Category Archives: Kwazulu Natal Province

Our experiences in the reserves of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Summertide Diary: Exploring iSimangaliso (part two)

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18 January 2021

Our morning drive may just have been a relatively short circuit around the Grassland Loop, passing the shores of Lake Bhangazi, and then back to Cape Vidal, but we saw so much that it actually took quite a few hours to complete.

African Pygmy Kingfisher
Saddle-billed Stork
Spotted Hyena
Bushpig sounder
Red-breasted Swallow
Denham’s Bustard
Burchell’s Coucal
Secretarybird
Waterbuck
Plains Zebra
Red-backed Shrike
Crested Guineafowl
Vervet Monkey (sitting on a thorn, perhaps!?)
Baby Vervet Monkey

Cape Vidal really is the most wonderful combination of a beach holiday and a bush safari. I need to be honest here: I get bored on the beach reeeaaally quickly when it is high-tide. Therefore it is marvelous to be able to just walk over the first dune and start looking for forest birds and animals without having to distract Marilize and Joubert from whichever wet or sandy pursuit they’re enjoying at that point in time, and then quickly pop back over the dune every now-and-then to check that the sea hasn’t disappeared yet! 😀

The beach at Cape Vidal
Cape Vidal
Samango Monkey
Samango Monkey
Cape Vidal
Wild Plum
Bushbuck
Cape Vidal
Cape Vidal
Cape Vidal
Flower on the beach at Cape Vidal
Black-backed Puffback
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Livingstone’s Turaco
Bushbuck ram
Black-bellied Starling

Our very leisurely afternoon outing took us south to Catalina Bay and then slowly back to camp. A strong wind and ever darkening skies accompanied us all the way.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters
Woolly-necked Stork
White-eared Barbet
Hamerkop nest
African Pipit
Steppe Buzzard
Southern Reedbuck
Fish Eagle
Rays of sunshine through the clouds over Catalina Bay, Lake St. Lucia
Wild Date Palm blowing in the wind

 

Map of the eastern shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (from https://isimangaliso.com/)

 

Summertide Diary: Butterfly Bonanza (and a few other insects too)

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When we first walked to the KuMfazana hide on our recent visit to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, we didn’t quite find what we expected. Normally, if the pans in front of the hide holds water, there are hippos and crocodiles and a myriad of water-dependent birds to keep visitors entertained for hours. This time however it was the walkway through the swamp forest to the hide that held us enthralled for hours, and not because of some “hairy and scary” creatures either…

We dubbed this stretch of the walkway to the hide at kuMfazana “Butterfly Glen”

It was thanks to the sheer numbers and diversity of butterflies to be seen along this short walk that we visited kuMfazana almost daily for the week that we were at Cape Vidal in January 2021. Last time I saw anything like it was during a solitary autumn visit to the Kruger National Park in 2019. iSimangaliso’s rich plantlife and habitats supports an extraordinary list of butterfly species, each seemingly more beautiful than the one you’ve seen just before. Other spots in the Park, most notably at Cape Vidal and Mission Rocks, also contributed to the bounty but none so richly as kuMfazana. I really hope this gallery gives you an idea of what we experienced that week.

