Imfolozi The Short Wilderness Trail : 2 nights – 3 Days
Imfolozi The Short Wilderness Trail: 2 nights – 3 Days
Price R2670 PP
General Information
Weekend Short Wilderness trails are run from 14 February to 10 December and depart on Fridays and Sundays. They are 2 nights and 3 days in duration.
This trail is fully catered, and all food is transported into the wilderness trails camp on donkeys, but trailists are expected to carry a daypack containing their personal affects, water and lunch. Personal items will, however, be transported back from the wilderness on the donkeys at the end of the trail.
Guests who overnight at Mpila Resort the night before the trail, may organize to have the bulk of their personal belongings carried into the wilderness camp in “donkey bags”, (available from Mpila Resort reception) which are then carried to the wilderness camp by the donkeys. These bags must be dropped off at Mpila Resort reception by 16:00 the day before the trail. (Please note if you will be staying overnight outside the Park that the gate times are 06:00 to 18:00). Gate times are strictly enforced.
Trailists are required to book in at Mpila Resort by 11:00 as the trail begins at 12:00 on the first day. Trailists will be met by the trails staff and given a trails briefing. After their bags have been packed, trailists walk the approximate seven kilometres to the wilderness camp where they will spend the following two nights. These camps offer dome tents with two mattresses in each. The camp has no ablution facilities apart from the traditional shower bucket of warm water, hung in a tree. A spade, toilet paper and matches serve as a toilet.
Trailists walk back to Mndindini Base Camp on the third day, carrying only their personal affects and snack. The trail ends at 10:30.
The distance walked on the first day is approximately seven kilometres. The average distance covered on the second and third days can be up to 15 km, but is flexible depending on conditions. Trailists carry all their personal equipment on the first day. On the second and third days they carry only a light pack containing their picnic lunches and water bottles.
This trail is by no means an endurance test, but a fair level of fitness will ensure greater enjoyment.
Arrival and Registration
Check in at Mpila Resort reception before 11:00. Please note that your group needs to reach their wilderness camp before dark, and therefore needs to leave Mpila in good time to pack personal gear properly and then walk to the overnight camp. The Trails Officer and Field Guide will meet trailists at 11:45 on the first day of the trail at the Mpila Resort reception. It is essential for trailists to be punctual as once the group leaves the Mdindini Trails Base Camp for their wilderness camp any latecomers will not be accommodated. It is thus essential to make adequate provision for traveling time between your point of departure and Mpila Resort. The driving time between Johannesburg and Mpila Resort is approximately seven hours. Durban to Mpila is approximately four hours
Equipment Provided by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
• All food, tea, coffee, cold drinks • Water bottles
• All bedding
• Towel
• All daypacks
• First Aid kit
Recommended Items to Be Brought by Each Trailist
• 3 dull-coloured shirts/blouses • 3 changes of underwear
• 3 pairs shorts or the equivalent • 1 pair of jeans
• 1 tracksuit
• 1 hat
• 1 pair of pyjamas (optional)
• 1 light raincoat
• 1 swimming costume (optional)
• 1 warm bush jacket or jersey
• 1 pair of comfortable boots or the equivalent
• 1 pair of sandals or the equivalent (for around the camp) • Torch with spare batteries
• Sun protection cream
• Toiletries, including biodegradable soap, Insect repellant • Binoculars, camera and bird identification book (optional)
Bayticol (from your pharmacy) is recommended, as ticks can be a problem at certain times of the year. Remember that Zululand winters are cold, with temperatures dropping significantly at night, whilst the summer temperatures can rise significantly by midday.
Catering
The trail is fully catered and trailists will be provided with three meals per day, starting with supper on the day of arrival and concluding with lunch on the day of departure. Meals are tasty, simple but nutritious and quantities provided should satisfy most appetites. The menus have been developed with input from previous trailists, and we welcome any comments.
If you are a vegetarian or have other special dietary requirements, please notify the Trails Consultant when making you booking and this information will be sent to the Trails Manager who will appropriate make arrangements, where possible. People with any special requirements may of course bring their own food and every assistance will be given to prepare it. Regrettably, there can be no reduction in the cost of the trail.
Alcoholic Drinks
A little alcohol may be brought into the wilderness area, however no excessive drinking will be allowed for reasons of safety, and to avoid detracting from the wilderness ethic, which involves quietly blending in with the environment. A good guideline is to keep within the legal alcohol limit for driving a vehicle. Should trailists insist on excessive drinking, the walks will proceed no further than one kilometre from the base camp or wilderness camp, depending on the trail. Remember that you are required to carry your own personal drinks and snacks!
In order to maintain the wilderness ethic and character, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife wilderness trail facilities remain as simple as possible.
Please note that with regard to the short and extended short trails, if an entire trail is booked out by one group, and if other trail bookings allow for it, the group may book two consecutive trails to allow for a custom-made, longer trail of either four or five nights, depending on the combination
Tel: (033) 845 1067 or (033) 845 1000
Fax: (033) 845 1001.
Email: trails@kznwildlife.com
Website: www.kznwildlife.com
The Officer-in-Charge, iMfolozi Wilderness Trails
Tel: (035) 550 8478. Fax (035) 550 8480.
Email: mftrails@kznwildlife.com