The history of the 'peoples' associated with the areas that now form the KZN Wildlife parks goes back many thousands of years and these various cultures are preserved in sites scattered throughout the protected areas.Many of the parks have stone tool sites that date back to the Middle and Late Stone Ages. 

San rock art paintings are found in caves and overhangs and though the animals they depict still roam the bush veld, the bushmen artists have vanished into history.

There are old Arab encampments and Nguni kraal sites set onto terraces where you can still see the stone foundations and walls. The early Nguni were iron age people and there are many examples of their iron smelting furnaces and slag from the ore abtained by the crushing banded ironstone found in the area.
These Nguni people gave rise to the Zulus 'the people of heaven' who rose to prominance under their great king Shaka Zulu.

The rural people who live on the periphery of these wildlife parks tend to live very traditional lives and provide an insight into contemporary Zulu culture and this can be experienced at the KwaJobe cultural village at Mkhuze Game Reserve.Wilderness Trails and some of the hiking trails take visitors to parts of the wildlife parks where they can see many of the cultural sites not normally accessable and have their context and significence interpreted by the guides.