Green-banded Swallowtail butterflies
Green-banded Swallowtail butterflies
Novice butterflies
Novice butterfly
Natal Tree Nymph butterfly
Small Orange Tip
Small Orange Tip butterfly
African Monarch
African Monarch
African Common White
African Migrant
African Monarchs mating
African Monarch
Female Mocker Swallowtail mimicking the Layman butterfly
Variable Diadem
Female Mocker Swallowtail mimicking the Layman butterfly
False Dotted Border
Common Bush Browns in flight
Blue Pansy
Wanderer butterfly
Female Mocker Swallowtail mimicking the Novice butterfly
Natal Acraea
Female Mocker Swallowtail mimicking the Friar butterfly
Female Mocker Swallowtaill mimicking the Friar butterfly
Forest Leopard butterfly
Forest Leopard butterfly
False Dotted Border
African Migrant
African Migrant
Chief butterfly
Wanderer butterfly
Novice butterfly
Chief butterfly
Novice butterfly
Common Diadem (female) mimicking African Monarch
Green-banded Swallowtail
Natal Blue butterfly
Forest Leopard butterfly
Streaked Sailer butterfly
An unidentified member of the Tip-family of butterflies
Novice butterflies
Citrus Swallowtail
Streaked Sailer
Streaked Sailer
A Flying Handkerchief – the male Mocker Swallowtail
Streaked Sailer
Spotted Hairtail
African Wood White
Novice butterflies (photo by Joubert)
Novice butterflies (photo by Joubert)
African Monarch
Citrus Swallowtail
False Swift butterfly
A Flying Handkerchief – the male Mocker Swallowtail
Boisduval’s Tree Nymph (female)
Boisduval’s Tree Nymph (female)
Boisduval’s Tree Nymph (male)
Natal Tree Nymph
Natal Tree Nymph
Golden Piper butterfly
Small-striped Swordtail
Small-striped Swordtail (photo by Joubert)
Common Bush Brown
Novice (Amauris ochlea)

While not nearly as conspicuous as their butterfly cousins there also was a few eye-catching moths to be found.

Sundowner Moth
Unidentified moth species
Unidentified caterpillar, probably of a moth species
Unidentified caterpillar, probably of a moth species

The diversity of dragonflies on the eastern shores of Lake St. Lucia almost matches that of the butterflies, and I was frustrated at not being able to identify the species most of them belonged to. Realising how little I actually know about these often seen insects I’m determined to remedy that as soon as possible.

Violet Dropwing Dragonfly female (photo by Joubert)
Violet Dropwing Dragonfly (female)
Common Tigertail Dragonfly
Jaunty Dropwing Dragonfly
Jaunty Dropwing Dragonfly (female)
Violet Dropwing Dragonfly
African Piedspot Dragonfly
Violet Dropwing Dragonfly (female)
Julia Skimmer Dragonfly
Unidentified Dragonfly (photo by Joubert)
Broad Scarlet Dragonfly

Insects of all kinds thrive in iSimangaliso’s sub-tropical climate. Regrettably that includes mosquitoes…

Wasp of the genus Stizus
Carpenter Bee Robber Fly
Dung Beetle with his bounty
Dung Beetle
Adult Antlion
Unidentified Flightless Wasp
Elegant Grasshopper
Elegant Grasshopper

When we saw a spider-hunting wasp dragging a paralysed sac spider to its nest I must admit to getting a large dose of pleasure from the hapless spider’s predicament. Sac spiders are among the most venomous spiders in South Africa and responsible for most of the serious spider bites suffered in our country. They deliver a nasty bite of cytotoxic venom and the bite-site is prone to secondary infection. The reason for my schadenfreude? A sac spider bit a then infant Joubert resulting in a visit to the emergency room late night on a New Years eve a few years ago…

Wasp with Sac Spider prey
Wasp and Sac Spider prey

 

Summertide Diary: Exploring iSimangaliso (part one)

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17 January 2021

It’s a cloudy start to the day at Cape Vidal and the route for our morning drive takes us along the Grassland Loop and then to the viewpoint at Catalina Bay on the shores of Lake St. Lucia. Recent rains have swelled the lake to proportions I don’t think we’ve seen on any of our numerous previous visits to the area.

Little Bee-eater
Youngish Waterbuck bull
Cheeky Kudu calf
Catalina Bay, Lake St. Lucia
Adult Antlion

We’re slowly making our way to the picnic site at Mission Rocks for breakfast.

Waterbuck with oddly shaped horns
Fan-tailed Widowbird
Dominant male Vervet Monkey

On arrival at Mission Rocks we delay our breakfast of coffee-and-rusks just a little to first walk down to the rocky beach and look out over the ocean. But its windy and drizzly so we don’t stay at the seaside too long before going to hide in the forest, where the picnic tables are also frequented by some colourful birds with the same aching for something to eat that we had.

