HELP

Welcome to our help page! We would like to make sure that you get the best experience from our very informative and comprehensive web site.
Below you will find some common questions we have been asked, by reading through them to make your visit to our web site more pleasant.

If all else fails and you have read through this help and not seen the help you need, then please contact the webmaster@kznwildlife.com.
The website is large and covers all aspects of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and its Protected Wildlife Areas, as well as information on most of the animals, birds, fish, activities, planning and scientific research. It's a wonderful web site (well we think so) and we hope that you find and use the information you need.

Registration

This is new to improve your booking enquiry. In the past you had to fill in the complete form each time you wanted to make a booking enquiry (this was quite painful) what we have now is you regsiter once, then when you want to make a booking enquiry your login and all your details are added to the form automaitcally. Please take a minute and regsiter, it will make your life easier.
We have also added a "Forgot your password" facility so if you come back in 6 months and you cannot remember your password click on this and we will send you your password.

If you are still having a problem drop me a line webmaster@kznwildlife.com.

Words

Which brings up the first point that you may need help with, the words we use. Some times we have trouble describing something while using words that may not be familiar to overseas visitors, here are a few:

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife - Ezemvelo is the Zulu word for wildlife and the two words have been used to describe this organization, which in simplicity is the Conservation/Eco-Tourism body of this province. In other words we protect all the Wildlife, including endangered species in this region. KZN is the abbreviation for KwaZulu-Natal the name of the province we are located in.

Protected Wildlife Areas - These are the areas where all fauna, flora, and reptiles are protected from human harm so they can continue to survive in their natural state, but these areas also includes tourist destinations where one may go and see these protected areas. Other names may be, Parks, Reserves, Nature Reserves, Game Parks, Wildlife Parks, Marine Reserves, Wilderness area, Safari Parks and Animal Parks. (If you think of more let the webmaster know)

Hutted Camp - This does not imply it is a small rustic hut only. A hutted camp could be anything from a single room to a multi roomed luxury lodge. In general it implies where the accommodation facilities are within a Protected Wildlife Area and each of the Protected Wildlife Areas have different types of accommodation and the web site will explain and show each of them.

Zululand - The province were we are located is called KWAZULU-NATAL. Its colonial name was NATAL. The north / eastern part of NATAL is the traditional home of the Zulu Nation and was known as Zululand, these have been combined in the name of the province, hence KwaZulu-Natal. The area north of the Tugela River is known as Zululand.

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park -Is the Mountain range on the eastern side of the province, it is the largest mountain range in the region. It is often referred to as uKhahlamba (the Zulu name) or Drakensberg, or The Berg, or just The Mountains. It is a World Heritage site of huge cultural, scenic and biodiversity significance.

NAVIGATION

We have tried to create several ways to make it easier for the user to get into and around the website. (We get lost sometimes too.)

(A note for new users to the Internet: There are usually two arrows at the top of your page, the left arrow, known as the "back button" or "back arrow" will take you back one page at a time through the pages you have just been looking at. We have often put the words "back" or "back to intro" at the top of our pages that can also be used to take you back one page at a time.)

Home Page - Your first point of Navigation around the web site is from the Home Page, or the "front page". Near the top is 6 "main naivigation" buttons, these also have "drop down" menus with more detail, by clicking on these you will be taken to the named page. At the very top of the page is Help,  Guests comments, and Mail a Friend (yes you should let your friends know about this site too) and Weather.
At the bottom of the HOME page is are links to Prices and Bookings, Rhino Club (images on the bottom left) then on the right is Hiking (including a link to the weather website) trails, electronic brochures etc.

You will find when you get into the website there is a menu on the left of each page and this will be all the links to the relevant information for those camps.

Below you will find more detail on using the Search, Regional Road Map, Site Map, Destinations,  Activities and Accommodation.

Search - You will find Search on the main menu as well as on Home drop down menu, mentioned above, on every page.

The search is comprehensive, if you type in the name of an animal, like elephant, it will then take you to the pages where you can find information on elephants, or the places where you will see elephant.

If you type in the name of a Protected Wildlife Area, like Giants or Giants Castle, it will then take you to the information for that area including the accommodation, vital information and Prices and Bookings.

