Travel

Finding rest in Zululand

By: Duane Stacey. Additional reporting by Ilse Burger

There are some places you discover as you travel that you just know you will come back to – for us, it’s usually places where rest comes naturally.

Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal is a corner of South Africa that does not get nearly enough publicity. Many South African travellers live oblivious to the fact that this part of the country even exists as they habitually rebook their Garden Route, Ballito, Kruger and Hermanus holidays year after year. The region offers fauna and flora in abundance, pristine beaches, and an opportunity to soak up nature in all its glory.

In March 2022, we travelled north from the Dolphin Coast to Mtunzini, a small coastal village where much of the coastline forms part of a protected area called the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. This lush, green strip with its coastal forests encompasses a beach, a lagoon, and beautifully preserved mangroves. The reserve is clean and includes boardwalks, campsites, chalets, ablutions and braai facilities.

Barging on the Umlalazi River is a common affair for locals and on such a river cruise, you can expect to see vibrant bird life. We also enjoyed a relaxing walk along the boardwalk through the mangrove forest and stopped every so often to observe the fiddler crabs and amphibious mudskippers. Remember to look up every now and then and you might spot a mangrove kingfisher.

The Raphia Palm Forest

The Raphia Palm Forest is a must visit. If you are lucky, you can see one of our country’s rarest birds of prey – the palm-nut vulture – feasting on the fruit of the Raphia palm tree. These trees are breathtaking. Not only are they massive and majestic, reaching up to 25 meters, but they are unique in that they produce fruit once every 20 years,

and then they die. We meandered through the forest and marveled at the gigantic palm leaves – some of the largest in the entire plant kingdom.

From Mtunzini, we made our way to St Lucia for a pit-stop before heading to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park to set up camp at Cape Vidal. In St Lucia, we stocked up on exportquality avocados and mangoes and popped in at the renowned Banana Box. The only way to describe this shop is that it is an ‘all-you-could-ever-want, find-whatever-you-don’t-reallyneed’ kind of general dealer. But don’t underestimate it. We walked away with superb snorkel gear, a nifty flashlight, biltong, a massive bottle of hand sanitizer, and off we went to Cape Vidal.

We gave ourselves enough time to enjoy the drive through the park, driving all the various loops in search of animals and viewpoints. We did not really know what to expect of Cape Vidal apart from a reef for snorkelling and rumours about hyenas and monkeys that rule the camp site.

Visiting in the month of March, we thought we might strike the campsite empty, so the thought of us versus the wild animals was daunting. To our surprise the campsite was bustling. In fact, it turns out that many of the sugar cane farmers in the Zululand area book a camping spot for a couple of months at a time. This allows them the freedom to make the most of good weather during the season. We stood out like a sore thumb with our basic camp setup and two-man tent. Many a camper (and by ‘camper’ we mean someone with a camping trailer that costs a small fortune, and possibly a boat) would walk past and feel sorry for us in our happy simplicity. We got gifted everything from firewood to freshly caught fish fillets for dinner.

Living in harmony with the wild animals

The wild animals were not just a rumour – during the day we kept everything locked away in the car (since we did not have a fancy camping trailer) and at night we zipped ourselves in our tent and listened as the hyenas came to feast on leftovers in the bins around the camping site. Thankfully they came, ate, and left, so going to the ablution at night was not dangerous, yet it somehow filled one with adrenalin. We snorkeled daily along the rock reef and the rest of our time was spent walking on the kilometres of deserted beach, reading, cooking on the campfire and, ultimately, finding rest for our souls in Zululand.

Know before you go:

March is a great time to visit Mtunzini and Cape Vidal as the weather is warm and bearable. Mtunzini has many quaint restaurants and cafés – the Clay Oven has great pizzas and the Country Club offers good food from a diverse menu. You don't need a 4x4 to get to Cape Vidal, but if you want to visit surrounding spots such as Sodwana Bay or Mabibi Beach, a 4x4 is recommended. Take your time to drive through the park on your way to Cape Vidal. Pack a picnic basket, drive all the loops and keep your eyes open for game, stop at the viewpoints, and enjoy your picnic at one of the bird hides. Ask for a camp site as close to the beach as possible. Take all your food and other supplies such as fire wood as the little shop at Cape Vidal is limited.