getaway.co.za 107A
ccording to locals, it’s always sunny
in St Lucia. The commonly bragged
statistic is 325 days of sunshine
a year. Whether truth or factoid,
it’s a happy coincidence that such a trait
applies to this holiday town. Fringed by
palms in places and blessed with wide
golden beaches, it’s surrounded by sea, lake
and wilderness.
The only way into St Lucia is via a bridge
over a narrow channel. I cruised across
slowly to get a closer look at the hippos that
wallow beneath it. Reeds shuffled together,
creating a whisper on the wind that sailed in
through my open window, along with the
hippos’ ‘har-har-har’ and the unmistakable
high-pitched call of a fish eagle.
I met Lindy Duffield at St Lucia Coffee
Shop to chat about how best to spend my
time in her ’hood. ‘I started out working for
Portfolio, the accommodation collection, and
used to inspect the properties in St Lucia.
I never thought that one day I’d move here
and work for the park,’ she said. The baristas
all knew Lindy and greeted her warmly.
Once settled at our table we pored over
a map of iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
First on the itinerary was the Lake St Lucia
cruise. Starting near the bridge, the barge setMelanie van Zyl
ABOVE Cyclists follow the Indian Ocean shoreline, using fatbikes to tackle the sandy stretch between St Lucia and Maphelane.
OPPOSITE, TOP ROW A carved monkey-orange souvenir; up close at the Crocodile Centre; Elise Stadler guides snorkelling safaris at Cape Vidal.
MIDDLE ROW The boardwalk and Sugar Loaf Campsite have recently been revamped; a bucket of pineapples costs R30; crabs have returned
to the shores in abundance since public driving was banned on the beaches. BOTTOM ROW There are around 800 hippos in the area; game in
the Western Shores section of the park; Lindy Duffield returning from a walk on Estuary Beach – ‘I wish I was holding a fish, rather than plastic.’‘KIAN’S BEAM
ILLUMINATED THE
ENORMOUS, DARK-PURPLE RUMP OF A
LONE HIPPO GRAZINGA GRASSY VERGE’
offat a sedatepace.Manyboatsoperatein
thesewaters(sunsettripsarea favourite),
butthankstoLindy’sadvice,mineheld
fewerpassengersandeveryonegot
anuncrowdedviewofthesprawlinglake–
80 kilometreslongand 23 kilometresat its
widest.Hippossplashedhappily,andthese
watersarealsohometoaround 1 500 ‘flat
dogs’ (as the crocodiles were dubbed by
our guide) most measuring over two
metres long.
The lake also divides iSimangaliso Wetland
Park into two parts; the Eastern and Western
Shores each offer different attractions, are
accessed via separate gates and require
different entry fees. I started in the east,
with Kian Barker. He’s been guiding here
since 1996 and gave me a rather unusual
introduction to St Lucia’s savannah and
woodland arena, under cover of night.
After collecting me, he beamed the safari
vehicle’s spotlight across the road. Aiming itat a small bush just metres away from my
B&B, he introduced our evening’s first
sighting: Setaro’s dwarf chameleon, endemic
to this area. ‘The skin easily reflects light
so she’s easier to spot at night,’ he said. The
creature, small and brown, sat frozen on
a twig, twirling its eyes in every direction.
Minutes later, Kian’s beam illuminated
the enormous, dark-purple rump of a lone
hippo grazing a grassy verge – the streets
of St Lucia bear signage better suited to a
national park than a town, with warnings
against such encounters. ‘I’m still not used to
seeing these giant, nocturnal, grass-gobbling
eco-friendly lawnmowers on our streets,’
said Kian. ‘And I often think that hippos are
also a little surprised when they see people
in their grazing areas.’
Once through the iSimangaliso Wetland
Park gate, more wildlife sightings followed.
A porcupine rustled its quills at us, then
Kian found another reptile – the brilliant
green flap-necked chameleon. Buffalo, zebra
and impala eyes twinkled back at us from
the inky night, and a trio of bushpigs quickly
scattered into darkness.
The alarm clock sounded too early the
following morning for my next adventure.
Berno Phillipson has skippered the