Tag Archives: vacation

Cape Vidal, the most beautiful beach

To us, there is no more beautiful a beach in this country than Cape Vidal. Miles of sand stretching as far as the eye can see, lined between densely forested dunes and the warm blue water of the Indian Ocean (in the waves of which dolphins and whales can often be seen), with rock pools harbouring fascinating marine life exposed at low tide.

Cape Vidal

Littoral life at Cape Vidal

Cape Vidal rock pool

Littoral life at Cape Vidal

Crab on the beach

Enjoying the beach

Cape Vidal by Starlight

Dolphins in the waves at Cape Vidal

Crystal clear Indian Ocean

Littoral life at Cape Vidal

Rock pools at Cape Vidal

Grey-headed gulls

Grey-headed gull in flight

Grey-headed gull taking flight at Cape Vidal’s beach

Cape Vidal is named after Alexander Thomas Emeric Vidal, captain of the British surveying ship HMS Leven, that mapped this coastline in 1822. Today, this pristine area falls within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, is one of the most popular destinations in the reserve and an excellent base from which to explore the Eastern Shores of Lake Saint Lucia. The accommodation and campsite is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and often booked out months in advance. There’s a fuel station and a small shop selling only basic essentials, so it is best to stock-up on your groceries at St. Lucia town before entering through Bhangazi Gate 35km to the south of Cape Vidal. Apart from all the activities that the beach caters for, Cape Vidal is also one of the best spots in the country to easily see a wide variety of otherwise very shy forest birds and animals (like Samango Monkeys and Red Duiker).

Cabin 18 at Cape Vidal, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

The road to Cape Vidal

Banded mongoose

Dark-capped Bulbul

Thick-tailed bushbay

Natal Red Duiker

Samango Monkey

The rugged beauty of Mission Rocks

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Today a very popular picnic and fishing spot north of St. Lucia Town in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Mission Rocks is named for a Catholic mission station established in the area in 1888. The path leading from the parking area to the beach opens onto a scene of rugged, rocky beauty, revealing rock pools teeming with life at low tide and impressing with the thundering of crashing waves at high tide. There’s a sandy, open beach 500m northwards of the rocks, with a sea-cave where thousands of bats roost.

Mission Rocks

Mission Rocks picnic spot

Mission Rocks

de Wet family shadows at Mission Rocks

Mission Rocks

Keep an eye open for the vervet monkeys while having a picnic at Mission Rocks

Natal Rock Crab at Mission Rocks

Mission Rocks

Fiscal flycatcher

On the way to Mission Rocks, the uMziki viewpoints and picnic site, set right in the coastal forest, is a worthwhile stop. From atop the dune there’s views over Lake Saint Lucia to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east, and down below in the forested picnic site there’s an astounding variety of birds that would normally be very shy but here seems quite habituated to having humans around. There’s also usually a couple of red duiker to be seen.

uMziki viewpoint over Lake Saint Lucia

uMziki viewpoint over Indian Ocean

uMziki viewpoint

Golden-tailed woodpecker

White-eared barbet

Livingstone’s turaco

Red-capped robin-chat

Red duiker

St. Lucia’s Crocodile Centre

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Lake Saint Lucia is the core of a vast ecosystem, rightfully included in South Africa’s first designated World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. The Crocodile Centre, managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife at the Bhangazi Gate into the Park, and the self-guided trails in the adjacent game park, offers an excellent introduction to this Park of “miracles and wonders” (the English meaning of the isiZulu word iSimangaliso). It also has the best stocked curio shop in town and a lovely tea garden.

Educational displays at the Crocodile Centre

Cycad garden

Curio shop

Wildlife abounds in the game park next to the Crocodile Centre, this is a warthog

Wildlife abounds in the game park next to the Crocodile Centre, this is a mixed herd of blue wildebeest and plains zebra

Of course the crocodiles, an integral part of the lake’s ecological functioning, are the star attractions. On display are not only specimens of our indigenous Nile Crocodiles ranging in size from newly hatched babies to “monsters” over 4m in length, but the centre also houses Dwarf and Slender-Snouted Crocodiles from tropical Africa and a couple of American Alligators. You can also try your hand at spotting another of iSimangaliso’s very secretive inhabitants, the extremely venomous and expertly camouflaged Gaboon Adder.

