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KZN - Mputaland |
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This remarkable region lies between the Lebombo mountains in the west and the Indian Ocean in the east, a tropical wonderland of evergreen woodland, savanna, river and stream, floodplain, lake and lagoon that has been compared in its character and extent to Florida's Everglades and the splendid Okavango wetlands of Botswana. In practical tourist terms, and indeed in ecological ones too, it cannot really be separated from northern Zululand and its principal feature, the massive and strikingly varied Greater St Lucia Wetland Park complex. The two route profiles, and their maps, should be regarded as a unit. Both are integral to what is known as the Lubombo Special Development scheme, a blueprint for the transformation of the wider region into one of the world's most important eco-tourism destinations. Maputaland - the name is taken from the river that flows through the southern part of neighbouring Mozambique - is a low-lying, humid, lush, pristine and for the most part beautiful land. It also encompasses an extraordinary variety of floral and wildlife habitats. The wetter parts are home to numerous hippos and crocodiles, and to a striking array of water-related and other birds. Two elements have combined to produce this amazing ecological diversity. A hundred million years ago the land lay beneath the ocean, which, over the millennia, gradually receded to leave a wide, sandy plain and a scatter of shallow depressions. The latter gathered fresh water from the rivers to form the lakes and lakelets that are now such a prominent element of the wider area. Secondly, Maputaland is the meeting place of the tropical and subtropical zones, which accounts in part for its many and distinctive ecosystems, and the variety of its soils, its animals and its plant life. Running eastwards from the Lebombo range is a 50-kilometre wide corridor of woodland that includes such handsome trees as giant sycamore fig, Natal mahogany, waterberry and wild date palm. Beyond, in the sandveld, are groves of ghostly yellow-green fever trees, leadwood and winterthorn. Farther towards the ocean you'll come across a belt of lala palms, then grassy coastal flats, sand forest and a huge natural dyke of vegetated dunes, said to be the highest in the world. Below these, on their inland side, is a chain of estuarine lagoons and lakes; on the seaward side are lovely beaches and, offshore, coral reefs. In human terms Maputaland is still, in many ways, part of the old Africa. The folk living here belong to a number of groupings, largest of which is the Tembe. Many of the local people hold to the traditional lifestyles, fishing the river, estuaries and lakes, tilling the soil, gathering plants and harvesting fruit much in the manner of their forefathers. Ndumo game reserve A smallish conservation area tucked up against the Mozambique border in the extreme north of KwaZulu-Natal, and devoid of large game herds. Nevertheless it's generally regarded as the most beautiful of the region reserves and, by the lover of birds and of trees, the most rewarding. The reserve lies in the humid, lush floodplain of the Pongolo River, a well-watered, ecologically fragile compound of lake, reed-bed, marshland and evergreen forest and woodland, and it is home to a quite fascinating complement of mammals, reptiles, fishes - and birds. Some of its 420 or so different kinds of avian species are classed as tropical, and are at the southernmost limit of their range; aquatic birds gather in their thousands in and around the waterlily-covered Banzi and Nyamithi pans, among them pelicans and herons (including the giant goliath), storks, ibises, avocets, plovers, flamingos, Egyptian geese, white-faced ducks, black-winged stilts, egrets, fishing owls, small waders and, always, the African fish eagle. Beyond these watery areas is the drier sandveld country, a mix of reed-bed, riverine forest and woodland that provides habitats for a vast variety of other birds. Hippos and crocodiles in great numbers bask in and around the wetlands; elsewhere you'll find rhino (of both types), giraffe, buffalo and a variety of antelope, including the handsome, shaggy-coated Nyala. Visitors have the choice of a pleasant main rest-camp, set atop Ndumo Hill, and rustic camps located beside two of the pans. On offer are a self-guided auto trail; several viewing hides, and conducted trails. The reserve will in due course be combined with the nearby Tembe Elephant park (see below) within the framework of the