Elephant Coast Excursions

Your gateway to Maputaland

Tembe is your starting point for a range of adventures in unspoilt and beautiful Maputaland. Why not stay a bit longer and make Tembe your base from which to explore? A short drive from the lodge will take you to some of Africa’s most varied experiences.

Nearby Ndumo Game Reserve, with its tropical wetlands, has the highest number of bird species in the country - an astonishing 430 species (by comparison the whole of Europe has 1 000). The dedicated twitcher will already have Ndumo on their list of places to visit, and even a casual bird-watcher can’t fail to be thrilled by the number of rare species concentrated in such a small area.

To the east, the Kosi Lakes are the most pristine lake system on the coast. Boat rides and canoe trips on the crystal-clear waters, along mysterious channels and creeks, will make you feel like an adventurer from the Jungle Book. The swamp figs trail their fingers in the water while the raffia palms host the rare palm nut vulture, and far away you will hear the hippos grunt. Perhaps you will even see the swirl of the barracuda and kingfish in the water.

On the coast, Kosi Bay, Black Rock and Rocktail Bay are famous for their snorkelling and diving. .

During summer, sea turtles come onshore at night to lay their eggs, and later the young turtles hatch and scramble down to the sea. Turtle tours are offered (under strictly controlled conditions) on summer nights - an unforgettable experience.

A picnic on the shores of Lake Sibaya - South Africa’s largest freshwater lake - can be the highlight of a day exploring the region of Maputaland. It is a land that used to lie under the sea until raised by tectonic forces millions of years ago, adapted to harsh wind and searing heat, made of white sand, with strange vegetation, tiny villages and isolated spaza shops, crossed by four-wheel drive tracks. The shallow lake, covering 7 700 hectares and home to 18 species of fish, with resident fish eagles, is the centre of this wild and sparsely populated wilderness.