Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge
Exclusive-use bush lodge · uMkhuze section · iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority (Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife until 28 February 2026)
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (iSimangaliso Authority)
A small exclusive-use bush lodge in the uMkhuze section with four chalets and eight beds, R3,780 a night for six on Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff. An independent booking marketer, mkuzereservations.co.za, reports it closed for repairs; no official notice confirms or denies this, so ask before you plan around it. The lodge is state-owned; Ezemvelo ran it until 28 February 2026 and the iSimangaliso Authority since. Choose it for a group that wants a lodge to itself, if it has reopened. It is in the same section as the kuMasinga hide and iNsumo Pan.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Exclusive use for one group
- About R630 a person for six on the 2023/24 tariff
- In the uMkhuze bush, away from Mantuma
Cons
- Reported closed for repairs
- Tariff dates from 2023/24
- Minimum charge for six people
- No facility list in our sources
What's here
Arranged from the lodge:
- Birding
We could not reach a website for Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge, so this list is incomplete by definition. Ask them directly.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. iSimangaliso Wetland Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryGate fee and conservation levy plus the R12 accommodation levy, counted per day because no official document says whether multi-night guests pay the gate fee once.
- $9per person, per day
- VehicleR74 car fee, counted per day for the same reason.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $69 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Sleeping inside the boundary is what keeps that low. Overnight guests add the R12 accommodation levy per night, against $8 a day for anyone driving in from outside.
These are the 2024/25 rates, which expired on 30 November 2025; no newer table has been published. Sodwana, the Coastal Forest and Kosi Bay charge about half (R71 per international adult). Lodges in St Lucia town are outside every gate.
The full fee schedule for iSimangaliso Wetland ParkRates at Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge
From R3,780 per lodge for six (2023/24 tariff). Ezemvelo 2023/24 tariff: R3,780 per lodge for a minimum of six, exclusive use. An independent marketer reports it closed for repairs; this is not confirmed officially. The uMkhuze gate fee is extra: R62 per South African adult and R130 per international adult on the 2024/25 table, plus a R7 conservation levy and R12 accommodation levy per person per night. VAT treatment is not stated.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked against the research dossier of 24 September 2026. State-camp prices come from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's 2023/24 tariff (1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024), the last official camp tariff that could be read; treat them as a floor, because iSimangaliso has published none since it took the camps over on 1 March 2026. Thonga Beach Lodge, Kosi Forest Lodge, Coral Divers, Mabibi Beach Camp and Umlilo Lodge are priced from their own sites. Every figure marked 'reseller rate' comes from SA-Venues, LekkeSlaap, Siyabona or a booking agent, uses that site's 'from' price, and usually prices a room for two; we halve it to give a per-person figure. Dollar figures use R16.36 to the dollar (24 September 2026) and are rounded. Gate fees are extra everywhere except in St Lucia town: R62 per South African adult and R130 per international adult at the dearest gates on the 2024/25 table, which expired on 30 November 2025 with no successor published.
Questions about Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge
Is Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge open?
An independent marketer reports it closed for repairs. No official statement confirms this, so check before you book.
What does Nhlonhlela cost?
R3,780 a night for a minimum of six on Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff, the last official figure. Gate fees and levies are extra.
Is Nhlonhlela good for families?
It is built for one group, which suits a family or friends. We found no published child policy.