HLUHLUWE’S Hilltop Camp is just so stylishly ‘out of Africa’. Somehow, its architecture and design succeed in underlining Hluhluwe’s unique sense of place, without resorting to cliches. It is African without being too obviously so.
Like so many of our national and provincial game reserve rest camps, this beautifully designed and situated camp also blends in so perfectly with its natural surrounds. Aloes, leafy shrubs, magnificent trees and pretty ground covers, all native to the area, have been artfully employed in the rock gardens and flower beds that complement the attractive buildings so well. I hope the green-fingered artists who create and maintain these living works of art realise how much they are appreciated.
The panoramic views alone would make Hilltop special. From the wide and shady verandah adjoining the public areas, it feels like we can see forever. We don’t linger too long, though. A cold wind is making its presence felt and we are weary after our long and busy day. After booking in at reception we drive along a shady lane to the neat rondavel that will be our home for the next three nights.
Our temporary home has everything we need and we have a well-equipped kitchen and an attractively designed, spotlessly clean ablution block at our disposal. An owl hoots as we switch off the lights and, far away, a hyena calls.
We linger over our early morning coffee and rusks. The rest camp is so peaceful, such a green and pleasant place, and the surrounding trees attract plenty of interesting birds. Still, there is so much to see. By 8am, we are back on the road.
Today we want to take a look at the area at the top of the park, between the camp and Memorial Gate, its main entrance. We meet up with quite a few commercial, open-sided game-viewing vehicle as we follow the main road towards the gate. They remind us that conservation can be a great generator of wealth.
Many private lodges and hotels have sprung up around the park and the many other conserved areas in the region, bringing in tourist dollars and euros and creating much-needed employment. As a world-renown tourist attraction Hluhluwe-iMfolozi has been one of the main catalyst for the healthy tourism industry that has developed there.
This section of the park is beautiful, with open vistas of grass-covered mountains, softened by the early morning light. Soon we start seeing quite a bit of general game including a small herd of buffalo, a couple of rhino and a herd of lovely nyala – such striking antelope. We drive slowly, enjoying the scenery and stopping at the viewsites to admire the views.
It is hard to believe it is still winter as so many lovely trees are starting to flower. The dombeyas, with their mass of fluffy white blossom, are particularly eye-catching. Here and there are groves of graceful tamboti, with their dark, textured trunks and their hallmark little red hearts sprinkled amongst the bright green of their spring foliage.
After a while we turn off the tarred main road onto the upper Magangeni road, an elevated gravel route through a particularly beautiful section of the park. When we reach the Memorial Gate after our interesting detour, we are welcomed by a pair of rhino grazing along the fence. They look so conspicuous and vulnerable to poaching there, the huge horns silhouetted against the sunshine, but it is lovely to have such a close-up view of these wonderful creatures. By now we are more than ready for a coffee break in the shady, bird-filled picnic site next to the gate.
We head back along the tar for a short distance then turn off onto the gravel road that takes us to the picnic site overlooking the Hluhluwe River. It is one of the prettiest spots in the park and we enjoy an extended brunch and birding break there. It is just filled with birds. Although it does not appear to have a name we christen it Fisheagle Picnic Site in honour of the noble birds whose plaintive cries alert us to their presence while we eat breakfast. A lyrical duet performed by a pair of fisheagles must be one of the most evocative of all Africa’s songs.
Our route back to camp follows the river through denser vegetation. We see more rhino, a couple of elephant, nyala, bushbuck and a small herd of kudu, but it is the lovely riverine scenery that impresses us the most. It is mid-afternoon by the time we return to camp.
A little bushbuck comes up to our hut to say hello and there are a couple of samango monkeys in the bushy area behind the rondavels. Similar to the more common vervets these shy forest dwellers are darker and more heavily built than their cousins and have the cutest hairy faces. A little flock of crested guinea fowl scuttles through camp. They are so much prettier than their helmeted counterparts. We also see some interesting birds when we try out the short forest walk around the perimeter of the lovely camp.
We end a wonderful day in the bush with a sundowner at the viewsite just outside camp. Looking down we can see a windy gravel road that meanders through lush riverine vegetation, crossing a watercourse at two interesting-looking drifts. It is one of the routes we plan to explore the next day. From up here it looks so inviting, but for now we are content to watch the sun set behind the hills, on another perfect day in Africa.
