day trips for bird watching, boat trips, snorkeling, scuba diving and turtle watching in Maputaland, Kosi Bay Marine Reserve at the Indian Ocean.
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Various excursions in the Maputaland area are available from The Tembe Elephant National Park & Lodge. We do, however, recommend that such excursions only be considered by those guests who are staying at Tembe for three nights or longer.
Tembe is a vast, densely bushed area, with so much to enjoy within our own reserve - that most guests prefer to spend as much as possible experiencing all that Tembe has offer!
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‘Magical Maputaland’ is a pristine, untamed area - with countless, breathtaking destinations and tourist attractions to explore, and makes for the eco-tourism experience of a lifetime! |
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Bird watching at Ndumo Game Reserve
Ndumo, established in 1924 to protect hippo, the pocket-sized Okavango, is special. Situated in Maputaland on the Mozambique border, 470km from Durban, Ndumo's 1000ha flood-plain comprises a delicate latticework of lakes and the fish, birds, insects, crocodile, water terrapin and other animals that live off them. Breeding ground for a tremendous variety of aquatic birds. Caution is advised if making detours, which can be muddy experiences - parts of Ndumo are flooded during rains.
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 Snorkeling and scuba diving at prime dive venues - Kosi Bay, Black Rock, Rocktail Bay, Mabibi, Sodwana Bay.
Maputaland Coastal Forest and Marine Reserve. Here you will find isolated white beaches, coral reefs and deep acquamarine pools, unblemished by man. There are hundreds of varieties of cowries as well as excellent rock-fishing in the vicinity. Goggles are essential equipment as visibility in the warm, clear, reef-water reaches 50 m, with colourful residents such as clownfish and Moorish idols. No vehicles are allowed on the beach - and there are sturdy poles at Mabibi designed to keep it that way.
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Exploring Lake Sibaya and the coastal forests.
Lake Sibaya is the largest freshwater lake in Southern Africa. Sibaya used to be linked to the sea 5000 years ago, possibly by a Pongola River with different habits. Today, the lake is cut off by dunes and is topped up by rainwater and a small underground steam. Nevertheless, 10 species of marine fish remain in the lake, having adapted to fresh water. A multitude of fish may be caught, including Mozambique tilapia, and large catfish. There are approximately 120 hippo, many Nile crocodile. Swimming is not recommended due to bilharzia. 279 bird species have been recorded including pied
kingfisher and fish eagle. |
Turtle watching along the coast from Kosi to Ponte de Oro at the Indian Ocean. (Seasonal)
This is undoubtedly one of Southern Africa's last unspoilt subtropical shores and is recognised as being a coastline of international importance. Many species of turtles, including the endangered leatherbacks, breed along the coast, and are monitored by a research station at Bhanga Nek.
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Boat trips across the Kosi Lake System in the Kosi Bay Nature Reserve.
This series of four shore-hugging and interlinked freshwater lakes has long fascinated scientists with its strange temperature variations - the water has a minimum temperature of 18°C but is as high as 30°C in the shallows, and the bottom of the lakes is often warmer than the top. apart from Lake Amanzimnyama, all have a touch of salt water.
Fishing is very popular. Among the resident estuarine and freshwater species to be caught are queenfish, grunter and barracuda which occasionally enter the lakes from the sea.
Swimming in the lakes is not recommend because bilharzia, crocodile and hippo are present. |
The three-day Sihadla Hiking Trail takes in the mangroves, marshes, swamp forests and raphia palms which surround the Kosi lakes. There are also water lilies and reeds and , to the west, undulating grassland dotted with wild date and ilala palms.
It is worth bringing binoculars as flufftail, palm-nut vulture, fish eagle, white-backed night heron and crab plover are among the 247 bird species found in the area.
 At Kosi Bay Estuary a small, densely populated reef provides visitors with excellent snorkeling opportunities. The area is reached only by 4-wheel-drive vehicles, of which five are issued permits each day. |
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