Ndumo Game Reserve is one of the lesser-visited reserves of northern KwaZulu-Natal, and is nicely out of the way of the madding crowds. Its bird list, however, throngs with more than 400 species, including sooty falcon, Neergaard's sunbird and pygmy goose.
The meandering Pongola River flows through Ndumo Game Reserve to its confluence with the Usuthu, which forms the northern border of the park.
The reserve has beautiful pans, stands of yellow-green fever trees, acacia savanna, sand forest and extensive wetlands and reed beds The amazing variety of habitat has allowed for an astonishing variety of bird life: with a count of around 430 it has the highest species tally in the country. It's like a little Okavango, with remarkably similar species but excluding some Central African migrant species.
Did you know? The maligned fever tree "Acacia Xanthophloea" got its name from early European explorers who incorrectly thought it to be the cause of malaria.
By David Bristow
In northern Maputaland, an extraordinary game reserve lies tucked into the northeast corner of KwaZulu-Natal, snug against Swaziland and Moz...
At Ndumo Game Reserve you can choose from a range of accommodation options from staying in a chalet, a tent or caravan in the shaded camping...