74 |May2019go! Drive&Camp
REEL &WHEEL
You can’teasily hookasalt-water fish inland,unless you’re
castingyour lineat aspotlikeUmtentweni.Lagoonside bliss
FISHING RESORT
UMTENTWENICARAVANRESORT
Nature’s“safety net”
Drivenorth on the old SouthCoastroad
(the R102), and the Umtentweni resort
lies6kmnorthof Port Shepstone and to
the left of theroad(awayfromthe Indian
Ocean).Thecampsiteisalmost asbigas
tworugbyfields and is adjacent tothe
Mtentwenilagoon.
Asthecrowflies, Umtentweni isabout
halfakilometreawayfrom thesea–the
same placewhere the Mtentweni River
flows into the sea.Themouth is mostly
closedup,but itis alsoservesasa“net”
for the fishyou find in the lagoon before
itgets to Umtentweni.
When there’s been enoughrain inland,
the mouth opens.Manyofthe larger fish
in the riverthenchooseto headoutto sea
and thesmaller onesstaybehind–these
smallerfish are the onesyoucantryto
catch.They’reabout 5-15cmin size, says
To bie Mayer, ownerofUmtentweni.The
lagoon mouthopensthreetimesayear,
but that’smostlyobstructedinthe winter
months.Tobie previouslycaughta3kg
bream in thiswater,but there arealso
mullets and grunterstohookhere.
Thecampsite is laid outagainst the
lagoon asit flowsseawards.Totheleft-
handsideoftheresort areafewstandson
paving and gravel –hereyoushareapower
point withaneighbour.Ontherestofthe
stands,you camponbuffalo grass,where
large coral trees, wild fig andmahogany
giveshade.There’sanelectricity boxwithbluecaravanplugsforeveryfour stands in
arow.
Toreachtheablution blockfrom the
furtheststand,you’ll take1 20 steps, with a
separateablution andscullery another 50
stepsaway. Gas geysers provide constant
hotwater.
If KwaZulu-Natal’shumidheatgets too
muchforyou, cooldown inthe pool near
the gate.
Yo uneed tobringyourownbraai, but
therearecommunal braai areasright next
to thewater.This built-in braai area–with
aslate floor–hasjust beenrenovated
and havefour grids, eachbig enoughfor
six people.There’satiledworkplace and
abenchmadefromarailroad sleeper
provides seating.PortEdwa rdSouthbroomMargatePortShepstoneScottburghRietvleiIxopoR102R102Umtent weniN2N2N2N2