Safari to St Lucia

mainly focused on domestic tourism

St Lucia is located in the KwaZulu Natal region of South Africa.

The area covers a national park and town of the same name, as well as a number of lesser reserves around the periphery.

Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park

The languid and meandering rivers of this largely flat sub-tropical coastline are obstructed from the ocean by a string of huge forested dunes, creating the largest estuarine lake system on the continent.

Visitors come here to enjoy motorboat safari, canoeing safari, birding, fishing and spending time on the gorgeous beaches.

This central sector of the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park is the most accessible and the best served in terms of accommodation. Inside the reserve itself facilities are limited to modest parks authority restcamps and campgrounds.

Makakatana Bay Lodge is the only privately owned facility inside the wetlands reserve, a relatively upmarket affair which aims to deliver a high quality guided experience.

Outside the reserve, the best of the lodges lie on the western border, but really feel part of the wetlands. They are easily accessed from the main coast highway and can therefore be used as bases from which to explore both the wetlands and the nearby Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve.

Hluhluwe River Lodge is probably the best of these options, a decent lower mid-priced place, offering a good range of outdoorsy activities.

Further afield there’s a range of generally simpler and lower cost lodges, either located on small private wildlife reserves or on adjacent farmland.

St Lucia Town

Set on a peninsula between the river estuary and the ocean, this pleasant town is essentially a large holiday resort, with accommodation primarily aimed at the domestic market.

Consequently it can get very busy around here during the school holidays, especially around Christmas and New Year, whilst it can virtually feel like a ghost town out of season.

Our guests generally prefer to stay inside the reserve rather than in the town, but there are some reasonable guesthouses to choose from.

Maphelane

Separated from the town of St Lucia and the rest of the main reserve by the estuary of the Umfolozi River, the Maphelane area is essentially a peninsula composed of forested coastal dunes, backed by freshwater lakes.

This is a very popular spot for local fishermen, who launch their boats here. There’s a safe swimming beach on the ocean side, but you need to keep your toes out of the inland waters for fear of losing them to crocodiles.

There are two excellent self-guided trails through these forests, which are especially good for birders.

The accommodation options here are all simple parks authority facilities which are primarily aimed at domestic South African holidaymakers.