KwaZulu-Natal and the Sani Pass. January to May 2018.
3 Leopard Mountain Safari Lodge & Umlalazi Nature Reserve.
The second trip that we took Di and David on was to Leopard Mountain Game Lodge in northern KZN for a couple of nights followed by a night at Umlalazi Nature Reserve before dropping them off at King Shaka airport.
Leopard Mountain Safari Lodge.
As Di and David were with us for only a short time we decided to treat them to a couple of nights at Leopard Mountain, a private lodge where you get a couple of game drives each day and are pretty well guaranteed to see a range of game. You also get good accommodation and excellent meals.
Undoubtedly our best sighting was of a lioness and her 4 cubs who we were able to watch for at least 30 minutes.
We saw lots of giraffe. We watched this pair fighting, by banging their heads and necks against each other, for some time.
We briefly saw a pair of cheetahs (brothers) but, sadly, they soon disappeared into the long grass.
The accommodation was very comfortable with chalets along the top of a hill and a central lodge with a great view. All the excellent meals were at the lodge with the evening meal around a fire in a boma.
There's a fence around the lodge to stop elephants but it's high off the ground so smaller animals can get in. We often saw nyala and warthog around the lodge and chalets.
Female nyala.
Warthog family.
Our guide moved this tiny tortoise from ther middle of the road.
Female impala with an oxpecker on its back.
Jackal Buzard.
Male nyala.
We stopped to watch the sun set during our evening drives.
Bee-eaters.
Male giraffe in the early morning light.
These zebra soon disappeared into the bush.
Umlalazi Nature Reserve.
This is one of our favourite places on the KZN North Coast with log cabins and campsites set amongst the trees. We stayed here for a night before Di and David caught their flight back to the UK.
Umlalazi lagoon
Lunch at a cafe in Mtunzini.
Last updated: March 2021