Early start today, so it was up for coffee and lemon cream biscuits, before getting on the bus at 6.20am and heading to the estuary for an early morning boat cruise and walk along the St Lucia Estuary. This was a new adventure for us; the light was lovely, the temperature was cool but it slowly warmed up allowing us to shed one layer of clothing. By coincidence one of the guides on the boat was Brian who had taken us to Umfolozi when we were here a couple of week...

Today was a travel day and the picture was one I took from the top of mission rock and gives a feel for the topography. It doesn't however show the worlds second highest vegetated sand dune which is also a prominent feature. ( the worlds highest being Fraser Island in Australia - been there but weren't told that!) We left at 0545 with Adam, the boat captain, who took us in his little car to the airport at Richards bay for our 0755 flight.....we departed on time ...

A different day beckoned; we had a later start of 0900am as we had opted to do a bike tour which would give us a very different perspective of the coastal area, the dunes and the first part of the park ( i.e. before a second cattle grid which leads to the main park and the home of the buffalo and rhino where biking would be foolhardy!) During the first part of the cycle we cycled along paths and boardwalks along the edge of the lake and beach. We unexpectedly sa...

A later start today, after breakfast,at 8.00am, we left for a hike through the quiet streets and one of the trails along the waters edge ostensibly looking for birds. We saw the trumpeter hornbill, olive backed shrike, natal robin, cape turtle dove, green pigeon, crested guinea fowl,grey headed flycatcher, collared sunbird, white eyed barbet,tinker bird, green backed bleating warbler, an apalis, the purple crested turaco and glimpsed the shy knysna turaco. We di...

Today we were up at 4am, John quickly went and made a cup of tea to help us wake up as we had to be ready for a 5am pickup to go to the Umfolozi national park. Umfolozi is a place I have always wanted to go to as I remember as a child seeing a wildlife programme about it and their now famous work with rhinos. We waited in the chilly morning air for Brian our guide - some people were already on the truck and we collected another couple- all in all there were nine ...