Lake Eland, February, 2022
Report: Brian Henwood
I remember my grandmother once saying, ‘a change is as good as a holiday’. So hiking in the Lake Eland Game Reserve was going to be a new experience for the hiking club, though the reserve had been established some 20 years ago.
This popular venue, located about 25 km inland from Port Shepstone at the top end of the Oribi Gorge, was chosen for a hiking weekend. Whilst the reserve has extensive camping and chalet accommodation, it is frequented by numerous day visitors, the majority of which are young families enjoying the abundance of wildlife. The predominant species being giraffe, eland, zebra, blue wildebeest, duiker, bushbuck, impala, springbok and blesbok.
The game reserve does not appear to be frequented by too many hikers but it is quite popular amongst the mountain bike fraternity as there is the option of a 40km, 24km or 6km bike trail. These trails, which are shared with the hikers, take you along the edge of the Oribi Gorge cliffs, another down to Lake Eland and the other through grassland and indigenous forest where sightings of wildlife are common.
On Friday afternoon our group of early arrivals parked at the zipline office and clambered down to the caves in the cliffs adjoining the uMzimkulwana river. Then walked along the top of the cliffs, to where we cautiously crossed the suspension bridge high above one of the tributaries. We returned to the campsite to join the late arrivals for a braai and refreshments
By Saturday morning our group had swelled to 19. After an early start from the camp site we headed out in light misty conditions along the scenic route, starting with views of the large lake down in the distance, followed by the majestic cliffs of Oribi Gorge. The 15km hike took us to the suspension bridge, where we again tested our fear of heights. We returned along the blue route mountain bike trail through grassy plains teeming with wildebeest, blesbok, impala and zebra. But our attention was drawn to the family of four adult and two infant giraffes. Their normal gracious body movements looking somewhat awkward due to the absence of tall trees in the reserve.
Our communal braai that evening was kindly hosted by Ed and Sharon Lennon at their chalet, where we were able to take shelter from the intermittent rain. We planned to drive to the lake in the morning and do a 6km hike around its perimeter. However an early downpour followed by a light drizzle caused the hike to be cancelled, and the campers eagerly waited for the opportunity to pack up their camping equipment.
Some of the group visited the Leopard Rock restaurant located on the edge of the cliffs some 8km down the road. The light breakfast and coffee signalled the end of a most enjoyable weekend with the Midlands Hiking Club. We endorse Lake Eland Game Reserve as a super holiday destination.
