Ithala Game Reserve is situated in 290 km² of rugged, mountainous thornveld, about 400 km north of Durban, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is one of the youngest game parks in South Africa. The altitude varies from 400 m along the Phongolo River to 1,450 m along the Ngotshe Mountain escarpment.
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Not a very big game reserve, but has a good amount of game to see. Maps are charged extra. Has a petrol pump a few metres outside the main exit boom that's acceptably priced. Went as day visitors, ended up doing only 2 branches (of 3 I can remember), 1 branch having 2 spectacular look out points where you get out of your car and walk a short path (1 rocky on clifside, 1 walkway with balusters). Had some baboons making a noise at the first spot that gave as an unsettling fright, so be careful as there are signs warning of attacks. We did the 4x4 route with a Ford Figo/Fusion. It was able to handle the rises and declines, but a lot of loose rocks, big branches (from elephants) and a destroyed tar road, with a lot of sand ingress- so keep in mind. Had an okay picnic spot at the end of the 4x4 route with high canopy trees and a body of water right next to the tables, unfortunately the view was almost entirely blocked by vegetation. The picnic spot has lavatories but they weren't very clean. Also had an open veld with braai facilities at one of the picnic spots, but there was a small amount of litter lying around in the big open grassed area. This place is well worth a visit. Not the very best of places, but has some views and sights making it entirely...
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Ithala is an unexplored gem in northern KZN. We were 3 friends who visited (myself and a couple). We stayed at Thalu Bush Lodge and stayed from Friday until Sunday. We entered from Vryheid via Louwsburg. The road about 20km from Louwsburg is in a terrible state leading up to the park, but there is enough tar for you to dodge the potholes and make it safely to friendly staff at Ithala GR.
We did the Ntshamanzi 4x4 Track with a Suzuki Jimny - highly recommended! We also did the Bush Buck Trail (about 5km there and back) is also highly recommended. The views and flora were breathtaking.
Thalu Bush Campe was special - it does have electricity depsite what the websites all say. It is remote, and we battled to get signal if any at all. The unit is completely livable and you get a real sense of being in the bush. The unit does however need some TLC like the rest of Ithala GR and other Ezemvelo Parks.
All in all, a very special stay and highly recommended. The curio shop, restaurant, facilities, general maintenance needs some help but it was encouraging to see that some units are being refurbished, in addition...
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We stayed only one night in a self catering chalet as a stop-over. We arrived early so we had the afternoon to discover the park. We wanted to do this on one of the hiking trails, but they were all packed with huge spiders (I think the paths haven’t been used for a while…) so we went on a self-drive. We had some great sightings of giraffe, zebra, baboons, warthog and wildebeest. The park has great nature and beautiful backdrops of the mountains. The self catering chalet in Ntshondwe was fine for us for 1 night, but if you want to stay longer you might experience that the camp and the chalets are a bit outdated and can use some maintenance. I think also because of Covid they haven’t been able to do this for some time. All in all a comfortable stop-over for not that much money with nice...
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