Safari Hotels Inspection trip to KwaZulu Natal
South Africa Travel
Southern Destinations encourages its staff to travel through Africa and to visit the different hotels and safari lodges that are featured on the website and that we recommend to our clients. That way, you as the traveler, know that a hotel recommended by Southern Destinations has been inspected by us and offers good service and value for money.
I went on a trip to KwaZulu Natal recently and had a good look around. What I found was a piece of South Africa that is unspoilt and charming, people that are friendly and excited to chat to tourists and sea that is warm and enticing.
I arrived at Durban Airport, rented a car from Budget and headed into Durban itself. I was looking for some sun and beach, so I was booked into the Elangeni Hotel on the waterfront. My room was on the 11 floor and the views from my room magnificent. Being a Holiday Inn, the hotel is affordable and friendly and appeals to families, budget travelers and people wanting to be close to the sea. The Elangeni has 2 pools, a gym and 3 restaurants. You cross a small road and you are right on a long wide beach with palm trees and life guards.
I headed out of Durban to the game areas at Hluhluwe Game Reserve. I visited Hluhluwe River Lodge, a small private lodge situated on the river. Spacious chalets are dotted around a large garden and cater for honeymooners in a secluded suite and families in large family rooms. Activities are the name of the game here and you can enjoy hiking, mountain biking, quad biking, and game drives. This lodge is a fantastic choice for honeymooners because of the private suite (you can even take your meals there!), but also for people wanting a great game experience and lots of activities. Families will love it because there is lots of space for the children to play.
Phinda Game Reserve is another reserve I saw on the way. The reserve has 4 lodges and 2 exclusive use villas. I saw Phinda Rock Lodge and Phinda Mountain Lodge both of which are set deep into the bush with panoramic views of the reserve. Rock Lodge is small, with only 6 rooms, but each room has a private veranda with a plunge pool. Mountain Lodge is a bigger lodge and suits groups of friends or families that need lots of space and great entertainment areas. Phinda is known for its superb rangers and service and offers loads of activities. If you are an active sort of person on a high budget, then Phinda is the best choice for you.
The warm seas of the northern KZN coast beckoned so I stayed at Thonga Beach Lodge and Rocktail Bay to get a feel for the area. This is real Africa in my mind and I felt like I was in paradise.
Thonga Beach Lodge is located right on the beach. The lodge is new and modern and really romantic. The chalets are tucked away in the trees, some more private than others, and have lovely balconies. Inside there is a huge welcoming bed and an open plan bathroom. Perfect for honeymooners! The lodge offers a beauty therapist, diving, snorkeling, drives to wonderful spots in the area, picnics and canoeing.
Rocktail Bay is a more established lodge, one of the first in the area in fact. It is set back slightly from the beach, in the forest, to avoid the harsh sunlight and summer heat. Rooms are a-frame and slightly old fashioned, but it works very well because you feel like you are in a secret cottage, alone in the woods. Rooms are decorated in beachy colours and have an inside and outside shower. The lodges offers diving, snorkeling, exploration drives, horse riding and walking. During the summer months both of these two lodges are integrally involved in the ongoing loggerhead and leatherback turtle research that has been going on since the 1960s. Guests are able to accompany the resident turtle expert on research drives at low tide at night helping to monitor the turtles’ nesting numbers and their behaviour.
After a week of living the highlife it was time for me to make tracks back to Durban for my flight back to Cape Town. I can’t wait to get my toes back into that north coast sand again!
