Greater St Lucia Wetland Park

by Jonathan Andrews, 1 July 2006

by Jonathan Andrews

Lake St Lucia, in north-eastern KwaZulu Natal is the largest estuarine body of water in South Africa, and one of the most important wetlands in Africa. It forms a large part of the southern Greater St Lucia Wetland Park.

Facts and figures

The park stretches along the coast for over 80 kilometres from the Mfolozi swamps and Mapelane in the south to Sodwana Bay in the north.

The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, and for good reason. It's starkly beautiful and an important ecosystem.

World Heritage Sites are places that have a profound cultural or natural importance. In Africa, these sites include Robben Island in Cape Town, the Great Zimbabwe Ruins and the Ngorongoro Crater Conservancy in Tanzania.

Spanning an area of more than 250,000 hectares, the park contains five distinct ecosystems including freshwater lakes, marine reserves, wooded areas and the world's highest forested dunes.

The lake is predominantly croc and hippo territory, and the park has over 800 hippopotami and 1,200 Nile crocodiles in its numerous waterways.

Five in one

But that, as they say on the shopping channel, is not all: the abundant fish life attracts masses of estuarine birds and there are numerous other game species in the parks that compose the Greater St Lucia Wetlands.

A whole is often greater than the sum of its parts. The sum of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is the St Lucia Game and Marine Reserves, False Bay Park, Sodwana Bay National Park and the Mkuze Game Reserve. Meaning that in one area you'll be able to experience great diving on tropical reefs, loads of birdlife and big game - it's the whole package.

Each park has its own tariffs and accommodation options. These are administered by KwaZulu Natal Wildlife and must be booked in either Pietermaritzburg or Durban.

Where to stay and what to do

When most people visit the St Lucia Wetlands, they stay in St Lucia, the town on the southern end of the park where Lake St Lucia runs into the sea. This estuary was first reached by Portuguese explorers in 1576 and was named Santa Lucia.

St Lucia Estuary is a bustling holiday village in the balmy summer months, and is a good base for exploring the reserves.

From St Lucia you can book boat trips on the lake where you're sure to see plenty of crocs and hippos. Occasionally, sharks drift into the estuary too. There are several tour operators in the town who cater for just about every excursion.

In St Lucia, there are lots of private accommodation options to suit every traveller. If the wildlife and surrounding wilderness aren't enough to keep you entertained, you shouldn't be bored because the main road, MacKenzie Street, is crammed with restaurants and lively bars and pubs.

A critical conservation area

The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is not as well known as the likes of the Kruger National Park or Botswana's Okavango Delta. However, St Lucia supports more bird and animal species than either of them and for many of these species, it is a critical habitat.

The area was plundered by early hunters and explorers until it was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1897. Today, the park is a beacon to South African conservation efforts. Critically endangered marine turtles and birds have been given a chance thanks to laws prohibiting driving on beaches since early 2002.

Lake St Lucia

Lake St Lucia is probably the most easily accessed feature of the park. It flows out into the Indian Ocean at the estuary on the southern end and has numerous swamps and marshes on its borders.

The lake covers an area of nearly 360 square kilometres and its dazzling expanse is dotted with islands. The lake's depth and salinity vary depending on the seasons and the rainfall. The marshes and filtering sand dunes give asylum to freshwater species when the lake salinity is high.

The Mkuze Swamps

The word 'swamp', conjures up some rather revolting imagery. Methane gases, gurgling puddles, reptiles with beady eyes and a dilapidated cottage with a person on the front porch in a straw hat idly plucking a banjo.

The Mkuze swamps towards the north of the lake are quite the opposite. They are a reed and papyrus marshland. Mangroves, wild fig trees and other typically tropical vegetation provide a unique habitat for rich and diverse animal life.

Mkuze Game Reserve contains over 430 bird species and a wide variety of large game including elephant and rhino as well as many antelope and buck species.

Forested dunes

The eastern shores of the park encompass a coastal dune system that has the highest forested dunes in the world. Some of these dunes tower at heights of 200 metres.

Once again, this is a unique ecosystem. The forest and grasslands on the dunes form a rampart between the Lake and the Indian Ocean and are vital filtration systems for the tidal estuaries and wetlands.

Sodwana Bay

The St Lucia Wetlands include a large area of the marine environment. Within this ecosystem are masses of psychedelic tropical fish, submarine canyons and the southernmost coral reefs in Africa.

Lurking at depths of over 100 metres in these sub-aquatic canyons is a fish species that was thought to have been extinct for more than 70 million years. A colony of coelacanths was discovered by a group of extreme deep divers in the year 2000.

A four-legged fossil fish

Known fondly as 'old four legs' because of the leg-like fins on its underbelly, the first coelacanth was caught accidentally by a fishing boat near East London in the Eastern Cape in 1938 and identified by a biologist at Rhodes University in Grahamstown.

These unusual fish can grow to nearly two metres in length and weigh as much as 100 kilograms. They are similar to the creatures that first crawled out of the primordial ooze and onto land millions of years ago. In evolutionary terms, they do not appear to have changed very much, hence their other epithet, 'the living fossil'.

The only colonies of coelacanth in the world are off Sodwana Bay and around the coast of Madagascar. Not much is known for sure about these strange fish, because they are largely inaccessible and diving to the depths at which they swim is very dangerous.

Diving, snorkeling and whale watching

Although you won't see coelacanths, scuba diving and snorkeling off the sandy beaches at Sodwana Bay is very rewarding and it is probably the best diving spot in South Africa.

The coral reefs teem with exotic fish, turtles and eels. Visibility is generally good and the water is warm all year round.

Migrating humpback whales and whale sharks can sometimes be seen passing this coastline too. There is a whale viewing tower near Cape Vidal in the southern part of the park.

A great destination

The St Lucia Wetland Park is the perfect destination if you love the sea, fishing, birds and lots of peace and quiet.

Whatever your pursuits from kayaking to diving, birding, game viewing and horse riding on pristine beaches, you'll find them in this park. St Lucia is not a World Heritage Site for nothing. Its unspoilt tranquility and unique landscapes are a dream-come-true for any nature lover.

And you can finish up with a drink in the pub. Ah, heaven.

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