We have started bird hunting now at Harloo Safaris. The best time for bird hunting is April and the area we visit is 2 hours away from Johannesburg airport.
We usually do this a day or two prior to your departure date from the airport i.e. at the end of the safari. It makes the travel to the airport shorter and exciting.
We suggest a little town called Ponta do Ouro just North of the border with Kwazulu-Natal in Maputaland. It has a real Mozambique vibe and you'll get a good idea what Moz is all about. It's a small place.
We can do it two ways:
Leave Harloo camp at 7am - It takes about 2 to 3 hours to get there. So we leave early morning and come back to camp in one day. Approx 130 miles one way.
The second way to do it is to sleep over one or two nights. Facilities are great and accommodation is right on the beach pending availability.
It's touristy and we need to book ASAP as it's always full like Yellowstone.
A trip to Kruger Park via Swaziland is very nice. It is probably one of the most impressive game parks in the world and is really huge.
Zulu Dancing, Curios and Zulu Culture Dumazulu and wild “cats” centre (cheetah, cerval etc):
The place is called "Dumazulu" which entails an ethnic zulu village where they explain all about how the Zulu’s lived, their traditions and their culture. The program starts at 11am and ends with a drumming and rhythmic zulu dancing show that makes your hair stand upright! There is also a nice curio shop. Pending the time, we then head for a little village on the Indian ocean called St Lucia for lunch. You can then get the opportunity to dip your toes in the Indian Ocean or even take a swim! There are nice shops to spend some time in.
We then head back to a “Emdoneni rehabilitation wild cat project” right next to the Zulu Village for a tour on wild cats. They teach you about the different wild cat’s habits, characteristics etc eg Cheetah, Cerval, Caracal etc. You experience how they get fed and there is even a chance that you may interact with some of the cats and take pictures with them. Especially the Cheetah! This is a very enjoyable outing.
We leave camp at around 830 am, have lunch there and come back to camp at around 6 pm. About 1 hour or so to drive there, and St Lucia another 30 minutes on. Distance approx 80 miles one way, plus some 40 miles to St Lucia. Day trip. Nice curios are available at both places.
Phinda big 5 luxury reserve (instead of Kruger)
If you do the Phinda big 5 luxury 5 star reserve which is 1 hour from Harloo, it will be a personal luxury experience with a 99% chance of seeing the big 5. Most tourists visiting Africa with limited time, visit these luxury reserves in order to see the Big 5 in a short amount of time. It will cost approx $400 to $700 ppp night all incl. It's rather expensive. If you make this choice I will work hard to get a better rate as I have friends there. I think it's worth the experience. 2 nights will be enough. You can even stay only one night.
Much less travelling than Kruger and it's exclusive. You will be dropped off by us, they will take care of you so you do it by yourself. Phinda is also on the way to Mozambique, so it can be combined. We pick you up at Phinda after your visit and drive to Moz from there. Distance approx 70 miles there, but we need to fetch you too.
Mfolozi, Hluhluwe or Ithala Game Parks
These are Game Parks in our area similar to your National Parks. They are nice, and sometimes if you are lucky good game can be spotted especially elephant, rhino and buff. Cats are a bit scarce. They are not as big as Kruger and not as exclusive as Phinda. Leave Harloo at 6 am, then drive there through Zululand which is nice and get a good idea of Africa. When there basically do a game drive in the area, have lunch and leave by approx 5 pm. Very nice outing. 1½ hour drive from Harloo. We leave early morning and come back to camp. There are also curios or African hand made stuff to buy along the way. Distance approx 100 miles one way. This trip can be combined with a Zulu Dance day trip as it's on the way.
Sundowner trip on the Lake Jozini:
An afternoon sundowner trip on the boat is a must. Its always great to experience the game, birds, hippo, crocs etc from the boat. It's ajacent to Harloo so we usually do it for an afternoon. Cost $150 for a boat that seats four people.