St Lucia day tour from Durban

St Lucia day tour from Durban 26th April 2015

I met my clients in Durban for this special day tour from Durban to St Lucia – Isimangeliso Wetland park where we would be visiting South Africa’s 1st World heritage site decided on by UNESCO in 1999. There are 5 different Eco Systems in the area; namely the Sand forests, Mangrove Swamp lands, Savanna, Indian ocean and the Esturine system where we would be doing the 2 hour boat cruise to see the Hippos and Crocodiles.

St Lucia is well known even here in South Africa and it a major tourist magnet, with so much to offer they also boast deep sea fishing as well as Whale and Turtle watching seasonally!

One of our first sightings on our Durban day tour to St Lucia was of Hippos mating which is very rare to see let alone film. I was lucky to have my camera on hand to film this amazing sight!

St Lucia day tour; Hippos mating

St Lucia day tour; Hippos mating

Video of Hippos Mating in St Lucia Estuary, South Africa

This was really a special sighting and we all could not believe our luck! As we continued with our 2 hour boat cruise we ended up spotting something like 150 Hippos and maybe 8 crocodiles.

As we continued we came across a couple of Hippos that displayed for us by opening their mouths and as we all say Yawned. However this Yawning is actually a display to show us to keep our distance and not get too close. It is often confused with the Hippos being tired!

St Lucia day tour; Hippos Yawning

St Lucia day tour; Hippos Yawning

We had already had such a good time and we then looked at some of the mangrove swamps and spotted some crocodiles in the area. One of which seemed to catch something near the shoreline before resting near the rivers edge.

St Lucia day tour; Crocodile in St Lucia estuary

St Lucia day tour; Crocodile in St Lucia estuary

A trip to Durban is not complete with out taking a trip to St Lucia to see the Hippos and Crocodiles. The St Lucia estuary is the largest estrine system in Southern Africa.

We then headed into the small town of St Lucia after the boat cruise for some lunch which was really enjoyable. The whole town has a great vibe of a holiday feel. It took us some time to get through the amazing food we got and then it was time to do the board walk in St Lucia.

We headed down to the estuary mouth where we stopped the vehicle and began the estuary board walk. It is well worth the visit if you are in the area and a trip to South African is not complete if you do not visit this amazing beach. A beach where Hippos and Crocodiles roam, Bull Sharks swim and the bird life is amazing!

St Lucia day tour; St Lucia estuary mouth crocodiles

St Lucia day tour; St Lucia estuary mouth crocodiles

I always find it an amazing picture when you have the St Lucia estuary with the crocodiles resting basically on the beach. The beach and Indian ocean in the back ground and Maphelane the second largest vegetated sand dune in the world. It is also amazing as the sand if full of titanium which is mined but only away from the World Heritage site.

St Lucia day tour; Maphelane from St Lucia estuary beach

St Lucia day tour; Maphelane from St Lucia estuary beach

The signs that you find on the beach are also incredible as they warn you of Hippos and crocodiles. I do not know of any other beaches in the world which have a sign like this. In the above picture you can see the massive Maphelane vegetated sand dune in the back ground.

It is without say that the Isimangeliso wetland park – St Lucia is one of the wonders of the world and is a place you have to visit when you come to South Africa.

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