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Tour Dates :
2009
14-23 September
2009
2010
07 - 16 April
2010
02 - 11 June 2010
30 June - 9 July 2010
01 - 10 September 2010
Tour Information :
Zululand covers the area from the mouth of the Tugela River in the south, northwards towards the Mozambican border and north of the Pongolo River. The western border more or less follows the flow of the Mzinyathi or Buffels River – from it’s confluence with the Tugela River to its source in the Drakensberg Mountains.
Day 1 – Monday
We have an early departure from Durban International Airport to our first destination at Itala Game Reserve. We will stop en-route for a light breakfast. The Itala Game Reserve covers nearly 30 000 ha undulating, grass covered hills, deep valleys and magnificent bushveld flora. The Pongola River forms the northern border of the reserve. The reserve is home to approximately 80 mammal species, including white and black rhinoceroses, elephant, the only Tsessebe-population in KwaZulu-Natal, eland, blue wildebeest, red hartbeest, Burchell’s zebra and giraffe. There are also approximately 320 bird species of which a large percentage can be spotted easily.
Itala Game Reserve is most probably the most beautiful park administered by the KZN Wild Life Management Team.
Our overnight stop is in the Ntshongwe camp in Itala Game Reserve. After our arrival at the camp you can unpack, kick off you shoes and enjoy the beautiful natural wonder of this area. During the late afternoon we will be going on a game drive, returning back to camp at sundown.
Day 2 – Tuesday
After an early breakfast, we shall enjoy a full day’s game viewing with our Pumba Tour guides.
We also have very good news for tree lovers since Itala hosts a very large diversity of indigenous trees. Our guides will be ready to tell you more with regard to names, uses, medicinal value, etc. Upon arriving at the Pongola River we will be able to stretch our legs a bit, while picnic baskets will provide delicious snacks and drinks.
During the afternoon we will drive back to our camp for a well earned rest, sitting back with satisfaction, taking our leave of this wonderful environment. After a full day and scrumptious dinner, bed will offer a welcome escape.
Day 3 – Wednesday
Maputaland is that part of Zululand that stretches furthest to the north up to the Mozambican border. The Lebombo Mountains form the western border of Maputaland and encompasses a huge coastal plain that stretches eastwards up to the Indian Ocean and from just south of the Umfolozi River northwards to Mozambique. The flat sand plains, comprising Maputaland seldom rise more than 100 meters above sea level. The sand that has accumulated over the past five million years covers older sea sediments that were deposited down while the complete coastal plain was still under the Indian Ocean and the waves broke against the slopes of the Lebombo Mountains.
We cross the Lebombo Mountains and enjoy a breathtaking view over the Pongolapoort Dam. We follow the route through a small town known as Jozini. We take a short breather at a viewpoint in the Lebombo Mountain Pass to stretch our legs and enjoy the exceptional view. This will also afford our guide the opportunity to share the wonder of this area with us.
We continue our journey to our first overnight stay at Ndumo River Lodge. After our arrival there will be time to relax and enjoy a sun downer while the beauty of this exceptional coastal plain unfolds before your eyes. After a delicious dinner you can relax around a camp fire and retire to bed when sleep overcomes you.
Day 4 – Thursday
Today we explore Tembe Elephant Park. Fear that the last elephant herds that were still roaming freely in South Africa would be annihilated by poachers during the civil war in Mozambique, led to the proclamation of this Park in 1983. The original estimate of 400 elephant had shrunk to 120 before the proclamation of Tembe. The current number of 175 elephant is therefore the most important allurement of this Park. Apart from the elephant, the Park also provides protection to the largest sand forests in the country. For tree and bird lovers a visit to Tembe is therefore a must. The sand forests are also home to unique small animals only to be found here, such as the red squirrel (Tonga squirrel), suni and, of course, the dung-beetle.
Day 5 – Friday
We depart early for the Ndumo Game Reserve, situated more or less 17 kilometres from the Lodge. Our guides are very well trained and have an excellent knowledge of the behaviour, habits and characteristics of the wild animals.
Ndumo extends over 12 420 ha and the landscape varies from peaceful pans encircled by fever trees and river forests to flood plains, stretches of sand forests and bushveld. Apart from the fact that Ndumo is a popular bird watching area. The park also accommodates a very large number of hippos and crocodiles. Other wild life species that can be seen are white and black rhinoceroses, buffalo, giraffe, reed-buck, impala, Burchell’s zebra, red duiker and suni. We traverse the Park and stop at Nyamithi pan to enjoying a light lunch.
