Southern Africa - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 166

in advance from the
reception gate).
Just outside the
entrance to Kosi Bay
is a fifteen-pitch public
campsite with basic
amenities, though
if you're looking for
comfort, the best place
to stay is Amangwane
Camp, a community-run
initiative where you stay
in reed chalets with en-
suite bucket showers.
Amangwane is co-run by
Elmon Mkhonto - a local
Thongan - and a former
ranger from Natal, Anton
Roberts. Elmon will show
you how to spear-fish
the Thongan way, while
Anton runs fly-fishing
and kayaking trips in
Kosi Bay's lagoon.
For those with deeper
pockets, Kosi Forest
Lodge lies among the
raffia forests. Its safari
tents are shaded by
forest canopy and
open out on to a deck
overlooking the lake.
Local guides will take
you to see the turtles
nesting at night (from
November 15 to January 15) and there are early-
morning kayak trips with the lodge's guides
on which you'll glide along reed-lined rivers,
keeping an eye out for hippos, watching the
banks for monitor lizards and scanning the skies
for fish eagles.
Further south along the Isimangaliso coast
is its sister camp, Thonga Beach Lodge, tucked
between Lake Sibaya, the largest freshwater lake
in South Africa, and a vast empty beach from
where you can dive tropical reefs. Camouflaged

within the dune forest, the camp is
almost invisible from the shore: the
lights in its twelve thatched rooms
are deliberately concealed so as not
to disturb the turtles that nest on the
beach. The owners have entrusted 68
percent ownership to the local Thonga
community, and money from guests'
visits has helped to build a new school
and develop agriculture projects.
Staying at the the concealed lodge, you
can spend the evenings watching turtles
crawling up the beach to lay their
eggs - all the while knowing that your
presence helps keep the poachers away.

Compared to Cape Town,
Thonga's beach is gloriously
empty; A loggerhead turtle

Need to know Kosi Bay is seven hours'
drive from Johannesburg or four from Durban. Kosi
Forest Lodge and Thonga Beach Lodge: W www.
isibindiafrica.co.za; T [phone]. Beach
permits are included when you stay at Amangwane
Camp ( W www.kosibay.net; T [phone]
1233), which costs ZAR850 per person per night,
including accommodation, meals and activities.
Rainbow Tours ( W www.rainbowtours.co.uk)
organizes combined tours to a selection of these
lodges plus Tembe Elephant Park (see p.181) and
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.