wider regional development scheme (see Zululand). Tembe Elephant Park Among southern Africa's more unusual conservation areas, a smallish, dry-sand forest and shrub reserve set aside to serve as refuge for the remnants of then once-great elephant herds of the southern Mozambique coastal plain. Until the late 1970s South Africa's only free-roaming jumbos were those that migrated south across the border into the Sihangwane forest and Moci swamp region of northern Maputaland, but the numbers were steadily reduced as human settlement spread and by civil war. The scheme is a success; the elephants are thriving. If plans are realised, Tembe and its near-neighbour Ndumo (see above) will be consolidated in the not-too-distant future. Visitor amenities are, as yet (and for good conservation reasons) rather rudimentary; just a handful of 4x4s are allowed in each day; safari companies operate tented camps. Pongolo The River and its dam (Pongolopoort), near the Swaziland border just to the west of the village of Jozini, are the setting for three rather pleasant tropical nature reserves. See the Zululand route profile. Sodwana Bay This popular area, termed a 'national park', is hugely popular with holidaymakers, weekenders and dedicated deep-sea fishing enthusiasts from the Durban area to the south. See Greater St Lucia Wetland park in the Zululand route profile. Lake Sibaya Southern Africa's largest natural body of fresh water, a limpid, 70-square kilometre expanse extending across the coastal plain north of Sodwana Bay, its eastern shores separated from the Indian Ocean by a belt of high wooded dunes. The crystal clear, intensely blue water is 30 metres deep in places, home to hippo, crocodile and, on the fringes, to reedbuck and other elusive animals. The bird life is superb: here, the African fish eagle is king, but there are scores of other species to be spotted and enjoyed - 280 in all, including reed and white-backed cormorants and pied, malachite and giant kingfishers. The lake's waters sustain 10 species of marine-type fish which have adapted over the generations to their changed (freshwater) environment. Visitor amenities include what is known as a 'wilderness camp', a cluster of modestly appointed thatched huts, shaded by stately Umboni trees, that blends beautifully into the tropical surrounds. Supplementaries at the camp include a central 'boma' (communal enclosure), boardwalks and swimming pool; elsewhere, there are two bird-watching hides and, close to camp, an observation platform. A three-kilometre forest trail has been laid out; there's pleasant strolling and picnicking at nearby Nine Mile Beach. Kosi Bay nature reserve This enchanting sanctuary (see also Kosi Bay), in the far north of the region, is not really a bay but, rather, a 30-kilometre long chain of four lakes running parallel to the coast, and separated from it by a high rampart of forested dunes. The lakes are filled with fresh water, though three of them have a touch of salinity, which increases when storms blow in from the ocean. The reserve is a tropical paradise of clear blue water, of hippos and crocodiles and, in the surrounding countryside, of marshlands and mangrove swamps, wild date trees, raffia and lala palms and sycamore fig forests that combine to provide a home for 250 different kinds of bird. Among the latter are the imperious fish eagle, the white-backed and night herons, the palmnut vulture, and several brightly coloured kingfishers. The stretch that leads down to the estuary serves as a productive and, for the visitor, fascinating fishing ground: the local; villagers (of the Tembe group) erect 'kraals', timber-boomed enclosures, into which fish swim and are then guided down a series of reed tunnels into smaller enclosures, where they are speared. On the nearby, beautiful seaboard is a turtle-monitoring station (see Zululand). There's good fishing in lake, estuary and sea; no swimming allowed in the lakes (crocs, hippos and the bilharzia snail are hazards) though the small reef at the Kosi outlet is a favoured spot among snorkellers (you'll need a 4x4 to get there) and the sea offers superb opportunities for skin-diving and spear-fishing, but beware sharks and the poisonous firefish, scorpion-fish and stonefish. Walking routes have been established, the most challenging of them the four-day Kosi trail. For overnight visitors to the reserve, there are six-, four- and two-bed huts, attractively constructed from local materials. |
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MPUTALAND Western Cape
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