Cape Vidal

Thursday 31 January
There had been a lot of rain in the night which had a cooling effect on the day. We were being collected by 8:00 for our tour to Cape Vidal so breakfast was ready by 7:00. An umbrella had been thoughtfully left outside our room so that we didn't get wet as we walked through the lush tropical garden. Although the rain had stopped the rain water was still dripping from the vegetation.
As we were shown to our table, we were told that due to the unpredictable weather - rain was forecast for most of the day - our tour had been cancelled. We were naturally disappointed but decided that we would do the drive anyway since the rain had stopped. The landlady was very accommodating and organised a cooler box complete with ice packs, table cloth and a sharp knife. We went to the supermarket and picked up a few things for lunch before we set off for the iSimangaliso wetland park.
To quote Nelson Mandela
‘iSimangaliso must be the only place on the globe where the oldest land mammal (the rhinoceros) and the world’s biggest terrestrial mammal (the elephant) share an ecosystem with the world’s oldest fish (the coelacanth) and the world’s biggest marine mammal (the whale)’

Although we didn't see rhino this time, we were treated to some real close up encounters with a wide variety of antelope as well as hippo, and buffalo; not to mention some of the most beautiful birds such as the hornbill and hoopoo and many that I couldn't identify.

Our landlady suggested that we stop at Mission Rocks a viewing point within the park where we could take a walk and go down to the beach. As the name suggested,it was a rocky beach that teamed with marine life. Some of the most prolific were the crabs. They scurried off almost right under our feet.

The northernmost tip of the park is Cape Vidal, named after Captain Alexander Vidal, a surveyor with the British Royal Navy who charted the African coast in the 1820s. There are lovely beaches and it is a relatively safe swimming area. It was at Cape Vidal that we stopped for lunch and a dip.

As we were having our lunch and watching the sea breaking on the shore an enterprising young monkey attempted to steal our food while we were distracted. needless to say, Ian was just too quick for him and sent him on his way - hungry.

In the late afternoon we went on the Hippo and Croc Boat safari  which took us up the St Lucia estuary and treated us to close up views of hippo, Nile crocodile, different birds of pray as well as the colourful weaver. We even managed to get some lovely shots of hippo yarning.

Friday 1st February

We couldn't have been luckier with the weather. Today we have  the rain that had been forecast for yesterday but that didn't matter as we say goodbye to St Lucia and head down to Ramsgate for the next leg of our fantastic holiday.