One of the things that make the holiday town of St. Lucia in South Africa’s Kwazulu-Natal Province so popular is the fact that it is entirely surrounded by the wild iSimangaliso Wetland Park and thus inhabited by an amazing variety of wildlife – even more dangerous kinds like hippos and leopards. On the southern edge of the town is a large pocket of indigenous swamp forest through which the Igwalagwala Trail (actually a network of trails) winds its way. Walking through the forest, marveling at the trees and the bushes and the blooms and the berries and the birds and the bucks and the bugs and the butterflies as you go, will really be one of the highlights of your visit to this special corner of our country.
As you can imagine the forest abounds with various kinds of creatures – some easy to see and others expert at hiding. The calls of birds fill the air as you walk – Igwalagwala is the isiZulu name for the turacos, of which two kinds (the purple-crested and Livingstone’s) can be seen and heard here.
While you are welcome to walk the Igwalagwala Trail by yourself and unguided (during daylight!) – and that certainly is a wonderful experience – if you really want the forest to “open up” for you then you absolutely must take a hike through Igwalagwala with expert birding guide Ian Ferreira of St. Lucia Birding Tours.
If it wasn’t for Ian’s expert knowledge of their habits and haunts and his skill at imitating their calls I would never have been able to photograph the rarely seen Buff-spotted Flufftail, about which I will tell you more in the next installment of DeWetsWild.
If you are interested in visiting St. Lucia and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, remember that De WetsWild can assist you with reservations in the Eden Park and Sugarloaf Campsites in town or at wonderful Cape Vidal set on the Indian Ocean in the Eastern Shores section of the Park. We’ll also gladly help you arrange a walk with expert St. Lucia-based birding guide Ian Ferreira, and as soon as we start offering guided tours to the area you can be sure we’ll include an excursion with Ian in the itinerary.
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