Mthembu Lodge

Mthembu Lodge is located on the lower embankment of the White iMfolozi River allowing safari-goers to get up close and personal with the bush. On your private deck, you can witness different bird species fluttering through the thickets just a few feet from you. Due to the river, you can also spot larger animals coming by to fulfil their thirst.

Each hand-built private villa has been perfectly created by members of the Mthembu Clan. From the floors and all the tiny details, these villas are just perfection. The building of Mthembu Lodge was the first phase of skills upliftment uMfolozi Big Five brought to the community. Mthembu Lodge is one of two lodges in the uMfolozi Wilderness, the other being, Biyela Lodge.

As you walk into the luxury villa you are immediately met with stunning décor that perfectly emulates the uMfolozi Wilderness. With floor to ceiling glass doors, you can enjoy fantastic views. Each villa is spacious featuring a lounge, bathroom, bedroom and expansive private decks.

Mthembu Lodge is intimate with only 7 private villas that sleep two, and 2 x two-bedroom family villas that sleep up to two adults and 3 children sharing.

About Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park

Joining the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, uMfolozi Big Five Reserve is a 6,000ha private concession that has adjoined 96,000ha great park which is the oldest in Africa, and second oldest in the world.

The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is the oldest proclaimed protected Game Reserve area in South Africa, dating back to 1895. It is in these valleys where King Shaka of the Zulus, unbeknown to the world, pioneered a culture of conservation long before the concept was coined by European settlers. It is here, amidst these timeless, undulating hills, where visitors will be able to walk in the footsteps of giants, past and present.

The rolling hills and verdant valleys of Zululand were formed millennia ago by glaciers on the southern-most polar tip of Gondwanaland and the subsequent drifting apart of the continents. The Umfolozi Big Five Reserve experience will bring guests deep into these valleys. Wherever they will step, the spirits of giants’ swirl.

Where the White and Black IMfolozi Rivers meet, crocodiles and hippo rule the waters and the roar of lions accents the wilderness night. Some species, like the pre-historic Rhino, are large by reputation; others are large in numbers. One of the most impressive sights remain the sizeable herds of buffalo on the move. Then there are those that tower above the rest, moving earth and wind by their sheer proportion to all else around them.

Guests will traverse the wilderness area on open safari game vehicles, in small groups of no more than six under the careful guidance of experienced rangers and trackers, or on foot. The Umfolozi Big Five Reserve wildlife experience should have been named the Big Ninety-One given that, in addition to the famous and fabulous big five, the reserve is also home to a further 86 special species.