Routes and access
How to get to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi is a tarred drive up the N2 from Durban, and an ordinary car gets you through any of its three gates. The choice that matters is which gate: Memorial for Hilltop and the Hluhluwe section, Nyalazi for Mpila and iMfolozi.
If you only want the answer
Fly into King Shaka International at Durban, hire a car and drive the N2 north: 242 km (about 3 hours) to Memorial Gate for Hilltop, or 209 km (about 2.5 hours) to Nyalazi Gate for Mpila. Ezemvelo says all roads to the park are tarred; inside, only the Memorial Gate to Hilltop to Mpila road is tar and the rest is gravel. Arrive before the gate closes (19:00 in summer, 18:00 in winter), because late entry costs R500 per vehicle and is only possible at Memorial Gate.
Which gate should you use?
The park has three visitor gates, and Ezemvelo's 2013 management plan names all three: Memorial Gate in the north, reached from Hluhluwe town; Nyalazi Gate in the east, reached from Mtubatuba; and Cengeni Gate in the west, reached from Ulundi. There is no Phinda Gate, whatever some websites say; Phinda is a separate private reserve east of the N2.
Choose Memorial Gate if you are sleeping at Hilltop or Mthwazi in the Hluhluwe section, or arriving late, since it is the only gate that handles late entry. Choose Nyalazi Gate for Mpila, the iMfolozi bush lodges and the wilderness trails, which start from Mpila. Cengeni only makes sense if you are coming from Ulundi and the west.
- Memorial Gate: -28.06853, 32.141422, off the N2 at Hluhluwe on the D453 (Ezemvelo booking confirmation, 2024).
- Nyalazi Gate: -28.250468, 31.990079, off the R618 from Mtubatuba (Ezemvelo booking confirmation, 2023).
- Cengeni Gate: about -28.3419, 31.7056, from Ulundi (OpenStreetMap).
Driving from Durban and King Shaka airport
The N2 north from Durban is the spine of every route in. For Nyalazi, Ezemvelo's directions are to cross the bridge over the iMfolozi River on the N2, turn off 3 km north of the Mtubatuba turnoff, follow the tarred Nongoma road (the R618) for 27 km and turn left to the gate. For Memorial, leave the N2 at Hluhluwe and follow the tar road to the gate, 17 km from town.
Ezemvelo calls it an easy three-hour drive from Durban, and the routing model agrees: 209 km and about 2.6 hours from King Shaka airport to Nyalazi, 242 km and about 2.9 hours to Memorial. Those model times assume free-flowing traffic. Add time for trucks on the N2 and roadworks, and remember that inside the park the speed limit is 40 km/h.
Distances and drive times to the gates
These figures come from a road routing model (OSRM on OpenStreetMap) run on 24 September 2026. Treat the times as the minimum on an empty road.
| Route | Distance | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Shaka International (Durban) to Nyalazi Gate | 209 km | 2.6 h | N2 north, then R618; for Mpila |
| King Shaka International (Durban) to Memorial Gate | 242 km | 2.9 h | N2 north to Hluhluwe; for Hilltop |
| Richards Bay Airport to Nyalazi Gate | 78 km | 1.3 h | Closest airport; flights not verified for 2026 |
| Richards Bay Airport to Memorial Gate | 111 km | 1.6 h | N2 north |
| St Lucia town to Nyalazi Gate | 56 km | 1.1 h | The usual iSimangaliso link |
| St Lucia town to Memorial Gate | 89 km | 1.4 h | Via the N2 |
| Hluhluwe town to Memorial Gate | 17 km | 0.4 h | D453, tar |
| Mtubatuba to Nyalazi Gate | 30 km | 0.6 h | R618 Nongoma road, tar |
| Ulundi to Cengeni Gate | 34 km | 0.9 h | From the west |
| O.R. Tambo (Johannesburg) to Memorial Gate | 533 km | 6.7 h | Via Piet Retief and Pongola, or via Durban |
| Nyalazi Gate to Mpila Camp | 18 km | 0.6 h | Inside the park |
| Memorial Gate to Mpila Camp | 55 km | 1.7 h | Inside the park, at the 40 km/h limit |
Ezemvelo's own figures for the distance from Durban vary between 270 km (wilderness trails brochure) and about 280 km (kznwildlife.com, 2026), depending on where they measure from.
