Journal

“A place of shimmering lakes, meandering waterways, tropical forests, remote beaches all within the iSimagaliso Wetland Park”
The route we took between Thonga Beach Lodge and Kosi Forest Lodge is meant to take about an hour and a quarter. We took 5 hours. Along the way we pulled into secluded bays, stopped at scenic view points and shot here and there.
To say that it wasn’t a pleasure to take that long to get to the lodge would be a lie. The scenery was magnificent, and those who drove (me) got to ‘play’ with the various 4X4 modes as almost the entire way there you are in deep sand – fun stuff!
We arrived in the dark. Welcoming us were Chris and Illana, the couple that run the lodge and the manager, Blessing. They quickly showed us around; we unpacked and made our way to the bar for a couple cold ones. At the lodge, there are only eight intimate rooms, hidden in a beautiful sand forest. We were the only guests there, which meant that we had our own little slice of paradise all to our selves.
After a few welcome drinks we were treated to a 3 course meal in a private boma. I found out later, via Illana that that Chris was a little intimidated by our and I’m sure Jax’s presence, not being a chef himself and having to cook for all of us must have been quite a daunting task. Well I have to say that you’re an impressive cook, all the food we had at the lodge was delicious – thank you.
The next morning we all rose early, we were looking forward to the boat cruise through the nearby lake systems. Our aim for the day was to see the traditional fish traps, chat to some locals and maybe see a few hippos along the way. There are 4 lakes in total and we started in the last one and made our way toward the sea. To get to the lake there is about a 5 minute hike through a Raffia Palm forest, which was absolutely stunning as we were passing through it at the exact time that the sun came up. These palms are enormous and look almost prehistoric.
We’d been through the first two lakes and spotted numerous hippos when we met up with Amos, a local fisherman, whose forefathers had been fishing here for centuries. The traps they use today are identical to those used hundreds of years ago. There are strict laws which are enforced by local authorities as to the size of each trap and you may not build any new ones but can maintain existing systems.
If your father had three, then you too may only have three. They consist of a long fence, which acts as a barrier that runs into a kraal. Once a fish swims into this it’s forced along the stakes which are placed a certain distance apart so that the smaller fish can beak free. This means that only the larger fish are trapped. It’s a simple but very effective way of making sure that this type of fishing is sustainable for future generations. George, one of our guides tells me that these traps are made completely from natural fibers and need regular maintenance every 4- 6 months. This is hard work and a lot like single man rod fishing. It depends a lot on luck and is never a sure thing.
Amos was quite a character and took to being in front of the camera like a fish to water. He quickly became the director of operations and went so far as to tell us only to shoot him from his good side. We learned quite a bit about his life as a fish trap owner before he produced a 5- litre container of palm wine (home brew) and offered some to Justin. Then I realized that much of his bravado was Dutch courage – he also drank like a fish.
After saying our goodbye’s we quickly cruise back to the lodge for the game between SA and France, we klapped them 2-0 but alas it’s too little too late.
The following day the guys went canoeing and got a little too close to a hippo. You think they’d know better, hippos kill more people than any other animal in Africa. Unfortunately Louis, our stills photographer was too busy with this near death experience and didn’t catch it on camera. He has promised to do better next time. Improvement is all we ask for Louis. Calvin, our producer and the other person in the boat reckons that they were within 10 meters of death. The guides back at the lodge agree, this was no joke, they probably should be dead!
All in all the North Coast of Natal has been a majestic place to stay and the perfect pampering we needed after the Transkei. Thank you to all the folks at The Thonga Beach Lodge, The Kosi Forest Lodge and all the incredibly friendly people of the greater Isimangalisa Wetland Park region, we had a blast!
Till next time
Smartmart

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