The following image was taken from the sliding door of our stateroom.
As always, the images and any videos in this posting are best viewed on the web page. View the complete set of blog posts here.
Excursion St. Lucia Boat Cruise: Explore the natural beauty of South Africa during a boat cruise through the scenic St. Lucia Estuary. Part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and covering approximately 140 square miles, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of Africa’s largest estuaries. Upon arrival in St. Lucia town, you will board your vessel for a leisurely two-hour round-trip sojourn on Lake St. Lucia. As you slowly travel along the shoreline, enjoy a refreshing drink as you learn more about the mangrove swamps and the lake’s five different ecosystems. Keep watch for local wildlife as your knowledgeable captain regales you with tales of the lake’s inhabitants. Home to the largest concentration of hippos in South Africa, the estuary also supports more than 2,000 Nile crocodiles and about 526 different bird species.
We arrived in Richards Bay around 11 am, and as soon as we cleared immigration, we headed off on this tour. The drive from the port to St. Lucia was about 1.5 hours, taking us through the city of Richards Bay and into rural agricultural areas. St. Lucia is a small town with an interesting claim to fame. At night, the hippos come out of the water and walk through the town. Yellow warning signs are posted around town advising people to keep 30 meters away from hippos (similar to our road signs warning about deer crossing). Security guards are on duty to prevent any mishaps between humans and hippos. Hippos kill more humans than any other African animal. While hippos have short legs, poor vision, and actually can’t swim, they can run up to 20 mph. The river cruise was an easy, peaceful ride as we watched keenly for hippos and birds. The hippos were typically in family pods along the shoreline. Hippos can spend several minutes underwater before resurfacing to breathe, so catching glimpses of their faces was a bit of a challenge.
The following five images are videos. The last video gives you a feel for the boat ride up and down the water.
The bird below is a Darter bird.
Our cruise boat was comfortable. The captain, in the last picture below, seemed quite knowledgeable about the animals and their habitat. The afternoon was noticeably cooler than the temperatures of the past two months – only 79 degrees F today!
On our drive to St. Lucia, the guide talked about the economy and demographics of Richards Bay. The city has a population of about 300k people. It is diverse, and a majority of the people are Zulu. Men are allowed to have up to five wives. Richards Bay is highly industrialized, and is a major mining/smelting center for aluminum as well as agriculture center (macadamia nuts, sugar, produce, cattle, ostriches). Eucalyptus tree plantations are common, and the trees are processed into paper and pulp. All planting and harvesting is done mechanically. After the trees are harvested, they are burnt to the ground. The last photo shows the pier where we docked, with our tour buses lined up to meet us and loose coal storage in the background. Richards Bay is the largest coal port in the world. The quality of infrastructure and roadways, in particular, is significantly higher than at our last few stops.
Cheryl had a South African beer on the boat. I had a tasty bagel and omelet for breakfast.
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