Djuma Game Reserve

I spent four days at the Djuma Game Reserve, one of the private reserves near South Africa's famous Kruger National Park. There are no fences between Kruger and the private reserves, so the same animals are visible in both areas. The advantage of the private reserves, however, is freedom from the restrictions that Kruger must impose because it is a public park. Unlike in Kruger, at Djuma we went on night game drives, bush walks and could drive off-road for a closer view of distant animals.

The photos to the right concentrate on Djuma's herbivores: Cape buffalo, giraffe, waterbuck, nyala, steenbok, impala, hippos, rhinos and elephants. Although they may limit their diet to plants, Cape buffalo, hippo, rhino and elephants are among the most dangerous animals in Africa. In fact, there is a continuing debate about whether hippos or buffalo are responsible for the most human deaths per year.

There is a separate slide show below with photos of some of the big cats – cheetahs and lions – that I saw at Djuma (I also saw one leopard, but the encounter was so fleeting that I was unable to get a photograph).

More information and photos can be found at the official web site of Djuma Game Reserve.

Other South Africa pages: South Africa: Introduction, Cape Peninsula & Southern Coast, Cape Town, Great White Sharks and Townships & Robben Island,