KwaZulu Natal is a province on the east coast of South Africa characterised by beautiful beaches, historical landmarks, incredible wildlife and the most beautiful mountain range in Africa.
South Africa is a big country with a huge range of attractions. Whether you are looking to combine a visit to KwaZulu-Natal with other destinations in South Africa, or simply have limited time on your trip, we know it’s hard to fit it all in – and let’s face it, you simply can’t. While there […]
Sodwana Bay, in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, forms the southern extent of many tropical coral reef species. It is the best place in South Africa to enjoy the beauty of this underwater ecosystem, not forgetting the ancient coelacanth population hiding in its offshore canyons. Sodwana Bay has become a mecca for SCUBA divers in South […]
Kosi Bay and the Elephant Coast are among the most unique and beautiful jewels in KwaZulu-Natal’s illustrious quiver of natural attractions. One of the best ways to experience this area (as with so many areas in KwaZulu-Natal) is on foot, which is why we’re about to recommend that you do everything you can to get […]
The Mzinyathi Falls is an attraction that not too many people know about, yet it’s a very short distance out of Durban, making it another reason why we love this subtropical beach city! There is so much to do in and around the greater eThekwini area if you make the effort, and plenty of incredible […]
Planning your first KwaZulu-Natal road trip? Then you’ve just landed on the perfect page to help you with that! KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast of South Africa is highly undervalued as a tourist destination, and often overlooked in favor of destinations like the Kruger National Park and Cape Town. Having grown up in this amazing […]
St Lucia is a small town on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal almost completely surrounded by wilderness. Visitors to this incredible destination will find themselves immersed in a natural setting that few other destinations can offer. There is good reason why this area was South Africa’s first proclaimed UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you only […]
The Entumeni Nature Reserve is a quiet patch of indigenous forest just outside the small town of Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal. The altitude of the reserve puts it further into the mist belt than other forests in the region like the Dlinza Forest and Ongoye Forest Reserve. Hikers and visitors are treated to a truly unique […]
The Umlalazi Nature Reserve in Mtunzini is a pristine stretch of coastline known for its rich biodiversity, history and natural beauty. It’s situated at the mouth of the Mlalazi River which bends its way through the reserve and creates a beautiful centrepiece for this stunning region. The thickly vegetated dunes, mangrove forests, and Raffia palms make […]
Ithala Game Reserve is one of the only big-game national parks that allows visitors the unique opportunity to do self-guided hiking trails. This was something we took full advantage of during our Ultimate South African Road Trip, and something you should too. Highlights Visit a national park where the focus is as much on the […]
The famous Sani Pass that links South Africa with Lesotho is one of the few vehicle access routes onto the great uKhahlamba escarpment. The spectacular “Barrier of Spears” has always proved to be a challenge to negotiate. Despite recent improvements in the road condition, Sani Pass still remains one of the region’s most arduous and […]
Aquarium Reef at Kosi Bay is one of the most unique and exhilarating places to explore KwaZulu-Natal’s underwater world. A wide variety of marine life, tucked into a small corner of the beautiful Kosi Lakes system, is an obvious attraction. We’ve spent many hours drifting up and down this aquatic centerpiece during our Ultimate South […]
When last did you come across a living organism that is over 900-years old? We were amazed to discover that Africa’s last ancient, indigenous fig forest can be found in Mkhuze Game Reserve right on Durban’s doorstep. Highlights Discover a wild Sycamore Fig forest that is over 900-years old. Explore Big 5 territory on foot. […]
Bat Cave is a little-known secret spot within the famous iSimangaliso Wetland Park that can be accessed from Mission Rocks – a section of coastline characterised by a rocky platform that is full of rock pools at low tide. This flat and easy hike along the beach gives hikers a unique perspective of an enchanted […]
The idea of heading out on a wilderness trail might seem a little bizarre to some. Who would willingly give up every modern convenience, including the basics of a bathroom, to spend time out in the wild, sleeping on the ground and exposed to the elements? What is more, what could be the point of […]
In our experience, KwaZulu-Natal has a few absolute gems – places that very few people know about and even fewer have managed to explore. The Ongoye Forest Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal is an unspoiled patch of rare scarp forest, set on a ridge high above the coastline to the east. It is a rare and diverse habitat […]
The Sentinel Peak is one of the icons of the northern section of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg. Standing at 3166 m, it stands guard at the western end of the famous Amphitheatre. It is also home to the Tugela Falls, the second-highest waterfall in the world!
