Located approximately 100 km north of the town of Mkuze, Ndumo Game Reserve is situated on the Zululand coastal plain. It nestles at the eastern foot of the Lebombo Mountains, at the junction of the Pongola and Usuthu floodplain systems. The Pongola River runs through the reserve from south to north, while the Usuthu River forms the northern border. This is also the international border with Mozambique. The topography is very flat with a few small hills. There are two major semi-permanent floodplain pans and many smaller permanent and ephemeral pans in the reserve. Ndumo Hill is composed of red sands, while east of it, another “sandveld” area is made up of undulating pallid sands. The climate is subtropical: the annual temperature ranges from an average minimum of 17 °C to an average maximum of 28 °C, and rain falls mostly in summer (October–March) and averages 633 mm p.a. An interesting component of the reserve is the floodplain vegetation. A number of different woodland habitats dominate and there is very little open grassland. In places there are relict patches of well-developed sand forest. It is claimed that 430 bird species can be seen here and it is listed as one of the top birding sites.