Hluhluwe ( locally / ʃ l uː ˈ ʃ l uː w eɪ / shloo- SHLOO -way ; Zulu pronunciation: [ɬuɬuw'e] ) is a small town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated between iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park on the banks of the Hluhluwe River . Hluhluwe is situated on the elephant coast, an area known for its national parks, natural diversity and cultural heritage. Although relatively undeveloped the area is of growing interest to international tourists and travelers. Several local and international movies have been filmed in Hluhluwe, such as I Dreamed of Africa , Ghost Son , and documentaries filmed in the surrounding national parks.
10-495: Timber, sugar, and pineapples are intensively grown in the area, which produces over 95% of South Africa's queen pineapples. Other agricultural crops are sugar-cane, sisal, cotton, tomatoes, and chilies. Due to traditional settlement patterns and customs, activity is still low in some areas. Hluhluwe is considered the hub of tourism in KwaZulu-Natal with accommodations ranging from budget facilities to five-star game lodges. Hluhluwe
20-596: A sub-opposite or alternate arrangement. The leaflets close in overcast weather, and the foliage is popular with browsing animals. Their very small, sweetly scented flowers are creamy-white in colour. They appear in early summer, and are born in dense terminal or axillary clusters. The small and thin seed pods measure about 5 by 2 cm. They are papery in texture and lemon-yellow to pale brown in colour. The indehiscent fruit which hold 1 to 3 seeds each, are often produced in profusion. They appear in clusters on horizontal branch tips, from late summer. The Zebra-wood
30-694: Is a service centre to the surrounding area. The town is named after the thorny rope climber Dalbergia armata ( umHluhluwe in Zulu ), which is found among the forest vegetation types in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park. The main attractions of Hluhluwe are its five major groups of large animals (elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, lions, and leopards), the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi game reserve, iSimangaliso wetlands park (formerly known as St Lucia Wetlands Park), Indian Ocean beaches (accessed through St Lucia or Sodwana bay), and
40-425: Is also armed and has an overlapping range, but its leaflets are fewer (7 to 13) and larger, while its flowers vary from white to pink. Other Dalbergia species of the region have hairy pods, or velvety undersides to the leaflets. The Thorny elm has simple leaves . Chaetachme Chaetachme is a monotypic genus of flowering plants native to eastern and western Africa, including Madagascar , containing
50-535: Is currently unknown if the Bell 400 will return to Hluhluwe. Dalbergia armata Dalbergia myriantha Meisn. Dalbergia armata ( Hluhluwe creeper ) is a scrambling, deciduous species of legume that is native to subtropical to temperate regions of southeastern Africa. The robust, woody liana or small tree is armed with strong spines on the main stem and branches. It occurs sparsely or commonly in forest, bush, riparian fringes and in wooded ravines. It
60-476: Is sometimes employed as a bonsai subject, and it can be propagated from either seed or cuttings. It occurs widely in coastal, montane or riparian forests of southern Tanzania , Mozambique , Eswatini and eastern South Africa . In South Africa it is present in the Eastern Cape , KwaZulu-Natal , Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. The Hluhluwe River is named after this species, due to its prevalence on
70-521: The RIS Hluhluwe Rhino Charge mountain bike race, part of the Big 5 mountain bike challenge, a returning event where hundreds of riders gather during race weekend to challenge one of the most diverse and in some parts technical terrain in the big 5 mountain bike series. In 2013, after a few years of absence, Hluhluwe was the stage of the Bell 400, the national off-road motorcycle and quad bike race, it
80-595: The banks of the river. The species is virtually confined to White ’s Tongaland - Pondoland centre of endemism. Their thick (up to 15 cm) and 10 to 30 m long ropes have sturdy, sideways-directed spines which may grow in clusters, and encircle the stems. The spines which are up to 10 cm long, hook onto adjacent vegetation to direct the plant towards the canopy. The bark is dark greyish brown. The alternate leaves are up to 8 cm long, finely compound and are bluish green on their upper surfaces. The 21 to 41 oblong leaflets (i.e. 10 to 20 pairs plus terminal) have
90-515: The cultural heritage of the Zulu people. Activities in Hluhluwe include safari expeditions, scuba diving, horse riding, walking trails, bird watching, parks with crocodiles and snakes, canoeing, cruises, mountain biking, and villages offering cultural interactions. Safaris for viewing and hunting game are generally guarded with fees paid to the controlling eMdletsheni tribal authority. Hluhluwe annually hosts
100-691: The single species Chaetachme aristata . Its English common name is thorny elm , and it is known as muyuyu in Kikuyu . Traditionally placed in the Elm family , it is more recently placed in the family Cannabaceae , thought to be possibly closely related to Celtis . Chaetachme aristata is a shrub or small tree growing up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall. It has drooping, angular branches covered with spines up to 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) in length. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 11 centimetres (4.3 in) long by 5 centimetres (2.0 in) wide, pointed at
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