Back in July I took a family holiday in the Hluhluwe area. An earlier post on butterflying around Malala Lodge is here. We visited the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (It was until recently known as the St Liucia Wetland Park.). The Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and “consists of thirteen contiguous protected areas with a total size of 234,566 hectares. The site is the largest estuarine system in Africa and includes the southernmost extension of coral reefs on the continent. The site contains a combination of on-going fluvial, marine and aeolian processes that have resulted in a variety of landforms and ecosystems. Features include wide submarine canyons, sandy beaches, forested dune cordon and a mosaic of wetlands, grasslands, forests, lakes and savanna. The variety of morphology as well as major flood and storm events contribute to ongoing evolutionary processes in the area. Natural phenomena include: shifts from low to hyper-saline states in the Park’s lakes; large numbers of nesting turtles on the beaches; the migration of whales, dolphins and whale-sharks off-shore; and huge numbers of waterfowl including large breeding colonies of pelicans, storks, herons and terns. The Park’s location between sub-tropical and tropical Africa as well as its coastal setting has resulted in exceptional biodiversity including some 521 bird species.” (Quoted from the UNESCO site here.)
In the morning we went on an estuary cruise which focuses on hippos and crocodiles as well as the larger birds. It was a very enjoyable trip and we saw plenty of crocodiles and hippos and quite a few birds – though nothing new for me.


Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius

Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus

Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus

White-faced Duck Dendrocygna viduata with a Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

Great views of a Goliath Heron Ardea goliath

Up close and personal with an African Fish Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer
After the cruise we spent some time around St Lucia village – I went for a short walk on the Gwalagwala trail. We saw a group of Vervet Monkeys Cercopithecus aethiops:
On the Gwalagwala walk I also saw a Woodward’s Batis Batis fratrum which was a new bird for my life list.
Later on in the village we had fantastic views of a large group of Banded Mongooses Mungos mungo, though they moved so quickly I did not get photographs. I did get a photo of a female Trumpeter Hornbill Bycanistes bucinator:

In the afternoon we drove into the park and saw more Waterbuck as well as Warthogs Phacochoerus africanus. I found another new bird, the Eastern Nicator Nicator gularis.
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