Kosi Bay – A huge, gnarled Umdoni tree stretches its thick leafy arms out to welcome visitors to Kosi Bay’s Utshwayelo Lodge and Campsite on the edge of KZN’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa’s first world heritage site.
Together with a number of other old Umdonis, this ancient tree shades the communal areas of the camp, the large grassy lawn, the bar and kitchen as well as tables, chairs and loungers dotted around a pretty, blue swimming pool.
It is not just the beauty of the trees, but also the shade the Umdonis provide that is invaluable. You need a pool and trees in this area. It gets hot. Very hot. And humid. However, the beauty of the adjacent world heritage site and its surrounding areas makes every discomforting drop of sub-tropical sweat worth the visit.
Kosi Bay’s four fresh water lakes are unbelievably beautiful, strung out like a short necklace along the graceful neck of dunes and the pristine sandy beaches of the Maputaland coastline.
The local Thonga people have been fishing in “First Lake” near the mouth for more than 700 years. The ancient fish traps, or fish kraals as they are sometimes known, loop out across the lake. They have been passed down through generations to the current families who still maintain and clear the traps in the way their ancestors did for centuries. In celebration of the Thonga traditions and culture, Utshwayelo takes its name from these beautiful fish kraals.
Situated as it is, only 5km from the Mozambique border post and a short 3km from Kosi Mouth and the beach, there is plenty to do. Utshwayelo is also the only lodge in the area able to issue visitors with permits to enter the world heritage site. They also understand South Africans and how they like to holiday.
The camp, developed in 1992 as a community initiative, struggled for a number of years without success and fell into a state of disrepair before the arrival of Ken Whitfield. “I had been working in the mining industry but woke up one morning realising that there must be more to life. I was originally looking at something on the Cape’s west coast when a friend suggested I come and look at the camp,” he said.
After a number of unsuccessful managing agents, the community was somewhat cynical about outsiders making promises, but after one successful year, the Whitfield Trust was awarded a long-term management lease. The lodge is run with a permanent staff of nine, and managed by Whitfield, and Enoch Tembe, in association with Chief Tembe and the community-elected committee.
When Whitfield took over, the camp was a mess and in a state of disrepair. He put in the pool and a solar system. Using reeds, grass mats and other local building materials, he revamped the run-down cottages, restored the big communal kitchen and lovely out-door bar, added en-suite, semi-outdoor showers, cleaned up the campsite and put in some tented accommodation. Five years later, during season, he is fully booked, sometimes a year ahead, with visitors booking for the following year as they leave.
The fish traps in first lake are not the only attraction of the area. Kosi Mouth has long had a reputation for some of the best snorkelling and diving in the province. With more than 200 species of tropical fish, it is unique in that there is a small estuarine reef right in the estuary making it a wonderful spot for kids and adults to spend the day. Even though Utshwayelo itself is easily accessible by car, generally, a 4x4 is needed to get from Utshwayelo to Kosi Mouth and the beach, but transport can be arranged.
Another unique experience is the presence of nesting sea turtles during the summer months. Utshwayelo helps guests book with the community guides who take walking tours of the magnificent Maputaland beaches at night to see the extraordinary loggerheads and leatherbacks as they appear mysteriously from the water’s edge and lumber up the beaches to lay their eggs in an amazing, ancient ritual that is not to be missed.
An excellent canoe trail with locally-trained guides has been developed, as has a popular guided hiking trail. The walking trail takes you around the lake system, past hippo lakes, through the swamps, marine forests, along the beach and over the sand dunes. It takes three or four days and four or five nights and incorporates a couple of other lodges in the area. A boat trip on the lake is included.
If you’re a keen birder, apart from hundreds of other bird species, this is your chance to see the rare and elusive Palm nut vultures or even a Pels fishing owl.
Other related water activities include angling and salt water fly-fishing with Kosi Mouth being a favourite spot to catch kingfish. Utshwayelo can also help arrange scuba diving because within an hour’s drive are some of the country’s best dive sites, such as Sodwana, Rocktail Bay and Thonga Beach, as well as Mozambique’s Ponta du Ouro and Ponta Malangane.
Being 5km away makes day trips to Ponta do Ouro for fiery peri-peri chicken or prawns and a swim with dolphins feasible – and somewhat cheaper than staying overnight in that busy commercial town in season.
Call 074 785 1574 or [email protected], Ken Whitfield 082 909 3113, Enoch Tembe 084 644 2104.