#stlucia

Turtle Tours

St Lucia turtle Tours (iSimangaliso Wetland Park) begin in November when Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles come ashore on the golden beaches in the St Lucia Turtle Sanctuary, to lay their eggs. On the St Lucia turtle nesting tours we drive along the beach (iSimangaliso Cape Vidal too Leven Point) at night in search of turtles. At certain stages during the nesting process, turtles can be approached, viewed and photographed without causing disturbance to the turtles. Once the female Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles have nested, the eggs incubate for about 65 days, depending upon nest temperatures. On St Lucia turtle hatchling tours, we drive along the beach in the turtle sanctuary with very dim flashlights looking for baby turtles as they move down the beach towards the ocean. If you are going to be in South Africa in the St Lucia area, this is a phenomenon not to be missed. 2014 Shoreline Boat Turtle and Walking Safaris have officially been awarded with the Turtle Tour concession for the iSimangaliso Wetland Park area. The commencement date for the Turtle Tours is 12 November 2014. The tours will depart from St Lucia and please do take note that the times vary according to the tides and therefore each evening will vary. Its an incredible tour with the benefit of being able to witness two separate types of Turtles that frequent the beaches of St Lucia, these include the Logger Head and Leather Back Turtles. Please do take note that sightings are not guaranteed as the same applies to a safari into any game reserve. What is incredible is that one will travel through the Eastern Shores of iSimangaliso Wetland Park enroute to the beach at Cape Vidal while traveling to the beach one also has the added benefit of coming across various animal species that frequent the area these include Hippo, Buffalo, Rhino, Antelope and even the odd Leopard. Once you arrive at the Cape Vidal beach your guide will deflate the open game drives tyres and then you are officially off on a Turtle Tour along the beach, the stretch of beach that you will 4×4 on is a reserve and the distance that you will travel is aprox 27km before you get to the sanctuary. It is along this stretch of beach that you will be looking for the turtles. From November the Turtles start to lay their eggs and once the incubation period is complete then only will the hatchlings depart into the water never to set foot onto land again in the case of the males. Did you know that when the females are ready to lay their eggs that they will always return to their birth stretch of beach never mind where in the ocean they are. Turtle Tours are an incredible and magical outing definitely a once in a life time experience should you be interested in booking this tour then please do Click Here for prices and availability. Seats are limited to 10 so please do ensure that you have made bookings prior as the Turtle Tours do coincide with High season in St Lucia. We are incredibly excited to mention that during our current season of 2015 that the sightings have been awesome thus far not to mention that our success rate currently is more than 94% for Leopards. This is amazing as it adds so much more value to the extraordinary outing as it is. Turtle Viewing Season: Starting Date: 1 November End Date: 31 March Telephonic Bookings: +27 35 5901555 iSimangaliso Wetland Park, St Lucia Why not join a Turtle Tour while in iSimangaliso Wetland Park , St Lucia and not only get to witness the Turtles, Leopards but some magnificent scenery as well. Turtle Tours are conducted on the Eastern Shores of iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Accessing the Eastern shores is done by entering the Cape Vidal gate from St Lucia. The Eastern shores borders the Indian Ocean on the East and the St Lucia Estuary on the West. Traveling to Cape Vidal is a 28 km journey prior to one being able to access the beach. What makes the Turtle Tours even more spectacular is the fact that one has the opportunity to enjoy a Night Drive Safari both en route and back to St Lucia on completion of the Turtle Tour. While en route one may come across various wildlife species including Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino, Hippo, Antelope and smaller nocturnal species such as Chameleons. Its a magnificent outing in an incredible park. Turtle Tour Sightings The 2015/2016 Turtle Tour Season (area: St Lucia/iSimangaliso Wetland Park) has truly been a magnificent season thus far. November 2015 started of with splendid sightings of Leopards virtually each evening. Furthermore our Ranger Jacques was fortunate to spot more than 1 Leopard on most nights in and among-st other Nocturnal wildlife. The Turtles started showing themselves from mid November and continued throughout the season. Leatherback Turtles and Logger Head Turtles where witnessed on numerous occasions throughout the season. December Leopard sightings dwindled a bit due to more traffic on the Cape Vidal road but quickly increased after the festive season. As of late January a lot more LeatherBack Turtles had been witnessed with numerous Logger Head hatch-lings. LeatherBack Turtle Facts LeatherBack Turtle: Reptile Carnivore 45 year Lifespan Can weigh up to 900 kg LeatherBacks are the largest turtles on earth. As their name implies their skin is thin, tough and rubbery. Made up of thousands of bone plates that gives an impression of leather. The LeatherBack is the only turtle that does not have a hard outer shell. The length of a adult Turtle can be up to 2,7 m long. Scissor like jaws, jellyfish is the main diet of this magnificent creature. Female Turtles between the ages of 6 and 10 years will mate every 2 to 3 years. A female may lay her eggs up to 9 times during one season with an average of 10 days between nestings.

