Whether you’re a sun worshipper, an adrenaline junky, a sports nut or just looking for a quiet position from where to contemplate your place in the world, the beach at Umlalazi definitely has a spot where you can enjoy the Indian Ocean just the way you like it.
Excellent information boards explain the different habitats
A beach that stretches for many miles!
A beach that stretches for many miles!
Grey-headed Gulls are numerous on the beach
Grey-headed Gulls are numerous on the beach
A beach that stretches for many miles!
The line where the dune forest meets the beach
The “blind” mouth of the Siyayi stream
A beach that stretches for many miles!
Dune vegetation
A beach that stretches for many miles!
A beach that stretches for many miles!
Palm Nut Vulture being harried by a gull at sunrise over the beach
Umlalazi sunrise
Easter fun on the beach
Ons het ook baie die kinders na daardie strand geneem, het mos op eshowe gebly en skoolgehou! Dis pragtig daar1
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Dit moes heerlik gewees het Aletta – daar’s soveel mooi plekke in daardie omgewing!
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Dit was!
-D
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This is so amazing. It isn’t just anywhere that a forest touches a beach… And the vegetation is so pretty and healthy!
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Umlalazi’s full of surprises! Thanks for visiting with us, Michelle!
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Pragtige foto’s,Dries!
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Baie dankie Dina! Dis jammer dat n foto nooit heeltemal die mooiheid van iets so wyd uitgestrek soos Umlalazi se strand kan vasvang nie.
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just love that sunrise! Beautiful beach!!
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Thanks Teresa! Taking in the sunrise that morning really was the best possible way to end our time at Umlalazi.
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so beautiful. I love the beach.
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Thanks Gavin! I’m sure there are many who enjoys Umlalazi’s beaches as much as you would!
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A beautiful beach indeed. 🙂
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Absolutely Sylvia – we were very impressed!
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Pragtig soos gewoonlik
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Baie dankie Tina!
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The Natal and WA coasts are amongst the best in the world Dries; paradise – including the snakes!
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Luckily I’ll never know exactly how many snakes I passed while walking in Umlalazi’s forests, I’ll just know about the one that I did have a fleeting glimpse of…
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Same here; we’ll be lucky to see one every now and then, let alone get bitten. Most people in Oz are very snake-wise so unfortunate encounters are far and between
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Dis baie mooi!
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Baie dankie, Christina!
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Ek is nou pers van groengheid!! 😉
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Eendag is eendag dan kan jy ook weer in die sonskyn op die strand speel 😛
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Ja… hou duim vas! 😛
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So beautiful! Love the lone purple flower creeping along the beech.
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The contrast between the green growth, colourful flowers and the apparently sterile sand really catches your eye while exploring the beach, thanks Ilex!
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Wow !!! A paradise on earth. Great shot.
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Thanks Ellada Valerie, and welcome here!
We were most impressed with Umlalazi on our first visit there, and I don’t think it would be our last.
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Wow so beautiful pictures, sunrise in pics looks so amazing and must be such a wonderful moment to see the sun coming up.
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Thanks Ashu! We specifically went to the beach to experience sunrise over the Indian Ocean one last time before tackling the long road back to Pretoria. And how glad we were that we did!
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Great photos of this beautiful beach! The sunrise is glorious.
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Thank you Amy!
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Your picture of the beach next to the forest intrigues me. Is that beach advancing on the forest or has it encroached no further? Also, are those school children on the beach at Easter? Great pictures. thanks.
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Thanks Dan!
The forests have actually grown on the dunes, on the land side where the dune protects the trees and other vegetation from the wind and saltspray coming off the sea. At the same time, the dense vegetation does a good job of keeping the sand in place so that it doesn’t penetrate very far into the forest – the dune actually drops very sharply to the forest floor on the other side. There’s actually several “rows” of dunes inland on which the forests have grown over millennia, only the first coming from the seaside is recognisable as a sanddune now. And as you can see from the picture, the meeting point between sand and forest is quite distinct! We’ll be sharing some photos from Umlalazi’s dune forests on Friday and you’ll see how hard it is to believe that such magnificent forests have grown on such a sandy substrate!
The local Christian community from Mtunzini and surrounds organised several activities on the beach over the Easter weekend to keep young and old entertained with good, clean fun while paying suitable attention to the significance of the days we were celebrating. It was certainly well attended and seemingly much appreciated by the locals and holidaymakers alike.
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