Blogs from iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Africa

We enjoyed a positive lie in this morning, only needing to get up at 6.30 for a 7.00am departure. After a cloudy start the sun came out and the day heated up. We drove to the bottom of the western shores of the St Lucia estuary, then crossed over and re-entered the park at the main gate to the eastern shores. The landscape was totally different to Manyoni. It’s flat, apart from a row of hills by the shoreline, which turned out to be massive sand dunes, covered in small trees and bushes. The vegetation is also sparser, and broken up by pools of water filled with rushes and water lilies. We drove past a couple of groups of hippos, the first basking in the water with just their ears and nostrils visible, but the second ... read more

Night Safari at iSimangaliso Wetlands Park On our last day of volunteering, we had the opportunity to go on a night safari at iSimangaliso Wetlands Park. Some of the interesting wildlife we saw on safari include monkeys, guinea fowls, zebra, cape buffalo and kudus. iSimangaliso Wetland Park is South Africa's third largest protected area and the word iSimangaliso means "a miracle" in Zulu. The park is now a world heritage site because of its rich ecosystem and natural beauty. Other animals that you can see in the park include elephants, African leopards, black and white rhino, whales, dolphins and turtles. In December 2013, African lions were reintroduced into the park. Mission Rock Beach Halfway through our safari, we got the opportunity to leave our safari vehicle and go for a walk in the park. We walked ... read more

... Die einen Mega blauen HimmeL, viel Sonne und auch sonst nur das Beste Versprechen, die sollte man einfach nur an einem traumhaften Strand liegen. Und genau das haben wir auch getan... Die Vorzeichen dafür waren allerdings eher ungüstig, da wir ja gestern schon einiges an Sonne abbekommen hatten. Aber manchmal bewirken After-Sun und schattige Pinien eben auch Wunder. Und so haben wir uns es unter diesen gemütlich gemacht. Gleichzeitig war der Platz taktisch klug gewählt, um die wesentlichen Geschehnisse des Tages gut zu verfolgen: welche Tauchschule hat sich eben zum Wassergang bereit gemacht, welches Boot ist zurück gekommen und wird eben mit Traktoren aus dem Wasser geholt, welcher HochseeAngler war besonders erfolgreich und was macht die Ebbe.... Daneben haben wir vor allem viel gelesen und einfach nix getan. Zwischendurch waren wir am Beach- Kiosk und ... read more

K - We have just spent a great week “killing time” as we wait for our Indian visas which we applied for in Durban last Monday. We were told they would take 5 to 7 working days so we headed off to the Drakensberg – a mountain region in South Africa. Absolutely stunning – yet again the photos don’t do it justice (have I taken any photos that do anything justice I wonder?!). We energetically did a couple of hikes in the beautiful mountains and treated ourselves to a lovely B&B on a farm where we were upgraded to a cottage. This was fortuitous as there was a big electrical storm that night and the tent would definitely not have been fun. As usual we managed to adopt a couple of stray animals – in addition ... read more

The adventure tales are about to begin so sit back in a comfy chair, get a good cup of tea and settle in. Now, where did I leave you last…..oh yes, the night drive. We had decided on the Jo-A-Lize guest house on the main strip in St Lucia based partly on the price and choice of rooms, and mostly on the overwhelming honesty of our host. River boat tours? No, don’t waste your money, they’re rubbish. Just go down to the Ski Club, have a pint and watch the crocs and hippo’s from there. Night drive? A must, and you have to go with Kian, he’s the best around, I’ll book you for tonight. Kian was Kian Barker of Shaka Barker Tours, and we quickly discovered why he was the best. At 8pm sharp we ... read more