Beyond
the Big 5
• Birding Guides
• Bird lists
Contact:
Tel: 035 753 5644 |
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Birding
Zulu Culture
Game viewing
Customised
tours &
hidden gems with
registered tour guide
Des Shuttleworth
035 474 1855
072 711 4413
deseshowe@mweb.co.za
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At Eshowe Mall
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Coffee
Shop
Light
meals
Catering
035
474 5660
084 596 4609
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HENRY
BIRD
Registered
Tour Guide |
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• Battlefields
• Shaka Country
• Martyr's Cross
•
KwaMondi
•
Museum Village |
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ADAMS'
OUTPOST
at the Museum
Village
• Tea
Garden
• Restaurant
• Private Functions
• Tour Groups
•
School Groups
Contact:
Terry MacDonald
Tel:
035-474-1787
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"We
cover the widest range of
off-the-beaten-track tours
in Zululand"
- Graham Chennels
The
George Hotel,
Main St, Eshowe
035
474 4919
info@eshowe.com
www.eshowe.com
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Noba
Restaurant & Bar
cnr
of Kangela and
M. Buthelezi Rds
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 •
Urban Zulu Cuisine
•
Open 7 days a week
•
From Lunch till Late
Tel:
072 130 1617
072 621 8346
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Of
the many beautiful forests of Zululand,
Dlinza - around which Eshowe has grown -
is probably the most accessible and is currently
visited by birdwatchers from all over the
world hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare
bird species such as the Spotted Ground
Thrush or Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon.
Early morning is the best time to visit
when the forest echoes with the calls of
Trumpeter Hornbills, Purple-crested Turacos
and Narina Trogons.
As the day warms up the distinct chorus
of the cicada beetles reverberates through
the forest.
An alternative to walking the forest trails,
is to walk (or drive) the Royal Drive, a
gravel road through the centre of the forest
where visitors can still have a good chance
of glimpsing a secretive blue duiker or
bushbuck.
Numerous tree markers along the trails provide
interesting information along the trails
and describe Zulu medicinal uses of the
various trees.
Throughout the year, but especially in autumn,
the butterflies are most impressive. As
many as 70 species - including the Gaudy
Commodore, Mocker Swallowtail and the Mother
of Pearl - have been recorded in the 250-hectare
forest.
Hours: 07h00-17h00. |
A Strangler Fig tree plays
host to ferns and orchids.
A Wild Plum tree is one of
the giant trees on the trail. |
OPEN
DAILY
(closed Christmas Day)
HOURS:
SUMMER
(1 Sept - 30 April)
06h00
-17h00
WINTER
(1 May - 31 August)
07h00
-17h00
ENTRANCE
FEE:
(Includes trained guide)
Adults: R50
Children 5-18 years: R5
Children u/5: Free
CONTACT
DETAILS:
Tel: 035 474 4029
email:
boardwalk@birdlife.org.za |
The
Impunzi Trail (1,3kms) is an
easy 30 minute round trip from the Visitor
Centre and takes you past majestic Fluted
Milkwoods, Giant Ironwoods and Wild Plum
trees. Trees are clearly labelled and
described on the trails.
The Unkonka Trail (1,8kms)
reaches deeper into the forest and is
an easy 45 minute walk joining the Impunzi
Trail near its end. Along the way you
will cross the source of the Mpushini
river, where you may see spoor of the
Blue Duiker. Look out for blooming Clivia
miniata flowers during Spring.
Bishop's Seat is a beautiful
clearing in the forest where one of the
early Bishops of Eshowe, Bishop W M Carter,
would come to ponder his next sermon.
It is now used as a venue for outdoor
functions as well as an amphitheatre for
the 'The Forest Noël' which the people
of Eshowe present every three years.
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The
125-metre Aerial Boardwalk
is wheelchair friendly up to the final
observation tower which is 20m high.
There is a wealth of information -
from birds to butterflies - on display
in the Visitor Centre which
will enrich your visit to this beautiful
forest. There is also a refreshment
kiosk, wheelchair-friendly toilet
facilities and several picnic sites
on the fringe of the forest near the
car park. Trained guides are available
at the Centre and will accompany visitors
along the boardwalk.
Royal Drive is a
picturesque drive on a gravel road
through the forest and was specially
cleared for the British Royal Family's
visit to Eshowe in 1947. |
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The
Spotted Ground Thrush (left) and the Purple-Crested
Turaco (Loerie) are two of the specials
at Dlinza Forest.
All birding photography courtesy of
Hugh Chittenden |
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'idlinza'
- a grave
'ukudlinza' -
to meditate or ponder
'ntumeni'
-
the place of bitter apples
'dabulamanzi'
-
parting the water
'upiti'
-
a duiker
'ukhozi' -
eagle
'unkonka' -
male bushbuck
'impunzi'
-
female bushbuck |
About
15 kms past Dlinza Forest on the Ntumeni
road is the turn-off to the Ntumeni
Nature Reserve, which is often overlooked
by visitors to Dlinza. Sadly, because
where Dlinza can be sombre - Zulu legends
always connect it with burials and meditation
- Ntumeni is enchanting and historically
it has a happy association with the
dashing younger brother of King Cetshwayo,
Prince Dabulamanzi, who had his Royal
homestead near the forest.
The 750-hectare Reserve is the forest
of one's childhood fantasies. It has
a particularly high and impressive canopy
provided by trees such as the Giant
umzimbeet, the African Wild Plum and
Flatcrowns. It is filled with fern-covered
gorges and waterfalls and the understorey
is open and uncrowded making it easy
to spot the gems of the forest which
are its cycads and colonies of clivia.
It was here that the celebrated yellow
clivia (Clivia miniata var. citrina)
was discovered in the 1880s and grown
by the Resident Commissioner Sir Melmoth
Osborne in his garden in Eshowe.
There are no facilities other than a
clearing in the forest with two picnic
tables and two trails which start at
the picnic site.
The uPiti Trail is
a circular route and takes about two
hours to walk.
The uKhozi Trail takes
about four hours and covers some strenuous
terrain through a gorge. The halfway
point is at a spectacular waterfall
on the Ngoje stream. Rare Longtailed
Wagtails are often observed along the
stream.
Birding can be very rewarding and several
species - such as the Yellow streaked
green bulbul, brown scrub robin, Gorgeous
Bush shrike, Bald Ibis and the African
finfoot - are found in this forest but
not in the nearby Dlinza Forest.
As with Dlinza, both the Blue Duiker
and the bushbuck occur in the forest.
The grasslands in the reserve are home
to a herd of zebra. |
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Above,
left: The celebrated yellow clivia (Clivia
miniata var. citrina)was first identified
in Ntumeni Nature Reserve in the 1880's.
Above, right: One of the specials in the
Ntumeni area is the beautiful half-collared
Kingfisher. Guides organised by the Zululand
Birding route are highly recommended for
this forest.
Photo: Hugh Chittenden.
Right: The Ngoje waterfall marks the halfway
resting place on the strenuous Ukhozi Trail.
Rare Longtailed Wagtails are often sited
along the stream. |
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