iSimangaliso wetland park

My short visit to the iSimangaliso wetland park was slightly underwhelming. I understand that it is not a very big park but I feel as if there is room to include a few more roads that we can explore. However, It was lovely to spend some time out in the park to enjoy the views, animals and birds.On a separate note: I wouldn’t really recommend this park if you are looking for a wild or remote game viewing experience.

Such a nice and beautiful game drive. U arrived and after 5 mi utes we saw the first animals. For us it was a such a successful drive with a lot of animals. We also visited Krüger Park and havent seen't that many animals like here. The beaches are wonderful to go for swimming and cool down.

We stayed at the ANEW Hotel and the booking of the Game drive was done the same morning at the hotel. We left the hotel at 14h00 and our duration of the drive was for 3 hours.This was our first visit to Zululand. The game drive was nothing but absolutely amazing. Our guide Bongani was exceptional, informative and very knowledgeable and most importantly very patient when looking animals. Gave us ample time to take photographs and that is priceless. The view from the Hilltop Restaurant is stunning.Our entire drive lasted for four hours, back to the hotel at 18h00.Well done Bongani, excellent drive all-round.

I love this amazing place! It combines several different habitats, so it’s a great place to see many different kinds of animals, both land and sea creatures. The beaches are beautiful, clean, and have nice firm sand making for easy long walks, but do watch the tides.

Entrance R220 for 2 of us. Awesome drive from st Lucia to cape vidal. The main road is tarred no potholes well maintained. The ablutions inside the park at the different hides could be cleaner. But most have toilet paper and flushing water.The red dunes loop and the forest loop to the tower is gravel road. The roads are a bit rough, I wouldn't recommend taking your car on it, but I guess it can be done if you drive very carefully. The dune drive is a bit scary to be honest. You literally see the branches broken from the elephants, and the bush is very thick and narrow around the road. Although the dune road is where we saw most of the hippos.Most of the lookout points turnoffs are gravel road. But we didn't take a 4×4 to drive around with.We saw many hippo, giraffe, zebra, koedoe, waterbok, warthogs. We were unable to see the elephant, leopard & croc even though we drove literally all the paaitjies on the map that the reception gives. Maybe next time.We got phone reception through most of the park.

This trip was our first venture to the Isimangaliso Wetland Park but not our last.We set out on our trip early Friday morning. We were concerned about the condition of the road, but we found it reasonably good and made good progress. The planned route allowed for sufficient stops, and all the amenities along the way were to our satisfaction.Arriving in St Lucia, which was to act as our home base, we were pleasantly surprised with this small town. All logistic requirements or needs seem to be taken care of at first glance.Check-in at Sandy Place went smoothly, and soon we were unpacked and settled. The unit was spacious and well-equipped. Not long after, our son and his girlfriend arrived. They were spending the weekend with us.Our first outing on Saturday took us to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Eastern Shores. The staff at the gates were friendly and helpful, and entry to the park went without a hitch. The roads are in good condition and provide easy access to the various points of interest. We saw a lot of animals along the routes and were fascinated by the natural environment, typical of a wetland. There are numerous places where you are allowed to exit your vehicle. We found all the amenities to be in a good state and well-maintained.Sunday and day 2 took us to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Western Shores. Entry at the gates again went very smooth. Despite not being tarred, the roads are in good condition. Similar to the first day, we saw a lot of animals. We could not explore the whole area, as road maintenance was underway on some of the roads.We spent Monday stocking up on supplies for the remainder of the week and some local sightseeing.We explored the three St Lucia beaches and the surrounding area on Tuesday. The vast beaches are clean and remarkably free from pollution and litter. Poles with lifesaving buoys mark swimming areas. There were no lifeguards on duty. As mentioned before, the facilities were clean and well-kept.Wednesday and Thursday had us traversing the Eastern Shores again, as there is so much to see and take in.Way too soon, our first visit to this remarkable place was over, and we had to return home. Due to the vastness of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, we focused on St Lucia and the surrounding areas this time, but we will return in the future to see what else this gem provides.

Breathtaking, astonishing, inspiring.We loved this park. Probably the best experience had in SA.Make sure you climb on top of the viewpoints from where you can observe the immensity of this place and of nature in general.

Nice national park with animals like antelopes, rhinos, hyena and a lot of hippos

This place was honestly the best area we have seen in South Africa so far, considering price, land size, unique areas, amount of animals and quality of roads. Take a whole day here to enjoy the whole place; you will not regret it.