Blogs from iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Africa - page 2

Where is Bhanga Nek exactly? Well it’s definitely not a easy place to find. Basically if you head north along the coast towards the Mozambique border there are a series of estuarine lakes, which form part of the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park. Bhanga Nek is the spit of land which separates the sea from the lakes. It’s a very out of the way place with access from Manguzi settlement down a series of seriously rough roads which turn into deep sandy tracks. It’s only accessible by 4WD vehicles and you can see why. It takes low range with diff lock on to get up some of the hills and we were frequently stuck in deep sand which required reversing back and taking a run up. Having booked a campsite a long time back (since it’s ... read more

Hi Everybody! Just wanted to let you know that I am safe and healthy in St. Lucia South Africa. Sorry about not emailing or updating- It has been super busy with no internet access and non-stop traveling. Let me give you an update: I think I last emailed from Maun... or was it Jo'burg???? Well... I am going to say it was Jo'burg... So I survived my two nights in Jo'burg. The first night we stayed in Mufasa Backpackers on the outskirts of town- nothing too exciting to tell you about. The next morning Marnie and I went with Sarah and Boris on a taxi tour of Jo'burg and it's townships (the shanty poor, poor, poor neighbourhoods). It was so different than i expected! I though that Jo'burg was going to be completely fortified and scary ... read more

The past 3 days (after leaving Kruger on 21 April) were spent relaxing in beautiful St. Lucia on the Elephant Coast (South Africa's NE coast to the layman). Driving from Kruger to St. Lucia was quite the experience--lots and lots of sugarcane fields, people walking, hitching, and selling pineapples, eucalyptus syrup, and avocados (which apparently grow like weeds), cattle, goats and sheep grazing right alongside (and crossing) the roads (another reason not to drive at night), the mainstreets of run-down, mostly black cities with their markets selling anything and everything, and the occasional checkpoint for foot and mouth disease (mainly when we drove through Swaziland). Seeing the differences in their way of life, and the poverty that encompassed it was overwhelming. We arrived in St. Lucia (part of the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands--a UNESCO World ... read more

I've been on safari and I'm still buzzing from it despite having been up since 4.30 this morning!! I want to be a ranger even more now I've seen so many big game animals in the wild! Another one of my dreams came true when 5 minutes after entering the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park we drove past a White Rhino munching on the grass right by the side of the road. One of the main reasons I came to South Africa was to see these amazing prehistoric looking creatures, I'm absolutely fascinated by them for some reason! Before we'd even stopped for breakfast we'd ticked off 4 of the Big 5. We spotted some Lions stalking Impala in the long grass and went to turn around to get a better view, but right by the turning spot there ... read more

We drive to our fourth destination: the Tembe Elephant Park where we were greeted by a very merry bunch of Staff, who harmonized beautifully in song to welcome us to the park. While the staff transported our luggage to our room, we were seated to enjoy a light lunch of fishcakes, calamari and salads. We headed through the bush to our luxurious, tent-like chalet which was isolated from all human life. The room was massive, beautifully furnished with two double beds with electric blankets, and bed side tables. There bathroom was similar in orientation to that of the Kosi Forest Lodge accommodation, in the fact that it was located outside the actual chalet in a surrounding of tall twigs. All toiletries were provided and soap containing fly and mosquito repellent was supplied. There was an indoor ... read more