Page 303 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

DURBAN AND ZUL ULAND  301

For non-divers, there are several VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
good snorkelling spots, while a Road map F3. Tel 035 590 1633.
wealth of birds, along with the Open daily, some areas are
pretty red duiker and animated restricted. & 8 7 0
samango and vervet monkeys, - = ∑ isimangaliso.com
are likely to be seen along a ∑ kznwildlife.com.
5 km (3 miles) trail starting at
the reserve headquarters.
solar evaporation, despite lying
Lake Sibaya 3 km (2 miles) inland of the
African fish eagle It is a measure of South Africa’s Indian Ocean. Aquatic wildlife
scarcity of water resources that includes an endemic fish, the
out, Seven Mile Reef, with its Lake Sibaya, extending over Sibaya goby, as well as around
overhangs, drop-offs and a relatively modest 65 sq km 150 hippos and plenty of
mushroom rocks, is considered (25 sq miles), is the country’s crocodiles. Sibaya also hosts
one of the world’s most beautiful largest natural freshwater body. more than 20,000 water birds.
dive sites. Aside from a swirl of The centre of a catchment area Rarities regularly observed in the
colourful reef fish, larger marine just ten times larger than its area include Stanley’s bustard,
creatures often seen include own surface, Sibaya is fed pink-throated longclaw, pygmy
blue-spotted ray, sand shark, almost entirely by subterranean goose and rufous-bellied heron.
kingfish, dolphins and turtles. springs and drained only by
Kosi Bay Nature Reserve
iSimangaliso’s most northerly
Sodwana component, the 110-sq-km
Bay
Ubombo Mkhuze Kosi Bay (42-sq-mile) Kosi Bay Nature
Mantuma Mosi Reserve, protects eight lakes and
Swamp
Mkhuze Lake St Lucia a labyrinth of streams and
Sibaya Marine channels abutting the
Reserve Mozambican border. The three
uMkhuze Game
Reserve lakes closest to the estuary
Phinda Mkhuze mouth have a composition
Private Game Swamp
Umkumbi Reserve similar to seawater, and are
Sanctuary separated by a series of less saline
Area lakes from the freshwater
Tewate
False Bay Wilderness expanse of Lake Amanzamnyama
Park Area (literally “black water”). Culturally,
False Bay St Lucia Thonga people’s continued use
Lister’s Point Lake Kosi Bay is notable for the local
Hluhluwe St Lucia of traditional woven grass fishing
Dugundlovu Marine
Reserve traps. This is an excellent example
Fanie’s Island of sustainable, traditional
management of natural
Cape Vidal
resources, since the estuary’s
Charter’s Creek wide mouth ensures that its fish
population is readily replenished
Indian from the open sea. A large rocky
Ocean reef within the estuary offers
Narrows
St Lucia Village some of the region’s best
St Lucia snorkelling conditions, with high
Mtubatuba Maphelane 0 kilometres 20 tide being the best time to take a
Dukuduku Maphelane 0 miles 10 dip in search of the likes of
Forest N.R. butterfly fish, moray eel, parrot-
Reserve fish and devil’s firefish. Kosi Bay is
Mfolozi
Swamp also home to South Africa’s most
diverse mangrove swamp and
Kwambonambi largest groundwater forest, as
iSimangaliso Wetland Park well as the world’s most southerly
stand of raffia palms. Canoe trips
Key 1 St Lucia Village along the Sidhadla river into Lake
2 Cape Vidal Amanzamnyama often yield
Major route
3 uMkhuze Game Reserve sightings of samango monkey,
Road (tarred)
4 Sodwana Bay crocodile and hippo, along with
Road (untarred) 5 Lake Sibaya birds such as the African finfoot,
6 Kosi Bay Nature Reserve and Pel’s fishing owl.
For keys to symbols see back flap
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