Spotted Hyena track at Mission Rocks
Mission Rocks
Common Whimbrel
Large crab of unknown species at Mission Rocks
Natal Rock Crab
Natal Rock Crab
Red-capped Robin Chat
African Pygmy Kingfisher

Driving further south the sun finally puts in appearance and the bush becomes alive as birds and animals come out of hiding.

Barn Swallows
Rufous-winged Cisticola
Warthog
Vervet Monkey
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

We turn for camp at Amazibu Pan, where the hippos are kept from their sleep by a raucous assortment of birdlife.

Fan-tailed Widowbird
Spur-winged Goose (photo by Joubert)
Spur-winged Goose
White-faced Whistling Duck
Hippos lazing at Amazibu Pan

Heading back to Cape Vidal there’s three short loop roads that offer an alternative to the busier tarred main road, and each of them offers a glimpse into a different ecosystem. The first of these is the Vlei Loop that passes several open pans where animals congregate to drink.

Dung Beetle with his bounty
Herd of buffaloes
Steppe Buzzard
Water Thick-knee (photo by Joubert)

The Forest Loop passes the kuMfazana Hide, where we discover a butterfly paradise – more about that tomorrow!

Eastern Coastal Skink
Novice butterfly
Common Tigertail Dragonfly
Unidentified moth species

A turnoff from the Dune Loop leads to the Kwasheleni Tower – a new facility opened after our previous visit to iSimangaliso that we were very curious to see – but a sour old buffalo bull tried his best to keep us from reaching it.

Wild Date Palms
Water Monitor lizard
Buffalo road block
Buffalo road block

Our patience paid off when the buffalo eventually relented and we could reach the viewing tower without further hindrance (unless you see the climbing up the dune and then the tower as an obstacle). The views afforded over Lake St. Lucia and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park from up the top of the tower was amazing.

Kwasheleni Tower
Kwasheleni Tower
Kwasheleni Tower and view
The view southwards from the Kwasheleni Tower

Arriving back at Cape Vidal around the same time the clouds did, we nevertheless didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to explore the rock pools at low tide.

Cape Vidal beach
Cape Vidal beach
Rock pools at Cape Vidal
Rock pools at Cape Vidal
Rock pools at Cape Vidal
Intertidal rock pools at Cape Vidal
Little fish in an intertidal rock pool at Cape Vidal

Having lunch on the deck of our log cabin we were visited by a variety of the local wildlife.

Greying old bushbuck ewe
Black-bellied Starling
African Monarch

We didn’t take a very long afternoon drive, just a two-hour excursion along the Grassland and Dune Loops and back to camp.

Shy European Honey Buzzard
European Roller
Warthog
Two of the “Big Five” in the same frame
Brown Snake Eagle (photo by Joubert)
Fan-tailed Widowbird
African Pygmy Kingfisher
Wasp of the genus Stizus

 

Map of the eastern shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (from https://isimangaliso.com/)

 

Ghost Crabs

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Subfamily Ocypodinae

The beach at Cape Vidal is alive with Ghost Crabs, a good indication as to the health of the intertidal ecosystem thanks to minimal human impact on this stretch of coast.

Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs
Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal

Ghost Crabs are omnivorous scavengers, living on any carrion, debris, and even small living creatures up to the size of turtle hatchlings that gets washed onto the beach.

Ghost Crab with a piece of seaweed
Ghost Crab with a piece of seaweed
Ghost Crab with a piece of seaweed

Being semi-terrestrial and living in burrows they dig for themselves in moist sand, Ghost Crabs can breathe oxygen from the air through their gills, provided they can keep them wet which requires the crabs to scuttle into the waves every so often. However, they can’t stay in the water too long or they’ll drown.

Ghost Crab outside its hole
Ghost Crab going into its hole
Ghost Crab tunnel – note the crab’s tracks leading to and from the hole
Ghost Crab on the beach at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs
Ghost Crab scavenging at the water’s edge

This necessity for the Ghost Crabs to go into the water at regular intervals had us quite amused during our recent visit to Cape Vidal in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. The crabs would run towards the approaching wave, stand their ground, get pounded, and then re-appear when the wave retreats, still standing in the same spot. Not once did we see one of the crabs loose its footing and get tossed around by the wave action!

