Front of the Hotel
Sign at the Reception
African Decorations in the Hotel
Swimming Pool
Our Room and View
Our First African Buffet Dinner
Zulu Warriors Dancing
The Hluhluwe Inn made us really feel as if we were in Africa. The entrance of the hotel itself had a thatched roof. At the entrance they had a line of huge carved animals. As we walked inside the lobby we were met by a staircase leading up to a painting of rhinos as well as the heads of several animals displayed on the walls. There were wooden giraffes and faces carved into tree trunks. Our room, while nothing out of the ordinary, did have one of the most spectacular views of any hotel I've ever stayed in. We had the first of our African buffets that night with some rather strange dishes available to us. And I noticed that most of the employees in the hotel were black who seemed very happy to see us. That evening, around the pool, we watched a group of Zulu men who performed some of their traditional dances which are very acrobatic and not very dancelike. At various times they ran around the pool, jumping and calling. They wore armbands and chaps made of a material that reminded me of what used to be called Persian lamb (I think.) They also carried sticks covered with that fabric. Their skirt backs were pieces of animal skin and the fronts were strips of animal skin. They were barefoot. Most of the dancing consisted of lifting one leg high enough for them to clap their hands under the leg. All of this was performed while they were jumping.
Click a picture to see a larger view.
Front of the Hotel
Sign at the Reception
African Decorations in the Hotel
Swimming Pool
Our Room and View
Our First African Buffet Dinner
Zulu Warriors Dancing