After a wonderful day we return to Ndumo River Lodge for sundowners, dinner and a welcome night’s rest.
Day 6 – Saturday
After a hearty breakfast it is time to take the road to Kosi Bay.
Today we visit Kosi Bay which is undeniably one of the most unique and fascinating places in South Africa. In spite of the name, it is not a bay, but consists of four subjacently connected, almost circle shaped lakes, connected to the sea by a narrow tidal mouth. In the first lake we will have a look at the Tonga fish-traps that form complicated criss-cross patterns in the lake. The fencing of these fish-traps (called pens by fishermen) stretches from banks and islands over the mud plains to filter the ebb tide in the shallow delta mouth, thus trapping the fish. Our guide will tell you much more about this phenomena as well as the wonder of this ecological system.
On our way back to the lodge we shall have a quick stopover at Manguzi, where you will be able to look at products sold by the people of this region. Manguzi is the last town to the north and is approximately 22 kilometres from the Kosi Border Post to Mozambique.
Upon arrival at Ndumo River Lodge, you can relax for the rest of the afternoon. After a tasty dinner there are bound to be long discussions concerning this exceptional environment.
After breakfast we continue our journey and depart for the St Lucia-Wetlands Park. Our route takes us through small towns such as Hluhluwe and Mtubatuba as well as several private game reserves and conservancies. Information in this regard will be provided during the drive.
Day 7 – Sunday
After enjoying an early morning breakfast, we depart for the Sibaya Lake. The Sibaya Lake covers approximately 77 square kilometres and is the largest fresh water lake in South Africa. There are no rivers feeding the lake and it also has no overflow. Although the lake was cut off from the sea about 5 000 years ago, several sea and estuary fish as well as crustaceous animals have adapted to the lake’s fresh water. It is also a very important swampland for migrating water birds and a must for birdwatchers. Our guide will tell you much more regarding the origin and formation of this lake as well as the Kosi Lake. We then travel along the lake’s eastern banks up to Mbazwana, where after we continue our journey to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park where we will be spending the night.
Day 8 – Monday
Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park was proclaimed in 1897 and consists of wide, deep valleys and sharp ascending hills rising out of the coastal plains to form the first escarpment off the coast. It is also the largest Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal and we hope to tell you a lot more regarding this excellent reserve.
After a full day’s game watching, we continue our journey to our overnight stop for today in Richards Bay.
Day 9 – Tuesday
After breakfast we depart for a tour of Ngoye forest a short distance from Richards Bay.
Ngoye is probably the most impressive indigenous forest in KwaZulu Natal and famous for its unique flora & fauna. Described as a moist, evergreen, coastal scarp forest, Ngoye is about 11 km from the coast at an average altitude of 400 meters. The importance of Ngoye is that it is an extraordinary, isolated link between the tropical forests of Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya and northern Mozambique as well as the southern Natal- Transkei forests and the temperate Tsitsikamma to Knysna forests even further south.
We return to Richards Bay for a sun downer boat cruise on the Richards Bay harbour to say goodbye to this beautiful part of our country before returning to our overnight accommodation.
Day 10 – Wednesday
Before breakfast we view the production copy of the DVD of this tour. This will be a nostalgic retrospection of the experiences of the past 9 days. After breakfast it is time to go home and we will depart for Durban International Airport.
Our journey may well end here, but this unique Heart of Zululand will always undoubtedly have a special place in everyone’s heart …
@ JJ Du Preez / Pumba Tours
Destination RSA (Pty) Ltd trading as Pumba Tours
PO Box 101016
Meerensee
Richards Bay 3901
Tel: 035 753 3677/ 753 3962
Fax: 035 753 5875
e-mail: pumbatrs@iafrica.com
Price:
The full price for the 10 day tour amounts to R 8,950 per person sharing. There will be a single levy of R850 per single person not sharing accommodation.
The price includes the following:
· All travelling costs
· All accommodation
· All entrance fees to game reserves and other sights as set out in the itinerary
· Transport in luxury Mercedes Benz Sprinter buses (14 to 19 seats)
· On board refreshments in the form of mineral water
· All meals as per the itinerary ( two meals per day plus other meals as per the itinerary)
· Passenger and Public liability insurance
· Well trained drivers and accredited guides