St. Lucia Crocodile Centre

Nile crocodile

American Alligator

Nile Crocodile

Nile crocodile

Gaboon adder (captive)

Dwarf Crocodile

Slender-snouted Crocodile

The centre’s beautiful gardens are a magnet for other wildlife, and we always get a kick from the humorous signs (to us, anyway).

Better heed the signs!

Black-bellied Starling

Better heed the signs!

Olive Sunbird

Vervet monkey

Saint Lucia is a unique town, located on a wedge of land at the mouth of Lake St. Lucia, between the lake and the Indian Ocean, and entirely surrounded by the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. All kinds of wildlife roam the town, including hippopotamus and leopard. Right in town, a magnificent piece of coastal forest can be explored along the Gwalagwala Trail. A number of private operators offer guided tours of the area, and several launch-tours operate on the estuary. Two camping areas and a host of privately run establishments offers overnight accommodation, and the town has most of the facilities you’d expect (shops, restaurants, doctor, fuel station, boat club, picnic sites), making St. Lucia an excellent base for a bush-and-beach holiday.

Cruising Lake St. Lucia

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Participating in a guided launch tour of Lake St. Lucia is one of the most memorable experiences to be had in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Several operators offer tours lasting about two hours and departing at different times of the day. In this time the cruisers move about 8km up into the lake from the jetties in St. Lucia town, bringing visitors close to a variety of aquatic life and giving an interesting glimpse into the ecology of the lake system.

During our recent visit to iSimangaliso, we enjoyed a tour on the 80-seater Santa Lucia, a joint operation between Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Thompsons Tours. A cashbar on board sells drinks and snacks while a guide gives detailed explanations of the surroundings and wildlife encountered along the way. We passed several pods of hippos (witnessing one naughty youngster chewing on another tourboat), a few crocodiles, numerous birds, wildlife on the shore, got a chance to view the mangrove marshes and even saw a shark’s dorsal fin briefly break the water’s surface.

This gallery should give you some idea of what you can look forward to on a guided launch tour of Lake Saint Lucia!

Santa Lucia

Getting up close to a crocodile

Tours on the lake

Mangrove stand

Santa Lucia

Santa Lucia jetty at Siyabonga Market

Hippo close-up

Hippo

Baby hippo

Swimming crocodile

Crocodile on shore

Great white egret

Curious hippos

Crocodile on shore

Mangrove roots

Goliath Heron

Hippo

Pod of hipos

Egyptian Goose

Making waves

Mangrove roots

Buffalo o the shore

Caspian Tern

African Fish Eagle flypast

Hungry hungry hippo!

Hungry Hungry Hippo!

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Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…

Well, when it’s Lake Saint Lucia you’re talking about then it is never safe to go into the water, thanks to the hippos, crocodiles and sharks that populate this aquatic environment. Better to be safe ON the water then? Only if you don’t encounter this playful young hippo, seemingly intent on making a meal of the tourist launch!

Hungry hungry hippo!

Luckily for the tourists on the boat, mom intercedes and calls him to order, dispensing quick discipline hippo-style with a bite and a roll on top of the little delinquent.

Hippo showing enormous gape

This delightful scene played out while we were enjoying a guided launch-tour of Lake Saint Lucia aboard the Santa Lucia, during our recent visit to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. We’ll share more photos and memories from the cruise in an upcoming edition of de Wets Wild.

At the end of a wonderful long weekend…

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Our long weekend at the iSimangaliso Wetland Park has come to an end, but please “stay tuned” in the weeks to come as we’ll share some of our latest experiences from this spectacular world heritage site.

iSimangaliso Sunrise

No place like Cape Vidal…

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Apart for Cape Vidal and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, we can’t think of any other place in South Africa (or the world) where you can end a day of fun at the beach with a fantastic sighting of a leopard walking mere centimeters away from your car window. And that’s exactly how our day played out!

Grey-headed gull taking flight at Cape Vidal’s beach

Leopard sighting on the Grassland Loop – 15th June 2015

St. Lucia flypast

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Today we joined a tour of Lake Saint Lucia aboard the Santa Lucia cruiser, and this low level flypast by an African Fish Eagle was just one of the highlights!

St Lucia Flypast

Cape Vidal, 13 June 2015

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We were the first car into the iSimangaliso Wetland Park through Bhangazi Gate this morning, before sunrise. And this leopard sighting was just one of the day’s highlights!

We’re spending three nights at picturesque Cape Vidal, and can’t wait to experience all that iSimangaliso has in stall for us tomorrow…

Cape Vidal Leopard 20150613