Crocs, hippos, zebra, impala ... and the 'cantankerous old men' of the bush ... buffalo!

Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park is a remarkably beautiful place* and was the destination for the next part of the Cadets environmental awareness course.

They took a boat out into the estuary to spot hippos and crocs. 

Hippos in St. Lucia estuary

St. Lucia Wetlands Park - yes, you can see the croc at the water's edge

 Walking trails offered an unforgettable and very exciting experience! This is the ‘real Africa’ as the Cadets walked through the Bush and got close to the animals - all under the expert guidance of highly trained and very experienced guides and rangers.

"We got close to the impala and thankfully we saw buffalo from a large distance! Staying alert at all times, scanning the area for animals required a lot of concentration and we were always looking out for buffalo as we lost sight of them in the game park. Every time we do a walk we see different animals and today we saw a herd of zebra. I find learning about not only the animal but the plants too really interesting and can’t wait to get out and do more walks in the game park!  - Sophie

 

"We were flooded with history and characteristics of the animals and places we saw making it interesting. Having personal experience beats reading it from a book any day! All in all a great experience and one I’d recommend to anyone back home to come see!" - Jared

No caption needed!

Crocodile Centre 

"We learned about the history and background of Crocodiles from Mark, our guide, who described the creature’s appearance, capabilities and horror stories. This was amazing and taught us about the animal itself, in the environment of South Africa. We saw baby crocodiles then went into the crocodile enclosure and had the opportunity to meet a male croc with 7 partners! The visit was fantastic and enabled us to learn about one of South Africa’s most astounding animals." - Kayleigh and Gemma

St. Lucia town

St. Lucia town and walk - where the hippos have been known  to walk down the main street at night on their way to and from the water.

"Walking through the streets of St Lucia today was eye opening seeing the different trades and local people during their everyday life. Wandering around the craft markets and seeing all the colourful cloths and jewellery was brilliant. It was great to see the crafts being made then buy. We had to drag Kayleigh away from buying the entire market!" - Sophie

More snakes & spiders ... 

... and the sunsets on another exciting day in Africa!

Albizia Camp/Umkhumbi Lodge

Sunset from Umkhumbi Lodge

*Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park

South Africa's first Natural World Heritage Site and third largest park. Home to the country’s biggest population of hippopotamus, approximately 1,000 crocodiles and a wealth of plant and animal life. The park has 280km of near pristine coastline and comprises of 328,000 hectares of magnificent scenery. Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park encompasses an immense mosaic of habitats ranging from marine systems (coral reefs and beaches) and coastal forests (from salt and fresh water marshes to the open estuarine waters of Lake St Lucia itself from lush coastal plains to the drier woodland areas. There are over 500 different species of marine, wetland and forest birds. Turtles use the protective beaches here to breed each November.