TRAVEL
Writers: Sam Bradley and Jill Langley Images: Bevan Langley
Wet and wild in Lake St Lucia
Take a walk on t he Estuar y Boardwalk at sunrise.
Taking in t he estuar y view from t he beac h.
T
here are few places
tuba, across the St Lucia
patrol the rooftops and
the blue horizon is inter-
in South Africa as
estuary and into St Lucia
any number of song birds
rupted by spray from the
breathtakingly wild
town feels like taking a
bejewel the trees.
whales.
as St Lucia in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Driving the narrow R618 via Mtuba-
step into a veritable Eden.
But visitors here haven’t
Here, hippos roam the
come to see the town.
crowning jewel of the
streets at night, monkeys
Wrapping around the
iSimangaliso Wetland
town and extending
Park. A visit to this region
northwards, the inter-
offers a chance to be im-
linking St Lucia estuary
mersed in nature - from
and lakes stretch an
beach to bush, wet or dry,
incredible 70km and
on foot or by car or boat.
more from the town of St
It’s also a visit that can be
Lucia through grassland,
taken slowly at leisure or
forest and wetlands that
with enough different ac-
resound with the grunt of
tivities to easily stretch a
hippos and the rumble of
weekend into a fortnight
elephants.
(as we discovered).
The coastline that paral-
Cape Vidal’s beac hes stretc h into t he distance.
36
Lake St Lucia is the
lels it is marked by turtle
Explore on foot
tracks, the waves are
There is plenty to explore
alive with dolphins and
without even leaving the
Public Sector Manager • November 2021
