Blog

Lake St Lucia owns a sense of place like no other – one of the most abundant, naturally-endowed and beautiful pieces of real estate on earth. If the iSimangaliso Wetland Park is a miracle (which ‘iSimangaliso’ translates to from the Zulu) then the Lake is the heart that sustains that miracle. It is the focal point of the UNESCO World Heritage Listing and has been a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance since 1986. It is 80km long and 23km at its widest point.

With an impressive existing list of 526 bird species throughout the World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park is a mecca for birders. And no more so than in the past few days, with a few tremendously exciting sightings recorded by resident iSimangaliso birders and the flocking of numerous out-of-town twitchers to the Park.

As a pro-active step to deter poachers from targeting rhino in the World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) recently implemented a rhino de-horning programme throughout the Western Shores section of the Park. This is reflective of the Park’s commitment to put rhinos and their safety first,

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park was listed as South Africa’s first World Heritage Site in December 1999 in recognition of its superlative natural beauty and unique global values.

In a powerful recognition of his role in conservation and sustainable development, Andrew Zaloumis has been named the winner of the WWF SA Living Planet 2015 Award.