Daredevil Surfing Ghost Crab
Ghost Crab engulfed by the wave (spot the eyes?)
Ghost Crab emerging above the retreating wave
Ghost Crab in the surf
Ghost Crab in the surf
Ghost Crab in the surf
Ghost Crab in the surf
Ghost Crabs in the surf at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crab in the surf at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crab in the surf at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crab in the surf at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs in the surf at Cape Vidal
Ghost Crabs in the surf at Cape Vidal

 

Summertide Diary: Arriving at Cape Vidal

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16 January 2021

Thankfully our government didn’t opt to impose even stricter lockdown regulations following the festive season spike in covid-infections and so, after 13 days at home in Pretoria we could recommence our summertide rambles, this time heading to Cape Vidal on the eastern shores of Lake St. Lucia, in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. After 7-and-a-half hours on the road we finally arrived in the holiday town of St Lucia and, after filling up on fuel and stocking up on eats and drinks we couldn’t wait to enter Bhangazi Gate for the 30km drive to Cape Vidal.

The Bhangazi gate into the Eastern Shores of Lake Saint Lucia lies roughly 610km South-East of Pretoria.
(Drawn using Google Maps)

This is one of our favourite destinations and sadly in the midst of South Africa’s first wave of the pandemic a booking we had to come to Cape Vidal in the winter holidays of 2020 had to be postponed. We were so grateful to be back now.

Hippos
Buffalo wading in deep mud
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Reedbuck ewe
Brown Snake Eagle
Brimstone Canary
Red Duiker

We were allocated log cabin #1 at Cape Vidal – although it’s the first unit as you drive into the accommodation area of the camp it was still very privately situated and surrounded by bush.

Cape Vidal – the direction the trees are leaning gives you an indication of the direction and strength of the prevailing winds
Log Cabin #1 at Cape Vidal

After settling into our accommodation there was only one place we wanted to go – the beach – even if by then some heavy cloud cover had started to move in from the Indian Ocean.

Heavy skies above the beach at Cape Vidal
Curious Yellow-billed Kite flying overhead
Daredevil Surfing Ghost Crab

 

Map of the eastern shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (from https://isimangaliso.com/)

 

 

Summertide Rambles 23 January 2021

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With heavy hearts, after a week in absolute paradise, we had to come back home today. But iSimangaliso – “the place of miracles and wonders” – had one more treasure to share with us on the 30km drive between Cape Vidal and the gate – this beautiful black rhinoceros!

Soon we’ll start posting the recollections of our summertide rambles through the Karoo National Park, Bontebok National Park, Garden Route National Park, Addo Elephant National Park, Mountain Zebra National Park and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. We hope you’ll join us for the daily series and won’t get bored too soon, as there’s lots to cover!

Summertide Rambles 22 January 2021

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This was the view at sunrise this morning while we were driving on the Grassland Loop along Lake Bhangazi here in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Summertide Rambles 21 January 2021

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This morning we spent a while taking in the most serene views from atop the Kwasheleni Tower here in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, from where you can see the Indian Ocean to the east, Lake Saint Lucia in the west, and the wild forests and grasslands teaming with wildlife in between.

Kwasheleni Tower
Steps leading up to the Kwasheleni Tower
Indian Ocean from Kwasheleni Tower
View towards the north-west from Kwasheleni Tower
View southwards from Kwasheleni Tower
View to the south-west from Kwasheleni Tower, with Lake St. Lucia in the background

Summertide Rambles 20 January 2021

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The trail to the kuMfazana Hide here on the eastern shores of Lake St. Lucia, in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, passes through a stretch of swamp forest that is positively bursting with butterflies, like this Novice (Amauris ochlea).

Novice (Amauris ochlea)
Novice (Amauris ochlea)

 

Summertide Rambles 19 January 2021

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Today we wanted to visit a few sights in the nearby town of St. Lucia. On the way we encountered this family of Crested Guineafowl. The photo of the youngster taking to the wing was taken by Joubert!

Crested Guineafowl family
Joubert’s picture of a baby Crested Guineafowl taking off quite strongly!