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# Travel in South Africa
## Elephant Coast
#

![1_Kosi-Bay_Africanna.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmZW7DQaPCeENq5UEE28mS1VuGMKseBiCmSyMdkGUvcFrZ/1_Kosi-Bay_Africanna.jpg)

Tsonga Fish Traps of Kosi Bay - Author: Africanna Walkers  @africannawalk

The Elephant Coast is the most northerly region of the KwaZulu-Natal Province bordering on Mozambique. The region is host to South Africas’ very first World Heritage Site, iSimangaliso (meaning ‘miracle and wonder’ in Zulu) Wetland Park, formerly known as the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park.



![2_Leatherback_Turtle_eggs_hatching_Author_E.Peterson.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmXB8vBCdU7Tnr1P3ZEYZYhQFJQ8VEQya4rQxaqRGVptA2/2_Leatherback_Turtle_eggs_hatching_Author_E.Peterson.jpg)

Leatherback Turtle Eggs Hatching - Author: E. Peterson


The Elephant Coast stretches from Kosi Bay in the north to the Tugela River Mouth in the south, a distance of 220 km along the most pristine, protected coastline.  The Leatherback and the Loggerhead turtles use the Elephant Coastline as there nesting and hatching territory where they spend from November to February every year when they lay on an average of 120 eggs each, sadly only 3 in every 500 hatchlings make it to adulthood and return here 2 decades later to repeat the cycle.



![3_White-rhino_Author_DJ.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmeuPFaeujyedVuuGjn6TdZ5SY7D8xcR2suqvCz3vPsb6Y/3_White-rhino_Author_DJ.jpg)

White Rhino - One of the Big 5 - Author: DJ

 The Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, a Big 5 reserve, is the oldest proclaimed reserve in Africa established in 1895, primarily to protect the white rhinoceros, then on the endangered species list.  Hluhluwe-Imfolozi boasts having more wildlife than the Kruger National Park.



![4_isimangaliso-mpa_Author_P.Chadwick.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmYiWs6xBp4DwvrhMQRbnNcBomQGSV1Xd2PhgWN4mkLPW3/4_isimangaliso-mpa_Author_P.Chadwick.jpg)

Mangroves in the iSimangaliso MPA - Author: P. Chadwick

The Elephant Coast is regarded as the ecotourism mecca of the Zulu Kingdom with some of the highest sand dunes in Africa, reaching a height of up to 165m; mangrove swamplands where 6 species of mangroves are found; some of the best dive sites in the world are along this coast with magnificent coral reefs.



![5_lake-sibya-ramsar.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmNTHMrm64S6qzekKeiDULgWRwQCQmLtoBpR6UwX8m2whS/5_lake-sibya-ramsar.jpg)

Lake Sibaya - Ramsar Site

Some of the best fishing sites are found along this region with Lake Sibaya being Southern Africa’s largest freshwater lake.  Marine canyons offshore of Lake Sibaya and the presence of relict estuarine fauna suggest that the Lake was previously connected to the sea by a large river. Its pristine, crystal clear waters fringed by pure white sand are fed entirely by run-off from the high vegetated dunes reaching 165m.




![6_hippo_KosioForestLodge.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmSvPQfWPrMQXuQw1SHYb4qrzWTGcAHmvFqAMiJ9z24kjT/6_hippo_KosioForestLodge.jpg)

Hippo of the Lake St.Lucia Estuary - Author: Kosi Forest Lodge

Lake St. Lucia, in the heart of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, is Africa’s largest estuarine system and has been a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance since 1986. It is 80 km long and 23 km at its widest point.




![6_Coelacanth_B.Henderson.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmeYn7x1UdhoNADGczw7WbQzX5Z7stSBjSWDtpEzhcKBV4/6_Coelacanth_B.Henderson.jpg)


The once thought of being extinct Coelacanth - Author: B. Henderson



The Elephant Coast is a ‘must visit’ destination on the South African coastline. It is the home to the once thought of being extinct Coelacanth; the 10 Jewels of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); the Leatherback and Loggerhead Turtles that return back here each year to nest; the south Hemisphere Humpback whales together with the Southern Right Whales visit these waters annually, the Tsonga Fish Traps and an array of every other possible activity imaginable.




#### Image Sources:
###### 1)  Kosi Bay - Africanna Walkers - <br>https://facebook.com/africannawalkszacoast
###### 2)  Leatherback Turtle EWggs Hatching - Wikimedia - <br>https://commons.wikimedia.org
###### 3)  White Rhino - Travel in South Africa Tourism Guides - <br>https://www.facebook.com/travelinSAfrica
###### 4)  Mangroves -  Isimangaliso MPA - <br>https://www.marineprotectedareas.org.za/isimangaliso-mpa
###### 5)  Lake Sibaya - Ramsar Sites - <br>http://www.saramsar.com/p/pictures.html
###### 6)  Hippo in the Lake St Lucia Estuary - Kosi Forest Lodge - <br>https://www.kosiforestlodge.co.za/
###### 7)  Coelacanth - <br>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth


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