Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Swaziland’s pioneer conservation area, is a beautiful, secluded sanctuary situated in Swaziland’s “Valley of Heaven”, the Ezulwini Valley, in between Mbabane and Manzini. With 24-hour access to the Sanctuary, guests are free to enjoy the neighbouring tourist hubs of Ezulwini and Malkerns, with their many unique attractions and craft shops. From the western boundary, the huge Usutu Forest provides a dramatic backdrop stretching into the distant hills.

Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge is a luxury lodge that offers comfortable, catered accommodation for discerning guests. Formally the home of Mickey Reilly, one of Swaziland’s earliest white settlers and a highly entrepreneurial man, the house has remained in the family and has recently been transformed into a unique hilltop lodge tastefully decorated in keeping with its colonial roots by Swaziland’s leading conservation team.

Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge is an up-market lodge, with communal lounge and dining area.

The original house has three bedrooms, all accessible form the veranda. Two of these rooms have double beds and their own private bathroom across the veranda, while the third room, Reilly's Room, is complete with fireplace and en suite bathroom. The fourth en suite room is a converted office.

Separate from the house is the cottage encircled by a wide veranda comprising of two en-suite rooms with a communal lounge and fireplace.

Your stay at Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge includes a scrumptious full plated breakfast and dinner, served daily in the Lodge's comfortable dining room.

Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, where Reilly's Rock is located, covers 4,560 hectares and comprises of a southern and northern section. The southern section is predominately open grassland plains with middleveld vegetation, stretching up onto the striking Nyonyane Mountain with its exposed granite peak known as the "Rock of Execution". Nyonyane is where ancient San once lived and where Swazi Royal graves are situated giving historical significance. Behind these mountains, the stunning Mantenga waterfall and beautiful Usushwana Valley form the divide, before stretching up to northern section, which includes one of the highest surrounding points at Luphohlo. Tourist activities are concentrated in the southern section, with only guided trails entering the pristine mountains of the north.

Mlilwane means Little Fire, being derived from the numerous fires started by lightning strikes on the Mlilwane Hill. Many a colourful tale can be told about the Reilly Family, with special relevance to the early pioneer Mickey Reilly, whose family still manages and lives on the Sanctuary.

Mlilwane is Swaziland's oldest protected area, owned and managed by a non-profit making trust. Mlilwane serves as a headquarters for the Big Game Parks including Mlilwane’s sister reserves Hlane and Mkhaya. Formerly a productive mixed farming operation, with extensive tin mining in the low foothills of the Nyonyane Mountains, the Sanctuary has been rehabilitated and is now Swaziland's most frequently visited reserve where one can enjoy the beauty of the surroundings and the abundant wildlife that grace the plains.

Apart from abundant bird life and nesting water birds, there are a number of animal species to be seen including hippo, giraffe, crocodile, zebra, blue wildebeest, kudu, nyala, impala, warthog, waterbuck, reedbuck, steenbok, grey duiker, red duiker, klipspringer, blesbok, oribi and suni.

Seldom seen, but present in the reserve are the ever-elusive leopard and a variety of smaller mammals like bushbaby, mongoose, aardwolf, genet, porcupine and civet.

Visitors to Mlilwane can explore the southern portion of the Sanctuary by foot, vehicle, on horseback and on mountain bikes. Those who simply want to relax can sit back in the camps and enjoy the tranquility of Nature.

Although Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge does not have conferencing facilities, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary has an outside function area Inkhundla, about 200 meters from the Hippo Haunt restaurant, in Mlilwane Rest Camp, which is suitable for private functions, such as weddings, graduation parties and so on and is often used by members of the Royal Family. It consists of a reed and semi-tin roof, riversand floor, railway sleeper benches, a bar area and has an ablution nearby. Catering can be arranged.

• Rates include dinner, bed and breakfast.
• Rates quoted in SA Rand (ZAR) per person per night.
• Prices are subject to confirmation at time of booking.
• Rates include 14% tax where applicable, but exclude any tourism / bed levies.
• All reservations accepted are subject to Big Game Parks reservations conditions.

Please note: No children under 13 years.