Our Splendid World Heritage Site

Lake St. Lucia north to the Mozambican border is host to 460 species of birds, especially in the summer months (October to March).

The lake is 80 kilometres long and 23 kms at its widest point and is one of the largest international estuaries, with five separate ecosystems.

It is home to more than 800 hippopotami, 1,200 Nile crocodiles and over one hundred fish eagles. Check out 'The Ten Jewels' of iSimangaliso here.

Guided boat tours provide wonderful sightings of these and the prolific bird life. The margins of the lake are studded with mangroves in which mud skippers, fiddler crabs and mangrove whelks can be seen.

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To enjoy these and more, take a two-hour boat trip on the Narrows - a 20km. long tidal channel that links Lake St. Lucia to the sea. The small town of St. Lucia is situated on the banks of this channel.

Attractions Nearby

Kosi Bay is largely untouched and relished by nature lovers and anglers. It has one of the largest reserves of swamp forest, grassland and dune forest in South Africa.

Ozabeni provides a unique experience for those wishing to visit more remote areas of the Park. There is unspoilt wetlands and grassland.

Ndumo Game Reserve is the bird watching capital of South Africa with many African birds reaching their southern limits here. There are more than 200 species of trees and numerous hippos and crocs.

Lake Sibaya is the largest freshwater lake in South Africa with abundant hippo and crocodile populations.

Mkuze Game Reserve is a 40,000 ha bird watchers' paradise. There is accommodation and a variety of hikes and night drives.

Rocktail Bay must have the most secluded stretch of beach in South Africa!

Sodwana Bay has some of the best coral reef in the world and hence superb SCUBA and snorkel diving. There are many trails to occupy visitors who do not want to take advantage of the great fishing. Coelacanth also live in the deep canyons offshore.

Fani's Island is on the western shores of the lake and provides trails and mountain biking through the local bush.

Charters Creek is a favourite venue for water bird watching and anglers.

False Bay Park has many beautiful picnic spots along the lake shore.

Mission Rocks' rock pools provide many hours of exploration at low tide. There is also a lookout point here with lovely views of the lake.

Pongolapoort Biosphere Reserve is a large tract of wilderness at the foot of the Lebombo Mountains. There are many game species, excellent tiger fishing in the lake and night game drives.

Maphelana boasts safe swimming at low tide, excellent fishing opportunities and delightful walks through the coastal bush.

Lake St. Lucia - Facts & Figures

The cultural and ecological treasures of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park broadly cover northern Maputaland east of the N2 highway between St. Lucia town in the south and Kosi Bay in the north on the Mozambican border.

1. 280 kms. of coastline and beaches
2. 100 species of coral
3. 526 bird species
4. 5 species of turtles
5. All 5 of the Big Five
6. 36 species of snakes
7. 8 inter-linking ecosystems
8. The highest density of black rhino in any place on the globe

1. The major swamp forests left in South Africa
2. 3 major lake systems including Kosi Bay, Lake St. Lucia and Lake Sibayi
3. 8 major game reserves in the broader Maputaland
4. 105 years of conservation (the St. Lucia Park was declared a game reserve 3 years after the Yellowstone National Park and is Africa's oldest protected area)
5. 105 red data species
6. The highest number of frog species in southern Africa (35 of which 2 are endemic)

1. 80 species of dragon flies
2. 110 species of butterflies
3. 2000 species of flowering plants
4. All 5 of South Africa's surviving mangrove tree species
5. 25 000 year old coastal dunes, among the highest in the world
6. 700-year-old fish traps, commented on for the natural and cultural beauty by early Portuguese explorers
7. 5 natural groups: Zulu, Swazi, Shangaan, Tonga and relic group of Gonda speakers

1. ZERO other places in the world where the world's largest terrestrial mammals (elephants) range within kilometers of where the world's largest marine mammals (whales) swim.

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The St. Lucia Wetland Park must be the only place on the globe where the world's oldest land mammal (the rhinoceros) and the world's biggest terrestrial mammal .

Nelson Mandela

iSimangaliso Park

500,000 acres, coral reefs, 200m sand dune forest.

Elephants, hippos, turtles, whales, crocodiles and 400 species of birds.

Facts and Figures ...