There are plenty of game reserves in KZN. Not all of them are home to Africa’s big 5, but each has something special and unique about it that makes them worth a visit. Spending time in even a few of the game reserves in KZN should be on everybody’s bucket list. This beautiful province on […]
No other place seems to have played as pivotal a role in the history of South Africa as that of KwaZulu-Natal. Specifically, the battlefields region around Dundee. All three powers of the early South Africa met here – the Boer and Zulu in the 1830s, British and Zulu during the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879, and […]
Ithala Game Reserve totally blew us away! (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for our latest travel videos!) Ithala Game Reserve just outside Louwsburg in northern KwaZulu-Natal is a relatively new reserve. Established in 1973, the land previously had a number of uses including gold mining. Evidence of varied and poor land use management is visible in some […]
Bevan and I had never visited Ndumo Game Reserve before. I think this has a lot to do with its location on the South Africa-Mozambique border; if we were that far north in KwaZulu-Natal, it would be because we were en route to Mozambique’s beaches. Given our personal bias to the sea, I can’t say […]
Bevan and I have just been fortunate enough to have spent some time in the Coastal Forest section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. This area of the park includes the stretch of northern KwaZulu-Natal coastline between Sodwana Bay and Kosi Bay near the Mozambique border. This is a remote section of coastline, accessible for the most […]
Hi everyone. We left things off last time inside the Hluhluwe/iMfolozi Game Reserve. Since then, we’ve headed back into the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and had a week characterised by extreme weather that changed just about every plan we had. Somehow though, things have a way of working themselves out. (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for our latest travel […]
Barely two hours’ drive north of Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province lies Zululand and a veritable Eden of pristine forest habitats. Despite the development that has taken place locally, these forest patches have remained largely untouched and are home to some special bird, mammal and reptile species that attract international visitors from far afield. Here’s […]
Welcome to our second update from the St Lucia section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for our latest travel videos!) Expectations exceeded If someone had asked us before we started the trip how long we thought we’d spend in this area, we would have said three days, possibly four to be generous? […]
We’re writing from St Lucia again, but this time we have something a little bit different to report back on: Trail Running (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for our latest travel videos!) The iSimangaliso and KZN Trail Running Pilot Event We were recently invited to take part in a pilot trail running event in the iSimangaliso Wetland […]
Today we’re writing from the Cape Vidal section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for our latest travel videos!) The iSimangaliso Wetland Park iSimangaliso is a park that needs no introduction. It was proclaimed as South Africa’s very first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. It was awarded this status for its unique […]
Hi everyone and welcome to stop number 2 on the Ultimate South African Road Trip: This week we’re visiting Mtunzini. (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for our latest travel videos!) Mtunzini and the Umlalazi Nature Reserve Mtunzini is a small coastal village about 130 km north of Durban. I’ve lived in Durban my whole life and this […]
Welcome to the beautiful Jozini Dam on the northern border of Kwazulu-Natal. (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for our latest travel videos!) The Shayamanzi on Jozini Dam We’ve just spent the last 2 nights on the Shayamanzi II which is a live-aboard house boat that operates on the Jozini Dam. The good people from Shayamanzi (www.shayamanzi.co.za) contacted […]
The Krantzkloof Nature Reserve is one of those places I drive past all the time, but barely take the time to explore. That needed to change! So Jill and I decided that it was time to give the reserve a little more of our attention. It also happened to be the perfect place for us to launch […]