Driving from Johannesburg
Ezemvelo gives two routes from Gauteng: the N17 and N2 via Piet Retief and Pongola, or the N3 to Durban and then the N2 north. The routing model puts O.R. Tambo to Memorial Gate at 533 km and about 6.7 hours without stops. That is a full day once you add fuel, food and traffic, so most people either fly to Durban or break the drive.
Do you need a 4x4 in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi?
No, not for the public roads in dry weather. The 2013 management plan counts about 229 km of public road, of which only the Memorial Gate to Hilltop to Mpila road is tarred, and over 200 km is gravel. A sedan copes with the tar spine and the main gravel loops when it is dry; that reading comes from the plan's road classes rather than an Ezemvelo statement.
Rain changes things. On 22 February 2025 Ezemvelo reported that the iMfolozi and Hluhluwe bridges on the main internal road were overflowing, so Hilltop could only be reached through Memorial Gate and Mpila only through Cengeni Gate. In summer storms, check with your camp before you set off. The one private lodge inside the park, Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge, recommends a high-clearance vehicle for its last 10 km of gravel.
- Speed limit inside the park: 40 km/h.
- You may leave your vehicle only at designated points.
- Maps are sold at the gates.
- Unleaded petrol and diesel are sold at Hilltop from 07:00 to 18:00; Mpila sells unleaded only, when it has it.
Gate times and arriving late
The gates open 05:00 to 19:00 in summer and 06:00 to 18:00 in winter. Ezemvelo's own documents disagree on whether March and October count as summer or winter, so in those two months plan on a 06:00 opening and an 18:00 closing. Ezemvelo states that gate times are strictly enforced.
If you will miss the closing time, phone your camp first: Hilltop on +27 35 562 0848 until 19:00 and +27 82 722 6885 after, Mpila on +27 35 550 8477 before 16:30. Ezemvelo's booking confirmations (2023 and 2024) say late entry costs R500 per vehicle, is collected only at Memorial Gate between 19:00 and 22:00, and comes with an escort, because nobody may drive in the park after closing on their own.
Car hire and transfers
Hire your car at King Shaka or Richards Bay airport. Ezemvelo's 2013 management plan noted that it is difficult to hire a vehicle in Mtubatuba or Hluhluwe, and we have no newer source saying that has changed.
Without a car, the transfer prices we have come from the one private lodge inside the park, Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge, for 1 July 2026 to 30 April 2027, per person one way with a two-person minimum charge: R3,650 from King Shaka, Umhlanga or Ballito, R2,375 from Richards Bay and R1,860 from St Lucia. There is no public transport into the park. Day safaris into the park are sold by operators in Hluhluwe and St Lucia, from about R1,360 to R1,850 per person depending on the operator and the length of the day.
Combining the park with St Lucia
St Lucia, inside iSimangaliso Wetland Park, is 56 km from Nyalazi Gate, a little over an hour. Ezemvelo itself sells a Beach2Bush route, launched on 14 May 2025, that links Hilltop with the St Lucia estuary. iSimangaliso is a separate authority with its own entry fees, and Ezemvelo's tariff states that the Wild Card is not accepted at any iSimangaliso area.
Something this page does not answer?
Not sure whether to come in through Memorial or Nyalazi for your bookings? Tell us where you are sleeping and we will tell you which gate fits.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.
Sources
- Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park Management Plan 2013 (gates, roads; read 24 Sep 2026)
- Ezemvelo booking confirmation, Hilltop 2024 (directions, late entry; read 24 Sep 2026)
- Ezemvelo booking confirmation, Mpila 2023 (directions; read 24 Sep 2026)
- Ezemvelo Fees & Charges 2025/26 (gate times, Wild Card note; read 24 Sep 2026)
- Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife site data (routes from Johannesburg, news on flooded bridges; read 24 Sep 2026)
- Old Hilltop page, Wayback capture 28 Apr 2025 (fuel)
- Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge rates (transfers 2026/27; read 24 Sep 2026)
- OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap (distances computed 24 Sep 2026)