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Emdoneni News

Turtle Tours

A chance to see the ancient nesting rituals of Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles, which nest nowhere else in Africa. The coastline of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park is the only remaining major nesting site in Africa where Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles still lay their eggs. These important breeding grounds have been protected by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the conservation partners of the Wetland Park Authority, for over 50 years. This ancient nesting ritual starts early in November every year. The female emerges from the surf and rests in the wash zone alert for danger – at this point she is easily disturbed. She then moves above the high tide mark to find a suitable site, where the laborious process of digging a nest, down to 1m in depth, commences. After laying a batch of 80-100 eggs, she carefully closes the nest and conceals its presence from foragers like jackals, genets, honey badgers and ghost crabs. The cumbersome journey back to sea follows. The eggs can take up to 70 days to hatch, with the hatchlings emerging at night and making their way to the sea from January through to March every year. Approximately 4 hatchlings from every 1000 are estimated to reach maturity. Recent evidence suggests that female turtles return to the beaches where they hatched. How they know the route back to the spots they hatched on remains a mystery. Turtle tours operate from November to March every year from St Lucia and Cape Vidal (Shoreline Boat Safaris & Turtle Tours; Thompsons Tours), Sodwana Bay (Phinda and Ufudu Tours), Mabibi (Thonga Beach Lodge), Island Rock (Rocktail Beach Camp) and Bhanga Nek (Community guides). source: isimangaliso

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The Elephant Coast

KwaZulu Natal’s Elephant Coast stretches from the world heritage site of Lake St Lucia in the south to Kosi Bay, virtually on the Mozambique border. The Elephant Coast is an extraordinary, untamed area fast growing in popularity for its incredible variety of habitats and eco-systems that combine into an unforgettable blend of adventure, unspoilt scenery and unique experiences. Called the Elephant Coast after the country’s largest herd of indigenous African elephants that have lived in sand forests in this region for centuries, the Elephant Coast extends inland across to the Lubombo Mountains in the west, and includes the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Reserve, the oldest game park in Africa – home to the big five. It is not hard to understand why the Elephant Coast is regarded as the ecotourism mecca of the Zulu Kingdom. Sand dunes blend with swamps, coastal forests, rocky shores, coral reefs, mangrove swamps, woodlands, savanna grassland, and the largest protected wetland in southern Africa, iSimangaliso Wetland Park (the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park). Getaways to this coastline are rich in adventure, and if you’re not game viewing, birding, paddling, snorkelling, hiking, on a horse trail, or diving then you’re surely out on a boat to see dolphins and humpback whales, or watching turtles lay eggs on the beach. Highlights of the Elephant Coast include Cape Vidal (wonderful beaches for deep-sea fishing and famous for whale watching); Sodwana Bay Nature Reserve (the mainstay of scuba diving); Kosi Bay (one of the most unspoilt regions with numerous lakes where you can watch local fishermen); and of course both the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve and the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park are highlights of the Elephant Coast, for obvious reasons. POPULAR TOWNS IN THE ELEPHANT COAST Hluhluwe The village of Hluhluwe is in the heart of Zululand on South Africa’s east coast, home to the Zulu kings Dingiswayo and Shaka, who allegedly prompted the very first conservation laws and the oldest game reserve in the country – the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Game Reserve, established in 1895. Only a two hour drive from Durban and four hours from Johannesburg the entire area around the Hluhluwe Reserve, right down to the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, now a World Heritage Site, has been given over to animal conservation and game farms and visiting the region provides one with an abundance of Big Five viewing, over 350 species of bird and a variety of other wildlifeincluding rhino, giraffe, wildebeest and many antelope species. The main attraction of the area is without doubt the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve. This low-risk malaria park is famous for rescuing the white rhino from the brink of extinction and its ongoing protection of both the white and black rhinoceros. The park covers about 96 000 ha and game aside, contains an incredible diversity of fauna and flora. The park provides a couple of self-guided auto trails over and above game viewing and guided walks are also available. The first Iron Age communities are reputed to have settled along the coast and in the lower-lying river valleys in Hluhluwe from 300 AD and there is evidence of metal working sites that date back to 1000 AD in the reserve itself. The Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park has five distinct eco-systems that range from sub-tropical seas, coral reefs, sandy beaches and lush forests to grassy plains, dry savannah and reed and papyrus wetlands. An aerial view of the Maputoland coastline gives one an indication of the amount of water and natural forest in the area. The inland lakes and estuaries are home to hippos, crocodile and fish and the beaches of St Lucia, Cape Vidal and Sodwana Bay are easily accessed from Hluhluwe, providing whale and dolphin spotting as well as scuba diving and other water activities. Ingwavuma Ingwavuma is a small rural town, nestled deep in the countryside of the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Part of the Umkhanyakude District Municipality, Ingwavuma enjoys the hot, humid conditions typical of this part of South Africa for some of the year. However, being situated in the mountains and 700 metres above sea level, the climate can be cooler and more extreme than along the balmy coastline. As one scales the Lebombo Mountains to find Ingwavuma, it becomes clear that these scenic vistas are unrivalled in terms of their natural beauty, verdant lushness and enormous scale. This little town was established in 1850, and was burnt to the ground during the Second Boer War in 1899. It was re-established the following year. Thanks to the rich Zulu culture and the fascinating history of British and Boer settlers, Ingwavuma continues to be full of heritage; inviting visitors from South Africa and all over the world to come and learn about the people and the place. Ingwavuma occupies only 1.74 square kilometres and is home to about 1 500 people. It has a number of schools, a hospital and a small shopping centre. The entire area is rural, however, and the facilities and services remain compromised by a lack of funds. Jozini Jozini, a small town in North Eastern KwaZulu Natal on the main route to Mozambique, is synonymous with the dam of the same name – the Jozini or Pongolapoort Dam. This huge dam, on the Pongola River, provides a rather dramatic doorway into Maputaland and the river supports a massive population of fish, hippos and crocodiles as well as the people who live in the area. The Jozini Dam lies in between the majestic Ubombo and Lebombo mountains on the Elephant Coast and covers over 16 000 ha. The dam was originally designed to irrigate over 80 000 ha of farm land supporting products such as sugarcane, rice, coffee and various sub-tropical fruits. Many have compared it to Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe and it is fast becoming the mecca of many wild game seekers as farmers convert vast tracts of land around the dam back to their virgin bush in the bid to realise a dream to return this area to its former wild life kingdom. Lake Jozini, as the dam is now called, has become very popular as a Tiger fishing destination and because the dam borders with the Pongola Nature Reserve and Game Reserve, you

