NAKA is inside the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) that sometimes people try to visit the whole world but do not know the beauty here at home.
It is not only the animals that attract you to this area under the Mkhanyakude district, but the history of the area makes it unique on the world map.
This reserve, located 280 kilometers from Durban, is the oldest in the African continent as it was established in 1895. We are vast as we are 96,000 hectares.
We have made a big name for ourselves in the world by being the only one that was able to save the white rhinoceros from extinction. Its history is precious because this species of rhinoceros is facing the challenge of becoming a legend for future generations.
HiP is home to a wide variety of wildlife, but especially the Big Five – lion, rhinoceros, elephant, tiger and buffalo.
These animals are not the only ones that attract the attention of visitors to this area. The beauty of the mountains and plains clothed in a green blanket of trees and grasses turns it into an earthly Paradise, and the mind rejoices in its cool air intoxicated by the sound of chirping birds. Right here in the hip!
If you drive towards the rest areas built in this area, you will be attracted by the zebras along the road, with their bright colors.
Locusts scurry along the roads because they are said to like to eat the grass on the side of the road because the grass that is there is not long.
Once inside there are a variety of things that visitors can do for fun, and to admire nature.
Among them can be a ride in a car built to go up and down the forest, carrying tourists who are eager to see the Big Five and other wild animals.
During our trip we were lucky enough to see the lions with their own eyes, we watched them mating. Our guide who is a local expert, Samora Xulu, said that it is a rare thing for visitors, as sometimes a year goes by without them seeing it.
He explained that the lion is not a danger to tourists who are walking in the park. Among the things that he said one should not do, he said is panicking, making noise by talking as well as turning and running away if you see it.
“If you make a noise, it immediately thinks that you are a danger to it, and then it attacks you. If you also run away, it gives it the idea that you are a deer, so it immediately sees something that it has to chase, catch, and crush,” said Xulu.
He described the tiger as a shy animal that does not understand noise, and said that when it hears the sound of people or sees them from a distance, it hides. He said that the matter was spoiled if it happened that there was eye contact between him and the person.
Landa with the rhinoceros he said that usually you can’t see well with your eyes but you rely on your sense of smell as well as the wind to detect danger.
Hluhluwe National Park is home to all the animals that are the symbol of South Africa as we saw lions, rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, impalas and more.
Xulu said that most of the wild animals, including all the so-called dangerous ones, such as the Big Five, become aggressive when they come, they don’t want anything near them or their young.
We also watched a movie, iWild Hopewho recorded and preserved the history of the removal of rhino horns to protect them from those who want to hunt them and kill them. The film explains in detail where the professionals meet when a rhino is to be dehorned, this includes the one who injects it to render it deaf, the vet, the dehorner and others. It also turns out that doing all this work takes 20 minutes per rhino. It also shows that the horn grows back completely 18 months after it is cut.
Vulamelo Craft, which is a place where all kinds of handicrafts are sold, is not left out in the places we visited. In it, there are local men admiring different decorative items while the women boast about their ability to make different things with beads and other weavings.
We also visited the Nerve Intelligence Center, where illegal entrants are monitored. In this area, the performance of cameras, helicopters, drones and dogs that search for clues by smell are monitored.
HiP is definitely not a place you will regret if you and your family go there. You can come back and believe in the beauty of the park, the animals in it, the friendly staff, the delicious food and the good accommodations.