Rocktail Beach Camp

Rocktail Beach Lodge is situated on the secluded, unspoiled northern reaches of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site on the KwaZulu-Natal coastline close to Mozambique. Rocktail is set back from the beach, which is accessed via an intriguing 20-minute walk through the protected dune forest. The elevated lodge has warm and friendly living spaces, with light woods, pastel colours and wooden chandeliers suspended from a high ceiling which welcomes in the cool sea breeze. The dining, bar and lounge area are enveloped by a wrap-around verandah which extends to a viewing deck overlooking the Indian Ocean. Nourishing home-cooked style meals are imaginatively prepared (special dietary requirements are well noted) and served indoors or on the deck. There is a large pool, a curio shop and children’s playroom, complete with board games and other fun activities for families.

The 17 rooms and suites are set on elevated wooden platforms with roll up canvas walls and strong wooden supports. They have a rustic, yet neat ambiance with raw wood furnishings, overhead fans and wide balconies overlooking the forest to the sea. The en-suite bathrooms have large showers and the canvas walls fold away to create an open feel. Seven of the rooms are family suites where two bedrooms share a bathroom.

Guests have access to almost 40km of uncrowded beach fringing the Maputaland Marine Reserve with extraordinary diving and snorkelling. Guests can also spend time at the nearby Lake Sibaya, a strictly controlled environment, to see the awe-inspiring turtle research. Between November and January, leatherback and loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs which can be seen be on sensitively operated walks and drives. The dune forest around the camp is favoured by small spotted genet, thick-tailed bushbaby, red forest duiker and common reedbuck to name a few.