Ithala Game Reserve
KwaZulu-Natal

The Ithala Game Reserve's exquisite natural beauty is unforgettable. From the ridge of the Ngotshe Mountains one looks onto the wide and softly undulating savannah landscape a thousand metres below, interspersed with high plateaus and deeply carved river beds. Several rivers meander through the area and flow into the Phongolo which is the northern border of the 30,000 hectare nature reserve.

To Ithala's game stock belong elephants, white and black rhinos, buffalos, zebras, giraffes, warthogs and large herds of antelopes, mainly wildebees, eland, impala and the rare tsessebe. The fencing is not safe enough for the keeping of lions in the park. To make up for the lack of predators, the park management culls antelopes in certain intervals and lets the carcasses lie in the veld. By this "predator simulation" the population of carrion eaters - - mainly hyaenas, white-back vultures, lappit-faced vultures and cape vultures - could be enlarged significantly.