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Emdoneni News

Exciting Emdoneni

I discovered Emdoneni a few years ago. My sister was out from the USA and I wanted to give her a truly South African experience. And she wasn’t disappointed. By Tim Lombard. There’s something special about seeing a wild animal up-close. At Emdoneni, you get the chance. As part of the Cheetah Project, where they carefully rehabilitate wildlife and then release them into the wild, we get to experience monitored interaction with cheetah, caracal, serval and African wildcat. Emdoneni Lodge, with Cheetah Project, is a high quality lodge and is situated on a small game farm. It is accessible for any vistitor who still wants to experience the luxury of a bush environment and also be close to the main attractions such as Hluhluwe/iMfolozi Game Reserves and St Lucia World Heritage Park. This intimate, beautiful, multi-award wining lodge is the ideal location from which to explore the wildlife and coastal reserves in Zululand. We got to experience the abundance of our wildlife and the scenic splendors of this rich and diverse region during game drives offered at Hluhluwe/iMolozi Game Rerserves, guided and non-guided walks done at the lodge, cultural excursions close by and relaxing bot cruises at Lan St Lucia. The kids got to enjoy the facilities at the lodge too, with a swimming pool, jungle gym and play area. They even have their own kiddie’s menu, which was a real bonus for our fussy children. It’s now my third time and. And it won’t be my last. Do yourself a favour and experience Emdoneni’s owner-run lodge. You won’t regret it.

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Emdoneni News

Snorkeling Cape Vidal

The waters of Cape Vidal are warm, thanks to their being part of the Indian Ocean, and are teeming with marine animal- and plant life. The snorkelling safaris are paired with a game drive to ensure that visitors get to see the maximum number of species and the most variety during their excursion. Cape Vidal Snorkeling precautions Please take note that their are strong rip currents in the bay at Cape Vidal, South Africa. Should you like to go snorkeling at Cape Vidal then it is advisable that the following should be noted. Snorkeling should only take place 1 hour prior and 1 hour after low tide. This is when one can enjoy the very best snorkeling in the protected bay of Cape Vidal. The conditions (currents) are most favorable between these times and are therefore the safest as well. Please ensure that you do have a tide chart so that you make sure that your timings are correct. Snorkeling Gear Cape Vidal Bay is a semi protected bay and therefore makes for some incredible snorkeling opportunities. Gear Needed: Mask & Snorkel Fins (if possible) Sunblock a must During low tide it is not imperative to have fins as their is not much current one can therefore enjoy the bay to ones leisure. Due to the warm Indian Ocean a wetsuit is not needed. Where to Snorkel at Cape Vidal Once you arrive at Cape Vidal, you will see on the far right the reef starts. It is from their that one can enjoy snorkeling all the way towards the end of the reef. One will also see a pole sticking out at the end of the reef. This not only marks the end of the reef but is also utilized for the Boats Launching from Cape Vidal. Please at all times be on the look out for Sea going vessels are not only do they launch from the same site but also return through the same area. Ezemvello usually have someone with a whistle notifying you that you are swimming or snorkeling in the wrong area. Please adhere to them at all times. Scattered reefs and rocks are to be found within the bay, be on the look out for the mast of a old ship as well as this makes for some interesting shelter for the fish. Numerous fish species can be witnessed while snorkeling in Cape Vidal not to mention the odd game fish and crayfish. Please note that crayfish are not allowed to be removed as this is a protected area (isimangaliso wetland park). During winter its is common for the bay to sand up a bit and by summer the sand will once again be moved by the dominant currents. Credit: .stluciasouthafrica.com

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