Today we venture further into the Isimangaliso Wetlands and travel to the remote beaches of Cape Vidal Nature Reserve. Here you will see thousands of ghost crabs scurrying around for food.
With over a hundred miles of pristine coastline and the tallest forested dunes in Africa, these titanium-rich beaches are an important breeding ground for giant loggerhead and leatherback turtles, who nest and lay their eggs under cover of darkness from November to January, with the hatchlings emerging and running the gauntlet of ghost crabs from February to March. If you climb up one of these steep dunes, you will be rewarded with magnificent views of both the lake and the ocean.
Pods of dolphins are often seen in these waters and from June to November, you may be fortunate enough to see humpback whales, who migrate from Antarctica to mate and calve in these warm waters. In Cape Vidal Nature Reserve you can also hope to see rhino, waterbuck, kudu, zebra, reedbuck, porcupine and many other smaller animals.
Birdlife too is prolific with habitats ranging from grassland to swamp, sand and coastal lowland forest. There are also a variety of aquatic habitats including rivers, marshes, lagoons, estuaries and the beach. Here you can hope to see Great white pelicans, Marabou storks, Yellow-billed storks, African spoonbills and African fish eagles, whose calls can be heard along the shoreline. Sometimes after a storm, seabirds such as the Yellow-nosed albatross, Giant petrel, Tropicbird, Frigatebird, Sooty tern and Noddy tern are blown closer to shore, allowing for some wonderful close-up sightings.