Hilltop Camp
Main camp: rondavels and chalets, restaurant · Hluhluwe section, about 15 km inside Memorial Gate · Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
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Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (Ezemvelo)
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's main camp in the northern Hluhluwe section, about 15 km inside Memorial Gate on the tarred road, and the park's oldest visitor camp (built in 1934). Units run from 2-bed rondavels on communal ablutions to 4-bed self-catering chalets, 65 in all. It is the only camp in the park with a restaurant (breakfast R215 and dinner R325 on the April 2025 tariff), and it has a bar, a curio shop with basic food, fuel from 07:00 to 18:00, mains power and universal-access chalets. Ezemvelo's guided game drives and walks leave from reception. Choose it if you want the easiest self-drive base with meals on hand. The provincial authority owns and runs it.
Pros and cons
Pros
- The only restaurant in the park, so you need not cook
- Petrol, diesel and oil sold at the camp from 07:00 to 18:00
- On the tar road from Memorial Gate, so any car gets there
- Ezemvelo game drives (R420 an adult) and walks (R400) from reception
- Rondavels from R1,160 for two are the cheapest beds inside the park
Cons
- Rondavels use communal ablutions
- The pool is for camp residents and was out of order on a December 2024 booking confirmation
- The conservation fee is charged every day you stay, on top of the room
- Prices change with the new tariff from 1 November 2026
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Solar or 24h power
- Self-catering
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Guided walks
Read from Hilltop Camp's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryR320 per international adult per day at USD 1 = R16.35 (23 Sep 2026), 2025/26 tariff valid to 31 Oct 2026.
- $20per person, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults pay $120 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Ezemvelo's 2025/26 tariff lists no vehicle fee for Hluhluwe-iMfolozi.
Guests at Ezemvelo's own camps and at the private lodge inside the park pay the conservation fee for every day as well; it is not included in the accommodation rates.
The full fee schedule for Hluhluwe-iMfolozi ParkRates at Hilltop Camp
From R1,160 per rondavel for two. Ezemvelo 2025/26 tariff (1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026), standard season: 2-bed rondavel R870 for one plus R290 for a second adult (R1,160 for two, about $36 each); 2-bed chalet, self-catering or not, R1,650 plus R550 (R2,200 for two); 4-bed self-catering chalet R3,300 for up to three plus R1,100 (R4,400 full). High-season bases run R960 to R4,200; high season means public holidays and adjacent weekends. Ezemvelo is not a VAT vendor and its rates include the Community Levy. The conservation fee is extra and paid daily by overnight guests too: R320 per international adult, R160 for South African and SADC residents. A new tariff is expected from 1 November 2026.
It depends which package you book. This camp sells more than one basis, from self-catering up to fully inclusive. The rates note says what each one covers.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked on 24 September 2026. Ezemvelo's figures come from its 2025/26 tariff, valid to 31 October 2026; a new tariff is expected from 1 November 2026 and had not been published on that date. The private lodge inside the park, Duiker Game Lodge's package and the Ezemvelo camps are priced from their own sources. Every other figure outside the park is Booking.com's lowest displayed price for one night, 14 to 15 October 2026, two adults, and is marked as a reseller rate; it moves daily. Dollar figures use R16.35 to the dollar (ECB, 23 September 2026) and are per person sharing. The conservation fee is extra everywhere: R320 per international adult a day, R160 for South African and SADC residents.
Questions about Hilltop Camp
Is Hilltop Camp good for families?
Ezemvelo's game drives take children from three (R210 a child) and its walks from 12 or 13, depending on which Ezemvelo document you read. The 4-bed self-catering chalets (R3,300 for up to three, R4,400 for four) suit a family, and children aged 3 to 12 pay half the conservation fee according to Ezemvelo's booking confirmations.
What does a night at Hilltop cost?
Under the 2025/26 tariff a rondavel for two costs R1,160 and a 2-bed chalet R2,200, plus the daily conservation fee of R320 per international adult (R160 South African or SADC). Meals are extra: the restaurant charged R215 for breakfast and R325 for dinner on the April 2025 tariff.
How do you book Hilltop Camp?
Through Ezemvelo's booking site, bookings.kznwildlife.com, by email to bookings@kznwildlife.com or on +27 33 845 1000. Bring the credit card you booked with and your passport or ID; both are asked for at check-in, which opens at 14:00. Cancelling more than 45 days out costs 10%.