We took Australian friends to Hlane and spent the night at Bhubesi Camp. We checked in at Ndlovu Camp and luckily saw an elephant come to the water hole to drink. Staff were helpful and this camp well maintained and it was nice to see lots of local people coming to picnic there for the day. However, we felt very sad about the state of the bush. The section that was about 4sq.km where we would supposedly see elephant and rhino looked like the aftermath of a nuclear war. All the big tall trees were dead in this area and thorn bushes were so thick that unless animals stood on the road, it was impossible to see anything. I am not an ecologist but it seriously needs veld management. The roads would have been very difficult for an ordinary car but fortunately we were in a 4x4. We ate a very early dinner as we were told to be thru the gate by 6pm because of elephant and rhino. Hmmmm. The bush on the other side of the gate on the drive up to Bhubesi Camp was also so thick and full of encroaching thorn bush, but we managed a glimpse of Nyala. In this vast stretch of park there are only antelope but hard to see. We were very pleased with our cottage above the river, and sat around a camp fire chatting for hours.
Having travelled from Royal Jozini , the contrast in the bush was vast. Although we also saw two rhino, we left feeling let down and disappointed as we love picturesque Swaziland and it's friendly people. Please Hlane, I think you need some specialists to restore the trees and the bush!