Louwsburg, Zululand

In the far northern reaches of KwaZulu Natal, Louwsburg is a little village on the main road to Pongola, about 70 kilometres east of Vryheid and roughly 400 kilometres north of Durban. Essentially this is a rural town supporting the local cattle and maize farming community. Louwsburg has a Zulu name, Ngotshe, which means “cave”, although just where the cave is to which the name alludes, is anyone’s guess. Benedictines began doing pastoral work around Louwsburg in 1926 and were offered a property in Louwsburg with the proviso that they would not start a school for black children. The Benedictines thus bought a property outside Louwsburg, which subsequently became a mission station, managing only to keep its head above water before closing in 1976.

The main reason for a visit to Louwsburg is its position en route to the Ithala Game Reserve as well as a number of private game reserves in the vicinity. This part of the world is particularly beautiful - rolling hills covered in mountainous thornveld for which the province is so famous, provide an impressive backdrop for game viewing, bush trails, bird watching and bush trails.

Itala Game Reserve is situated immediately north-west of Louwsburg, overlooking the Pongola River Valley. The reserve lies across various terrains, including lowveld, densely vegetated river valleys and high-lying grassland plateaus, cliff faces and ridges, which means that there is an incredible diversity to your game viewing. Six rivers, all tributaries of the Pongola, run through the reserve, and all of the big game species, other than lion, have been re-introduced into the area.