Hlane Royal National Park

Hlane Royal National Park is a park in Swaziland, roughly 67 km northeast of Manzini along the MR3 road.[1] Prior to the park being public, it was a private royal hunting ground.[1] Hlane, meaning 'wilderness',[2] was named by King Sobhuza II.[3] It is now held in trust for the Nation by His Majesty King Mswati III, [3] and is managed by Big Game Parks, a privately owned body.[4]

Basic facilities at a hide overlooking Hippo Pool in the southern part the park.

It is Swaziland's largest protected area[5] and also the largest park.[1] The park and its adjacent dispersal areas covers 30,000 hectares of Swazi bushveld.[3] It is a flat lowland area, covered with ancient hardwood trees like knobthorn, leadwood and tambuti, with some grasslands and shallow pans.[3]

Hlane is home to the Transvaal lion, elephant, giraffe, and southern white rhinoceros.[3] Wildebeest, zebra and impala herds are attracted to the waterholes during the dry winter months, June to September.[3] After a long absence, South African cheetah populations have been reintroduced in this park.

It has an abundant and diverse bird life, including the highest density of nesting white-backed vultures in Africa.[3] Raptors include martial eagles, bateleurs, and long-crested eagles, as well as several species of vultures including white-backed, white-headed, lappetfaced and the occasional Cape vulture. It has the southernmost nesting site of the marabou stork.[3]

A network of game-viewing roads criss-cross the park’s flat terrain. Accommodation is available in thatched huts and cottages at two different sites.[3] The main site is near the park entrance from MR3, Hlane Camp. The other site is Bhubesi Camp, almost at the northern end of the park. The road between them requires high clearance to navigate, so with a normal car it is best to drive all the way around the park to get between them.

The park was bisected by the MR3 highway in the 1960s under pressure from sugar estates at the park's borders. They claimed that the highway would cause no environmental damage, but now hundreds of antelope, wild boar, buffalo and other game are struck by vehicles each year.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 South Africa, page 815
  2. ↑ "Swaziland - Hlane Royal Game Reserve". Game-Reserve.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Hlane Royal National Park". biggameparks.org. Malkerns, Swaziland: Big Game Parks. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  4. ↑ "The Swaziland National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, 1999". Environmental Centre for Swaziland. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  5. ↑ Fitzpatrick, page 558
  6. ↑ Hall, James. "A Fierce Battle over Construction of New Road". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2009-10-19.


Sources

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hlane Royal National Park.

Coordinates: 26°15′S 31°53′E / 26.25°S 31.88°E / -26.25; 31.88

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