Our December holidays kicked off with a five night stay at Umlalazi Nature Reserve on the north coast of Kwazulu-Natal Province and conveniently right on the outskirts of the small holiday town of Mtunzini. It is quite a drive from Pretoria, and by the time we arrived in stifling heat and humidity we were thankful for being allowed to check in a bit earlier than the “official” 14:00 time.

Umlalazi Log Cabin #1, December 2018

Of course we can’t sit still for long and with the relative coolness of the evening setting in we decided to go for a walk through the mangrove swamp and then through the forest to the beach before returning to our cottage.

A quiet spot in the mangrove swamp

Beautiful bloom of the Powder-puff Tree at Umlalazi

Water berry bloom at Umlalazi

CMR Blister Beetles

Channel in the mangrove swamp at Umlalazi

Mangrove Tree

African Mudhopper

White-breasted Cormorant

Crabs abound in the mangrove swamp

Grasshopper

Dune Forest road at Umlalazi

Sunset at the beach

Forest canopy at Umlalazi

Common Tropical House Gecko

After the previous day’s long drive Marilize and Joubert were a little late to wake for my liking, so I set off on a hike while they lay in. Upon returning to the cottage they were thankfully already up and ready, so we could set about exploring Umlalazi and surrounds as a family for the remainder of the day.

Yellow-billed Kite

Common Bush Brown

Vervet Monkey female with baby

Crabs abound in the mangrove swamp

Hadedas

Fallen Powder-puff Tree flower at Umlalazi

Raphia Palms and Joubert

Three-banded Plover

Plains Zebra

Yellow-bellied Greenbul

African Hoopoe

Violet-backed Starling (female)

Bronze Mannikin

Beautiful blooms at Umlalazi

Immature Fish Eagle in flight

Egyptian Goose

Wood Sandpiper

Common Ringed Plover

Vervet Monkey

Red-capped Robin-Chat

Gravel road through the dune forest at Umlalazi

Umlalazi’s lawnmower working in the campsite!

Common Tropical House Gecko

Ant-heap White

Red Duiker ram

Red Duiker ewe

Eastern Natal Green Snake

Guttural Toad

Early on Sunday morning we set off inland to Eshowe and the Dlinza Forest – we’ll tell you more about Dlinza in our next post. Just after returning to Umlalazi and a quick lunch, I set off on the longest trail in the reserve – the one leading to the mouth of the Mlalazi River where it meets the Indian Ocean. In retrospect starting the trail in the heat of the day was probably not the best idea, but the further I walked the more intrigued I became by what scenes were still waiting around the next corner, and by the time I started questioning my sanity it was too late to turn around anyway. This particular trail leads through the forested dunes and along the river course to the mouth and one can then choose to return to the camp along the same way or along the beach – all in all a round trip of around 9km or so. I chose to return along the flat beach with the cool waves lapping my overheated feet… 😀

Epiphytic plant on a tree at Umlalazi

Mlalazi River

Eastern Coastal Skink

Trail to the Mlalazi River mouth

Trail to the Mlalazi River mouth

Common Dotted Border

Near the Mlalazi River mouth

Mlalazi River mouth

Ospreys flying above the mouth of the Mlalazi

Huge schools of small fish swim in the mouth of the Mlalazi River

Mouth of the Mlalazi River

Common and Lesser Crested Terns on the beach at Umlalazi

Waves at Umlalazi

Flock of Sanderlings

White-fronted Plover

Dead dragonfly being buried by the sand on the beach at Umlalazi

Grey-headed Gull

With Monday the 17th of December being a public holiday, we expected that the beach would soon be packed with throngs of sun-seekers, and with sunrise coming so early in summer, we were out the door by 04:20 to first enjoy the emergence of the sun over the horizon of the Indian Ocean and then have a bit of beach fun-and-games. By the time the day started heating up around 08:00, with a steady stream of people heading for the beach, we had our fill of seaside-fun and headed back to the cottage. In the afternoon the mangrove swamp and Mlalazi river begged further exploration.

Early morning fun on the beach

Sunrise over the Indian Ocean at Umlalazi

Sunrise over the Indian Ocean

Crab along the shore on the beach at Umlalazi

Main beach at Umlalazi

Pied Wagtail

Lesser Swamp Warbler

Purple Heron

Beautiful flowering plant growing on a beach dune at Umlalazi

Fever Tree

Boardwalk through Umlalazi’s mangrove swamp

Mlalazi River

Channel through the swamps at Umlalazi

Great White Pelicans

Little Stints

Woolly-necked Stork

Mlalazi River

Violet-backed Starling (male)

Joubert and I got an early start to our final full day at Umlalazi to go looking for interesting birds, and we were certainly not disappointed. A rain shower in the afternoon cancelled any plans we had of spending more time in Umlalazi’s forests, but brought welcome respite from the oppressive heat and humidity. The next morning we were moving to Mpila in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park and of course we’re going to tell you about that part of our trip soon!

Black-backed Puffback

Pink-backed Pelican in flight over Umlalazi Nature Reserve

Trumpeter Hornbill

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird

Red Duiker lamb that hung around our cottage at Umlalazi

African Wattled Lapwings

Yellow-throated Longclaw

Common Ringed Plover

Purple-crested Turaco

White-eared Barbets

This was our second visit to the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. After our first visit in 2016, we blogged about the reserve, the mangrove swamps, the beach, the forests and the Mlalazi River – follow the links if you’d like to learn more about this beautiful and underrated destination.

How to reach Umlalazi