Tembe National Elephant Park |
KwaZulu Natal National Parks and Reserves: The largest African elephants in the
world, along with rhino, buffalo, leopard, hippo and antelope species in a
300km² park on the South Africa / Mozambique border. Excellent birding opportunities and
scuba diving on the nearby Tongoland reefs.
Situated in Maputaland, the north-eastern region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, adjoining
the Mozambique border, Tembe is home to the province's biggest African elephant herd and
its only indigenous elephants. Tembe's African elephants used to be South Africa's last
remaining free-ranging herd, at one time moving seasonally between Mozambique and
Maputaland. In recent years they have sought refuge in the dense sand forests of Tembe to
escape the depredations of border conflicts and landmines, and their continuous harassment
by ivory poachers.
The magnificent African elephants, more than 140 in number, from massive fully grown
adults to juveniles, are Tembe's main attraction and make for spectacular viewing. The
larger adults are physically the biggest in South Africa and signs of their presence are
everywhere, clearly evident through the broken branches and foliage left behind from their
voracious foraging. Tembe's mosaic of sand forest, woodland, grassland, and swampland,
comprises an ideal habitat for highly visible elephant spotting, enabling them to be
observed at close-quarters from game-drive vehicles or from the discreetly-located hides
which overlook their watering holes.
At 300 km² in extent, Tembe Elephant Park is the third largest game reserve in KwaZulu
Natal, home not only to the unique African elephant population but to a profusion of wildlife including
the Big Five. Black and white rhino (more than 65 in total), buffalo, leopard, hippo,
serval, eland, zebra, giraffe, hyena, jackal, wildebeest, nyala, kudu, water buck, reed
buck, red duiker, warthog, and other small mammals thrive in abundance.
Tembe is also home to the rare and elusive suni antelope, one of the smallest and shyest
species of buck in southern Africa, and the patient game-viewer is often rewarded with a
sighting. Tembe is a bird-watching paradise, with more than 340 species recorded in the
park - including the rare Rudd's apalis, the rufous-bellied night heron, the Natal
nightjar and the Woodward's batis. This is an Africa that tourists seldom see, where an
abundance of African elephants, game and rare species live in an environment unchanged by
time.
» KwaZulu Natal ZULULAND & ELEPHANT COAST
Accommodation: |
