| The star (top left) shows the big-picture location of iSimangaliso. We only explore a small portion of the park (red circle, bottom left). The road is paved all the way from St. Lucia to Cape Vidal, but beyond that it's rougher going. The map (right) shows the zoomed-in area we explore. The boat cruise takes place in the long estuary extending down from the lake itself, close to the town of St. Lucia. |
Where We Be
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| A Nile crocodile awakes and slides into the water as we watch from our boat on Lake St. Lucia's estuary |
| iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa |
iSimangaliso means "miracle" or "wondrous" in
Zulu -- and it's an apt name for iSimangaliso
Wetland Park, South Africa's third-largest
protected area, spanning 280 km of coastline.
Bordered on one side by Lake St. Lucia and on
the other by the Indian Ocean, it's a narrow
strip of a park that follows along the coastline
and offers a haven for numerous wild animals --
hippos and crocodiles most especially, but also
elephant, leopard, rhino, and Cape buffalo. Its
oceans teem with whales, dolphins, and turtles,
and a vast number of shorebirds also make
their home here -- including flamingo.
The town of St. Lucia makes a great base for
exploring the park. We spend three nights at
St. Lucia Wetlands Guesthouse and both agree
it's our favorite lodging in South Africa. From
here we venture into the park, heading up the
paved road as far as Cape Vidal Beach -- where
we go for a swim in the Indian Ocean, whose
waters are suprisingly warm despite the wintry
time of year. How strange to mix a beach day
with a safari day, but here you can do it! Next
day, we take a two-hour boat cruise on Lake St.
Lucia's estuary for some up-close hippo and
croc sightings. All in all a fun three-day getaway.
Zulu -- and it's an apt name for iSimangaliso
Wetland Park, South Africa's third-largest
protected area, spanning 280 km of coastline.
Bordered on one side by Lake St. Lucia and on
the other by the Indian Ocean, it's a narrow
strip of a park that follows along the coastline
and offers a haven for numerous wild animals --
hippos and crocodiles most especially, but also
elephant, leopard, rhino, and Cape buffalo. Its
oceans teem with whales, dolphins, and turtles,
and a vast number of shorebirds also make
their home here -- including flamingo.
The town of St. Lucia makes a great base for
exploring the park. We spend three nights at
St. Lucia Wetlands Guesthouse and both agree
it's our favorite lodging in South Africa. From
here we venture into the park, heading up the
paved road as far as Cape Vidal Beach -- where
we go for a swim in the Indian Ocean, whose
waters are suprisingly warm despite the wintry
time of year. How strange to mix a beach day
with a safari day, but here you can do it! Next
day, we take a two-hour boat cruise on Lake St.
Lucia's estuary for some up-close hippo and
croc sightings. All in all a fun three-day getaway.
| The baby's mama keeps a careful eye on us |
| The main road through iSimangaliso is paved, but some of the dirt roads can be rough going by passenger car |
| St. Lucia is a pleasant tourist town, with plenty of restaurant options on the main street. At Greco we enjoy a tasty Mediterranean platter with two glasses of wine for under $25. |
| Breakfast each morning is scrumptious |
| We highly recommend St. Lucia Wetlands Guesthouse. Colin, the owner, is the very definition of hospitality. |
| Cattle egrets fly to roost as another magical day in Africa comes to an end |
| The surf thunders at Mission Rocks. What's unique about this park is how you can go from lakes to wetlands to woodlands to coastal forests to beaches all in a matter of minutes |
| This long-toed African jacana is also called a Jesus bird because it "walks on water" |
| Our first glimpse of the Indian Ocean on South Africa's east coast |
| We see some extremely large Nile crocodiles |
| In the afternoon we take a two-hour Shaka Barge cruise along Lake St. Lucia's estuary (700 rand, ~$40 total) |
| We walk all the way to the estuary, where we see flamingos in the distance. On the way back, we happen upon this sand dollar. |
| Next day, we take another walk along Ingwe Beach in St. Lucia itself |
| At popular Cape Vidal Beach, we enjoy a barefoot walk in the surf followed by a swim in the Indian Ocean |
| On our drive home, we're surprised to see this adult hippo crossing the road in full daylight |
| A bushbuck greets us at Cape Vidal Beach |
| One of the pods includes this adorable baby hippo |
| We also see several pods of hippos up close |
| Including this big fella, who lets us get surprisingly close before slipping away |
| Other side roads are paved, like Mission Rocks, which leads all the way down to the shore of the Indian Ocean |
| Goliath heron on the hunt |
| This cute little fella is a rare samango (Sykes) monkey |