Rhinos, rhythm and the referendum

Giraffe, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi National Park

Monday 8th September

Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal

I awoke at sunrise to find we were surrounded by a herd of nyala, who soon moved on when our water pupm started up.

The reason for the early start was our first proper game drive around Hluhluwe-iMfolozi National Park.  Originally two separate parks (hence the mouthful of a name), this is now a "big 5" location and we were not disappointed.

Within moments of entering the park, after waiting for a family of warthog to cross in front of us, we quickly spotted significant numbers of white rhino, a magnificent creature to see in the wild.

Less than a century ago, there were fewer than 100 white rhino left in the wild, yet they have now been removed from the critically endangered list almost entirely thanks to the conservation team in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi - there are now around 10,000 in this park alone!

Every bit as impressive were the many giraffes, one of which even gave us a real performance, strutting back and forth as if it had been asked to pose for photos.  At one point, he passed within about 6 feet.  Whenever we saw giraffe, zebra were not far behind and before long a sighting of buffalo gave us our second of the big 5.

Heading south into the iMfolozi section of the park, the rivers and waterfalls were dry, and the trees and veld charred from recent fires set by the rangers to encourage new grass growth.  This meant not many animals to see, and certainly dashed any hopes we may have had about glimpsing an elephant.

All-in-all, though, a successful day's game viewing: warthog, giraffe, zebra, white rhino, impala, nyala, kudu, buffalo, blue wildebeest, red duiker, waterbuck, helmeted guinea fowl.

At one rest camp (Centenary Centre), we found a local craft market where I picked up a carved wooden Zulu drum for under R500 (about £30).  I've no idea how to get it home yet, but that's for another day.

As this is our last night here, we dined at Hluhluwe River Lodge.  Kudu steaks were served up and were absolutely delicious (very lean, cooked medium-rare and a richer flavour than beef) although there is something very strange about eating kudu while watching kudu innocently pass by on the plain.

(While here, we were visited by a different, smaller, but equally gallous genet.)

We leave South Africa tomorrow for an overnight sojourn into Swaziland, a small independent nation - three words resonating with any Scot at the moment as referendum day looms.  Part of me regrets not being physically present to cast my vote (we're voting by proxy instead), but another part of me is glad to be out of the heat and bluster of the debate, instead enjoying the slower pace of life dictated by a crossing family of warthog.