28 Oct 2014 | By Sun International
The Leatherback Turtles of Isimangaliso Wetlands Park
When you're escaping for a weekend away in Durban, the last thing that you want to do is spend hours travelling from the airport to the hotel. Precious time that could be enjoyed relaxing is instead spent on the road, KwaZulu Natal's famous humidity making you reconsider your destination choice… To avoid this annoying scenario, there is only one thing to do, begin the search for hotels near King Shaka Airport.
Well here's a hint: if you're a guest at the Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom, your journey from the airport will be over before you know it. What's more, Sibaya is the best of all the places to stay on the North Coast.
As a guest at Sibaya, you are perfectly located to enjoy the most popular tourist attractions in Durban. Undoubtedly the most impressive of all the tourist attractions in Durban, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park is an unmissable stretch of 280km's of coastline. The first place in South Africa to be honoured with the title of World Heritage Site, it therefore rather fitting that "iSimangaliso" means "miracle" in isiZulu.
Did you know? At 332 000 hectares, the KwaZulu-Natal park is the third largest protected area in South Africa.
The awe-inspiring park includes three major lake systems and eight interlinking ecosystems. Magically extending from the Mozambican border in the north to the south of Lake St. Lucia estuary, when considering the majestic stretch of land that the park occupies it is not surprising to learn that the park is home to over 500 species of birds.
To get an idea of the majestic size of the park, consider that the iSimangaliso Wetland Park includes:
- Lake St. Lucia
- St. Lucia Game Reserve
- False Bay Park
- Kosi Bay
- Lake Etrza Nature Reserve
- Lake Sibhayi
- St. Lucia Marine Reserve
- St. Lucia Marine Sanctuary
- Sodwana Bay National Park
- Mapelane Nature Reserve
- Maputaland Marine Reserve
- Cape Vidal
- Ozabeni
- Mfabeni
- Tewate Wilderness Area
- Mkuze Game Reserve
Along with hippos, crocs and a variety of birds and small buck, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park has an aggressive bull shark population. As you can see, with so much to experience within the park it can be a bit overwhelming when trying to decide where to go first.
Here's a tip: follow the turtle! The leatherback sea turtle to be exact! Famous for being the largest of all living turtles, the leatherback sea turtle also known as the lute turtle can be found in Kosi Bay. Notable not only because of its size, the leatherback sea turtle is also remarkable as it is one of the most migratory of all marine turtle species, making trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific crossings.
The leatherback sea turtle probably has more stamps in its passport than you do! Reaching Alaska, Norway and New Zealand, the leatherback sea turtle can be found in all tropical and subtropical oceans.
In essence, the leatherback sea turtle is a fully-fledged international traveller! This makes it all the more special that this roaming creature can be spotted in Kosi Bay. Visiting the warm shores of Kosi Bay to lay their eggs on the beach, witnessing the leatherback sea turtle at the Bay is like witnessing the miraculous circle of life. You just have to experience it for yourself.