Blogs from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Africa - page 4

St Lucia is a tourist town famous for its wetland park declared a UNESCO world heritage site for biodiversity in 1999. iSimangaliso Wetland Park, as it is called today, is the largest estuary system in the world. Its waters are in average only 1.5m deep and they are home to 115 species of fish and 530 types of birds, including migrating birds from Europe, some of them flying over 18’000km to reach this summer camp. And of course, they house over one thousand hippopotamus (hippos) and several thousand crocodiles from the Nile Crocodile species. Swimming there is not a good idea we guessed. We will be heading for a wetland boat cruise in the afternoon, hoping the rains will take a break then. We decided to ignore the weather and once more head to the beach ... read more

Today is Wednesday 25th March We have been outside Durban in South Africa since Sunday morning. The port authorities are keeping us hanging about. But posting this so you can see what we have been doing with all our sea days. Will go into more detail with the next blog. The captain is furious I am sure, reading what he didn’t say in his last update. We have been cleared for entry to the actual port, but are still waiting. We need fuel, medical supplies and stores. We are all fine, in our little bubble, with glorious weather, entertainment etc. So making the most of our situation. Hearing the news from home on the BBC news channel is very sombre and hoping all our loved ones are safe. Day 32 Saturday 14th March, 2020 At Sea ... read more

Morning safari at Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve Today we had to wake up extra early and leave Bibs Backpackers by 4:30 am to get on the bus to arrive at Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve for the morning safari. We had a packed breakfast at the safari courteously of Bibs Backpackers. Then we were off on our African safari, a highlight of our trip. I got to chance to sit in the shotgun seat which was pretty awesome and a new experience for me. The Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa and is known for its rhino conservation. As of 2008 there are more than 1600 white rhino in the reserve and hundreds of animals have been moved from here to game reserves around the world. However, due to the increase in rhino ... read more

Hippo and Crocodile Cruise Today, the VESA group got the opportunity to enjoy a hippo and crocodile cruise along Lake St. Lucia. St. Lucia estuary park is home to around 1200 Nile Crocodiles and 800 hippopotamus. I find hippos intimidating as they are one of the most aggressive animals in the world. Nevertheless, I felt safe on the boat as I watched the various hippos interact with their families. There were baby hippos and their moms and dads as well. It was really interesting seeing the hippos families interacting in the water and also seeing them sunbathe on land. Hippos make this really distinct and interesting sound when they are trying to communicate with each other above water. I was really cool and a great experience overall It was more difficult to spot a crocodile as ... 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