping the occupants with its huge canine teeth and sharp incisors. Most human deaths occur when the victim gets between the hippo and deep water or between a mother and her calf.”

Well, thankfully, these hippos are accustomed to the boats so they are quite tame. The guide himself was super impressed with all that we were seeing and the proximity of the animals. We stayed at a B&B, called Bhangazi Lodge, all decked out in African decorations and air-conditioned rooms. My family couldn’t stop raving about the place. While the place was certainly great, I couldn’t help but guess it was due to our previous sweltering night at Masinda Lodge. It is always good to experience a little discomfort as it gives you a new appreciation for simple pleasures, such as AC and wifi.

And last, we took them to our favorite restaurant in Durban (Ballito, to be exact), Mo-Zam-Bik, for their famous Peri Peri chicken. We are proud to report that everyone is now addicted to Peri Peri Sauce, just as we are. Tomorrow, we head out for our tour of the Garden Route.