Your essential online guide to Zululand
Dlinza Forest Aerial Boardwalk
Your Essential Guide to the Zululand Experience
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035 474 5660
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email:
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Contact:
Terry MacDonald

Tel: 035-474-1787



"We cover the widest range of
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The George Hotel,
Main St, Eshowe

035 474 4919
info@eshowe.com
www.eshowe.com


Noba
Restaurant & Bar
cnr of Kangela and
M. Buthelezi Rds

• Urban Zulu Cuisine
• Open 7 days a week
• From Lunch till Late
Tel:
072 130 1617
072 621 8346

Meet the locals!

DLINZA  NATURE  RESERVE
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.
Ficus thonningii
A Strangler Fig tree plays host to ferns and orchids.
A giant Harpephyllum caffrum
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

HIKING TRAILS

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.

Map of Dlinza Nature Reserve

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.

Spotted Ground ThrushPurple Crested Turaco
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
NTUMENI  NATURE  RESERVE

'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.
Yellow cliviaHalf-collared Kingfisher
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.
Ngoje waterfall
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