October 31, 2008 - Friday - St. Lucia to Durban

Our wakeup call is at 4:45am this morning, and we depart the Protea Hotel in St. Lucia by 5:15am for our safari to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve.  The box breakfast the hotel prepares for us is nothing short of dreadful.  While we were on safari, I drank the juice and ate the fruit, but threw the rest of the box breakfast away in favor of granola bars I always bring with me when traveling.

This game reserve is the oldest proclaimed park in South Africa (1895), and is known for its rich wildlife.  It is the only park in KwaZulu Natal where all of the big five occur. This is the only time I see Black Rhinoceros (leaf browsers, pointed mouths, much smaller that the White). I manage to shoot some video of the Black Rhino despite them being so far away.  We also see some White Rhinoceros (grass feeders, square mouth, twice as big as the Black), as well as Elephant, Lions, Zebras, Kudu and Giraffes.

The safari ends around 9am - my last safari on this trip.  We board our bus, and many of us sleep as we drive to Durban.

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