Regional Road Map Button - On every single page is a MAP button (top right corner)

This brings up a map of KwaZulu Natal, showing all our protected areas, with a number for each location. This number corresponds with all our books and brochures. As you move your mouse over the number a small box will pop up giving the name, a brief description and the types of facilities there.
If you click on the number it will then take you to the pages describing that facility.

Site Map - Site maps are becoming more common on web sites to help customers get to the information quickly. The site map lays out the whole web site and its structure. Unfortunately with such a large site we cannot easily show every single page, but by looking through the site map you will get a very good overview and once you have found what you are looking for just click on the name and you will be taken directly to that page.

Destinations - We have broken these down into various types of destinations and we have used terminology that we think most users can understand, mainly Beaches, Mountains, Wildlife Parks, Lakes, Dams, Forests, Wilderness Areas, Protected Wildlife Areas. If you have an idea that you just want to find out about beaches, or just about mountain resorts this is the route to go.

Activities - A bit too long to list here but for example there is birding, boating, camping, climbing, conferences, hiking etc. This section is for people who have a specific activity they want to find out about, if you are a keen birder this section will give you all the top birding spots, bird lists, information on birds. Or if you want to go hiking this section will give you all the hiking areas, a hiking report with a weekly weather forecast, hiking tips, and hiking clubs. We have not covered every single activity one can do but the list is long and comprehensive.

Accommodations - The accommodations section has been broken down into different categories  Camping and all accommodation. This will then help you narrow down to your choice according to your means and needs. The above categories, Destinations and Activities, will also give you the information you need on accommodations and prices, but this is for the visitor who knows what he can afford and what kind of accommodation he wants.

Prices and Bookings - One of the more common questions and places that visitors to our website go to. Yes, you can make a safe booking enquiry while on-line and there are many places on the web site where this can be done, see below. (There is a Prices and Bookings button at the bottom left of every page)

If you click on PRICES & BOOKINGS on our main menu under Ecotourism menu you will see a page listing all our Protected Wildlife Areas, their types of accommodations and prices. By clicking on BOOK HERE a booking enquiry form opens and you can then fill in the details to find out about accommodation availability. This is a safe, no obligation form to use, only after our reservations staff has communicated back to you and you decide you want the accommodation will you then work out the payment arrangements, with the reservations staff.

On each of the Protected Wildlife Area pages you will see there is a PRICES & BOOKINGS page, which gives information for that specific area. Again there is a BOOK HERE button where you can make a safe, no obligation, booking enquiry.

Vital Information - Most of the Protected Wildlife Area pages have a link, near the top of the page, called VITAL INFORMATION. On this page you will find key information like gate opening and closing times, distances, directions, what facilities are available, and quite importantly, phone numbers. If travelling by car it is suggested that you print this page before leaving and you will have all the basic information to hand.

Weather - Many ask what are the seasons and what is the weather like at various times of the year.
Firstly we have created a button to our national weather bureaux on the front page (on the right of the image) where you will be able to get up-to-the-minute weather forecasts, or click here:
http://www.weathersa.co.za

A simple weather guide is that we are in the Southern Hemisphere and our seasons are the opposite of the Northern Hemisphere, i.e. December is our mid summer. The climate can vary in this province with snow and ice in the mountains and hot humid conditions on the coast, just few hours drive apart. (It has been known for people to snow ski in the morning and surf in the afternoon) Our rain season is in the summer.

More Information

This is not just a tourism site, but has many other aspects to it. Using the menu on the left of the front page or by using the Home pop-up menu on the other pages, you will be able to see; information on our wildlife, birding, fishing (which has coastal and freshwater), conferences, flora, wilderness trails, scientific research, the organisation and its structure, our involvement with community projects and very importantly the role the Conservation Trust plays in ensuring our sustainability to protect your wildlife for future generations.

We encourage you to look through the other pages and use them as much as you can, they are a wonderful resource for school or college projects and we are not concerned about what gets used as long as the source of the information is acknowledged.

Please don't forget to visit our guest page where you can see visitor comments. We would love to hear from you.

Have fun; enjoy our wonderful piece of Africa and the resources of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

If you still have a question or comment, feel free to drop a line to the Webmaster:
webmaster@kznwildlife.com

Yours in conservation
The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife wild web team