Kosi Bay

Monday 7 December to Wednesday 9 December

Lockdown Day 256 to 258

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Hanli and Andrew but Rina and Menon continued with us to Kosi Bay. We had been booked into Ndumo but KZNwildlife had called me to cancel due to power and water issues and offered me alternative accommodation instead. This turned out to be a great few days apart from the shabby and dilapidated accommodation. It's been over 20 years since Neil and I were last here. Thomas and Monika were staying nearby and we met up that evening to travel to Banga Neck to see turtles laying eggs on the beach. The Parks Board strictly controls tourist numbers and the only access is with an official guide.

At dusk female turtles, Leatherbacks, Loggerheads and Greens, crawl up the beach to above the high tide line, dig a huge hole and slowly lay hundreds of eggs while in a trance. Then they have to cover the nest site with sand and crawl back to the sea. It's a slow process they repeat many times during the 6 week laying season. We only saw two turtles laying and one returning to the sea without laying. We walked about 7 kilometers along the beach in all and Neil and I were pretty tired by the time we got home but it was a worthwhile, once in a lifetime experience.

On Tuesday we did a boat cruise through three of Kosi's lakes. It's a pretty unique and unspoilt ecosystem and not overrun by tourists. The weather, scenery and birding was spectacular and our guide Lucky was friendly and informative. He showed us the ancient fish trapping technique still in use by locals today. 

On Wednesday we did a trip to Kosi Bay Mouth. Thomas timed the tides just right and we enjoyed snorkeling in the channel before the currents got too strong.

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