iSimangaliso Wetland Park

by Doug Roland

Maybe it's because South Africa as a developing country is simply closer to the earth than highly industrialized societies. The deep connection to the land is felt and exhibited by South Africans of every race. If you stay around here long enough, you begin to see why. When we are out in the bush, there's a feeling of the land talking to you, even showing off a bit.

A couple of weeks ago, we drove to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, about 3 1/2 hours east then north from here. Accommodations abound in the little village of St, Lucia. The Indian Ocean is a 15 minute walk away. The town is surrounded by the park, the bush, and a major estuary full of hippos and crocodiles. It's a big place.

The park extends northward 34 kilometers from St. Lucia to its terminus at Cape Vidal. A two-lane paved road runs through the middle. The park itself covers 332,000 hectares, has 526 bird species and some of the largest sand dunes in the world. Imagine 34 kilometers of coastline without a single condo, hotel or casino. And it almost didn't happened.

If you walked along the beach, then looked at the bottom of your feet, you would see that they are black. Dig a small trench and you'd find what looks like black sand. It's not. It's titanium, one of the world's precious metals. South Africa is a mining country and as you may have guessed, mining companies put a lot of pressure on the provincial government to sell the tract. But with the outcries from the thousands of people who use it and love it, the government held fast. Soon after it was declared South Africa's first World Heritage Site. Isimangaliso is Zulu for 'miracle'.

We learned that the park is slated to be part of a larger international park that reaches into parts of Swaziland, Mozambique and eventually Kruger National Park. It would become a single park 80 kilometers long and 23 kilometers wide. Odds are very good that this will be accomplished in a few years. Thought is also being given to expand further the park with the selection of preservation lands in Zimbabwe (post Mugabe), Zambia, Botswana and on to the west coast of South Africa and north into Namibia. The implications for the preservation of African species are obvious. So the little bit that we saw is a mere foretaste of what may come later.

iSimangaliso is the largest estuarial system in the country. The road offers several side roads (loops) through the park that deliver you to the brackish wetlands on either side. On the ocean side of the park there are seemingly endless vistas dotted with a handful of animals here and there and further out to a dark blue ribbon if sea. No evidence of human activity was seen. Grasslands in several shades of green extend for as far as you can see to the west. In a cloudless sky, the sun revealed salty marshes, teeming with life.

Several bird species, butterflies, crickets and all manner of tiny creatures thrive alongside one of the larger mammals - the communal hippos. The place is hippo heaven. They are everywhere, even known sometimes to wander about on St. Lucia's streets. Seems idyllic, but these are not pets. I'm glad the ones we did see (probably a 100 or so) stayed in the water. The park has 800 hippos and 1,200 crocodiles , but whose counting?!!

As in any bush area, there are monkeys who, depending on their moods, stay out of site, or challenge you on your turf. There was one who dashed into the garden of our B&B and charged a closed patio door next to ours and was met with a thud. He glanced at me somewhat stunned. At the same time, there was a family of about a dozen mongoose (mongoose?) squeaking and running in a pack, albeit aimlessly in the back yard. But when the monkey lost his battle with the door, they all fled, after posing for the obligatory pictures for a clan of German tourists.

One evening we took a boat ride in a long narrow lake. It proved to be a favorite haunt for hippos, and they did put on a show . . seeming to stalk us, then stop, then open wide their mouths, probably laughing inside at this weird species that will pay money to see them just swimming around as always. We also saw two sizable crocodiles, and a couple of flyovers by large egrets in formation.

On our last night, we booked a night ride through the bush. The park hosts a fair amount of leopards best seen at night. It also has a few species of chameleon found nowhere else. Our driver was an expert and spotted the little guys 20-30' from the vehicle. He then picked them up and brought them to us to see. Otherwise it was unremarkable except when, near the end, we came very close to two large white rhinos. By now, though, we've learned that when out look for wildlife, there are good and bad days and nights. We've yet to see a member of the cat family on our wonderings.

Our favorite part of the park is the longest loop. It leaves the main road for 18 kilometers on a dirt road along grasslands and marshes. Being in no hurry whatever, we stopped frequently to look at nyala, cape buffalo, Water buck, wildebeest, warthogs (fast becoming our favorite African animal), and more bird species than one would see in a lifetime. Other than a few fences and a distant power line, it was just us and creation. We are part of creation and so are these animals. Almost every time we came upon an animal, he or she would stop, and stare at us just as we were staring at him or her. In the couple of hours we were on the road, we did not see a single person or other vehicle. Imagine what the world might have looked like when man first appeared. This would have to be in the running.

Each time we come to a place where wildlife lives, whether it's exotic birds or the giraffes just a few miles down the road from where we live, there is a kind of communication that says we both belong here. This earth is shared and, if we humans will think about it enough, we will use our power of dominion for all our sakes. If I could put it another way, I cannot imagine a world without the other creatures who, like we, are here for a reason.

Footnote: Here is wishing you a wonderful Easter morning. May the messages you hear give you the hope you seek to bring peace to your lives.