Lake St Lucia - https://isimangaliso.com/jewel/lake-st-lucia/

Posted on Thu February 1, 2018.
Elephants in Lake St Lucia, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

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.

Aside from the lake and dune ecosystems, the Park protects a marine zone of warm tropical seas, coral reefs and endless sandy beaches; the papyrus and reed wetland of the uMkhuze swamps, on the north of the lake; and, on the western shore, dry savannah and thornveld. Any one of these would justify conservation, but their confluence around the Lake St Lucia makes this a world-class wilderness.

More than 50% of all water birds in KwaZulu-Natal feed, roost and nest in this Estuary. Of the 155 fish species that have been recorded in the Lake St Lucia estuarine system, 71 species use Lake St Lucia as a nursery area – and at least 24 of these are important in marine line fisheries. More than 2 180 species of flowering plants have been documented here and it is home to many species of antelope such as waterbuck, reedbuck, kudu, nyala, impala and duiker.

Lately guests have had the privilege to witness the local elephant herd refreshing themselves in the lake.

Further Reading

The sooty tern (the dark bird in the group pictured here at Estuary beach), the black coucal (Western Shores) and the Eurasian oystercatcher (St Lucia beaches) have all been seen in the past few days!
Birdlife in Isimangaliso Wed November 23, 2016

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.

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Rhinos at Isimangaliso Wetland Park
iSimangaliso takes bold steps to safeguard rhino Thu August 27, 2015

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,

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Elephant jewellry Sun August 16, 2015

One of ‪#‎iSimangaliso‬'s bull elephants on the ‪#‎WesternShores‬ section was fitted with a satellite collar today by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's Game Capture Unit. This will enable us to track the group's movements and better inform management decisions, for the benefit and safety of the animals as well as Park visitors. Photos by EKZNW Game Capture Officer Jed Bird. ‪#‎MeetSouthAfrica‬ ‪#‎LoveSouthAfrica‬

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