Exploring Nambiti
A comparably short drive of just 2.5 hours outside of Durban, and just grazing past Ladysmith, the Nambiti Game Reserve is a Malaria-free zone with an abundance of game and a richly diverse range of landscapes to explore. Other than the Big Five, over 40 other species of game including cheetah, giraffe, hippo, hyena, impala, eland and zebra make the reserve their home. There’s an incredible biodiversity; including savannah, thornveld, riverine bush, acacia trees and extensive grasslands that mirror the plains of central Africa.
Umzolozolo Game Lodge is just past the Ladysmith border entrance and once you’ve parked your vehicle in the reserved bays, a friendly ranger in an open game drive vehicle will be waiting to collect you and your luggage and transfer you to the lodge.
The friendly hospitality experienced from the moment you alight the vehicle is as welcoming as the lodge itself.
PEER OVER THE EDGE OF THE POOL AND WATCH THE HIPPOS AND GIRAFFES MEANDER PAST
It’s a privately owned, intimate lodge with a decor of tactile wood patinas and smokey thatch that seamlessly ties in with the reserve surrounds. There are 5 luxurious free-standing units, with the presidential and honeymoon suites boasting private jacuzzis and other indulgent touches. The raised position of the lodge allows for a sweeping vantage point of the reserve, especially outside on the deck. The infinity pool cuts through a compelling horizon of towering, tumbling clouds meeting with the rolling hills below. If you peer down to the river, you can spot all the game that meanders past for a drink.
Game drives at dawn and dusk give you the opportunity to engage and observe the surrounding terrain, with the occasional G&T or bush coffee stop.
A typical day involves heading out for the morning drive at about 5:30am in summer or 6:30 in winter, stopping mid-way for a snack and coffee break. It’s back by around 10am for a hearty breakfast and relaxing until lunch. A light buffet is served out on the deck and in the late afternoon it’s back into the Land Rover for the evening drive, with a sundowner and snack break, followed by dinner on return.
DINE BENEATH THE AFRICAN SKY
It is customary to congregate to savour the sounds of the bush and the twinkling stars as night closes in. This tradition is observed at Umzolozolo in an enclosed boma where a blazing log fire creates an opportunity to relax and recall the events of the day enveloped in the unique sounds and smells of Africa – majestic roar of a lion calling his pride, the cough of a leopard or the whoop of a hyena proclaiming a nearby kill.
