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Zebra

Rhinos at water pool







 
 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Tour 3. The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park.

1. St Lucia World Heritage Site.
 2. Lake St Lucia.
3. St Lucia Village.
 4. Turtle Breeding.
5. St Lucia Tour Info Form.  
 6. St Lucia Map.   

Further north along the North Coast route we reach the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park World Heritage Site where you find the largest estuary in Africa. A boat trip on the St Lucia Estuary is rewarding and must rate amongst the most spectacular, where you find hippo families in laager formation in shallow water, giant-sized crocodiles lazing about with jaws agape and fish eagles flying high while shrieking their distinctive call. It is an African scene sure to send shivers down the spine of any true wildlife lover.

Whale watching aboard a charter provides excellent sightings of whales, the 5th largest animal that has ever lived on earth, from as close as 50 meters at St Lucia between 01 June and 30 November.

Former President NELSON MANDELA once said: “The St Lucia Wetland Park must be the only place on the Globe where the oldest land mammal (the rhinoceros) and the worlds biggest terrestrial mammal (the elephant) share an ecosystem with the world’s oldest fish (the coelacanth) and the world biggest marine mammal (the whale).
A huge salmon caught by Pieter
1. St Lucia World Heritage Site.

St Lucia was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park presents an ever-changing kaleidoscope of lake, mash-land, forested coastal dunes and grasslands

 

Sunset over St Lucia Lake
2. Lake St Lucia.

Lake St Lucia is home to large populations of hippo and crocodile and is considered to be of international importance. It hosts over 350 bird species in its rich diversity of habitats, sometimes attracting large numbers of Palaearctic waders and pink back and white pelicans, flamingos and other water fowl. The park includes St Lucia Game Reserve, Marine Reserve, False Bay Park, Mkuzi Game Reserve, Maputuland Marine Reserve and Sodwana Bay where the loggerhead turtles bread.


Hippos Fighting in the St Lucia Lake.

3. St Lucia Village.

The Village of St Lucia is a popular holiday resort attracting a large number of anglers and those seeking to unwind in its beautiful surroundings. It is worthwhile to visit the estuary on board of a luxurious passenger ferry, custom built to venture into shallow water. At the St Lucia Crocodile Centre visitors can get close up views of the Nile Crocodile, the American Alligator and the dwarf and long-snouted African species. Visitors can go on several short trails including one to the mangrove community along the estuary shore.














 
It is not only the fearsome crocodiles that are found in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, but also these pretty little tinker reed frogs which inhabit ponds and swamps.

When the heat gets overwelming, take a refreshing dip in the swimming pool at Charter's Creek, on the shores of Lake St Lucia.

The jetty at Fanie's island is an ideal spot for fishing.


Although crocodiles are a common sight in the lakes and rivers around St Lucia, you can see them close up at the Crocodile Centre just outside the village.

4. Turtle Breeding.
The beaches of Maputuland are the primary breeding area of the leather back turtles in the Southern Indian Ocean. These huge turtles grow up to two meter in length and weigh up to 646 kilograms. The breading season stretches from October to February and females lay at least a thousand eggs in one season. The eggs hatch after a period of two months, but only two out of a thousand reaches adulthood. Loggerhead and Ridley turtles also visit this area.

Baby loggerhead turtle hatchlingsstart their arduous journey to the sea having dug out of their nest high up in the sand dunes.
  A massive leatherback turtle covers her nest with soft, moist sand after laying her eggs.
5. St Lucia Tour Info Form.
If you need any information or advice please complete the form below, and we will reply as soon as possible.
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