Location
The camp is located at dd mm ss.s , dd mm ss.s and the attached KMZ file will direct you to Hippo’s
Rest. (Google Maps)
You’re on holiday so enjoy the journey. Buy your groceries and drinks in Manguzi. Give yourself
plenty of time to take in the sights between Manguzi and the camp and try to arrive at camp before
sunset. Negotiating the swamps in the dark might be too much fun too soon in your holiday.
Anyway, you will need a 4×4 or a 2×4 with high clearance and deflated tyres. Some intrepid drivers
made it here in low profile, all-wheel drive sedans but they left a few car body parts on the track.
If you don’t have an appropriate vehicle, we offer free transfers between Manguzi and camp in our
open 4×4 bakkie. However, this is a once- only service and our vehicle is not available for lifts to the
beach, i.e. requiring a 1.0km walk.
The camp is located on the crest of a forested ancient dune, bounded east & west by swamps and
about 1.0km from the beach. We are therefore frequented by coastal, wetlands and forest birdlife.
The area is renown for having one of the highest variety of birds in South Africa, including Narina
Trogen, Honeysuckers, Palm Nut Vulture and Pels Fishing Owl.
On top of a 20m high dune, the camp has spectacular 360 deg views out over the Maputoland and
Makatini Plains.
Located adjacent to the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park boundary (a World Heritage Site), the fauna
and flora has enjoyed over 20 years of conservation resulting in a variety of unusual species being
endemic to the area including Cycad, stinging creeper, Lala Palm, Giant Fan Palm, a pod of 10 to 15
hippos & a few crocs (resident in the camps western swamp), squirrels, leguvaans, snakes, golden
orb spiders, tree frogs, field mice, etc.
During the summer months the weather is hot, damned hot ! and humid so wear a hat (if nothing
else). There are mosquitos, mostly at night, but no reported cases of malaria.

Accommodation
The camp is rustic but clean and well organised . Accommodation is currently one four-room family
unit with separate toilet & shower and one remote “honeymoon “ unit with ensuite toilet & shower.
These accommodation units are centred on a separate, large kitchen, dining, lounge and verandah
unit. All units are on stilts, extending out from the dune slopes and ending with small verandahs at
tree canopy height.
Construction is wood with reed internal walls and iron roof. Toilets are flushing but use septic tank
method so please do not flush any chemicals or “foreign” objects. Showers have paraffin powered
hot & cold water. Lighting is solar-recharged battery powered LED. The kitchen has gas 6 burner &
oven with three gas chest-type deep freezers. Water is on tap, untreated borehole water.
A fully equipped braai area (boma) and a birding look-out tower is available.

There is strong Vodacom and weak MTN cellphone signal. When we run the generator for 2 hours to
refill the water tank, there will be 220V at the Lounge plug sockets.
All bed linen, crockery, cutlery, pots, pans, gas, paraffin, fuel, firewood, scullery and chambermaid
services are supplied. A camp fire will be prepared every night in the Boma. After the evening braai,
lie back, star-gaze and try spot the passing satellites.
Please feel free to tip our staff for good service.
You will need to bring your own food, drinks, toiletries, towels, charcoal, bait, fishing & spear fishing
license and beach permit (for Black Rock, Mbibi, Rocktail Bay beaches , obtainable from Kosibay or
Manzimgwenya Parks Board offices)
The camp is rented on a single group basis only, so you will have the whole camp to yourselves.

Beaches
The nearest beach is Dog Point (1km) with Black Rock and Castle Rock (each 3km) then Banga Nek
and Mbibi (14km) being the next nearest.
The beaches are unspoilt, undeveloped and in pristine condition. Clear blue water and clean, light
brown sand. Take an umbrella or Gazebo and snorkel gear.
Day permits are required for all beaches except Dog Point, Castle Rock & Banga Nek. Surf & rock
fishing and spear fishing is allowed . Surf fly fishing is particularly popular at Black Rock where Kite-
boarding is also becoming common on windy days.
Commercial skiboat launch scuba diving and dolphin / whale spotting is available at Manzimgwenya
Parks Board camp (22Km south of Hippo) and commercial hippo/ croc spotting & fishing trips can be
arranged on the Kosibay lake system (30km from camp).
From October to February turtle-spotting night walks are available at all beaches. Leatherback
turtles weighing up to 400kg can be seen digging nests in the sand and laying hundreds of eggs.

Prices
Hippo’s Rest is a privately owned camp and does not trade commercially.
Visitors are therefore guests of the owners and are asked to reimburse the owners only the costs of
their stay. Currently these costs are approximately R400.00 per person.