Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park
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The Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park is situated on the east Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa about 275 km North of Durban. It is South Africa's third-largest park, spanning 280 kilometres of coastline, from the Mozambican border in the north to Mapelane south of the St Lucia estuary, and made up of around 3,280 km² of pristine natural ecosystems, managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. The park includes the St Lucia Game Reserve, False Bay Park, St Lucia Marine Reserve, Sodwana Bay National Park, Maputaland Marine Reserve, Cape Vidal, Ozabeni, Mfabeni, Tewate Wilderness Area and Mkuze Game Reserve.
It is a saline system consisting of five individual ecosystems. These ecosystems function totally independent yet fully integrated with each other. The five ecosystems in the park are:
- The Marine System - characterised by the warm Indian Ocean, containing the southernmost coral reefs in Africa, as well as sub-marine canyons and long sandy beaches.
- The Eastern Shores - a coastal dune system consisting of high linear dunes and sub-tropical forests, grassy plains and wetlands.
- The Lake System - including two estuary-linked lakes of St Lucia and Kosi, plus the four large freshwater lakes of Sibaya, Ngobezeleni, Bhangazi north and Bhangazi south.
- The Mkhuze and Umfolozi Swamps - with swamp forests and extensive reeds and papyrus marshes.
- The Western Shores - which includes ancient shoreline terraces and dry savanna woodlands.
History
St. Lucia was first named in 1554 - "Rio de la Medaos do Oura" (River of the dows of Gold) by the survivors of the Portuguese ship Saint Benedict. At this stage the Tugela River mouth was known as St. Lucia. Later, in 1575, the Tugela River was named Tugela. On 13 December 1575, the day of the feast of Saint Lucy, Manuel Peresterello renamed the mouth area to Santa Lucia.
- In 1822 St. Lucia was proclaimed by the British as a township.
- In 1895 St. Lucia Game Reserve, 30 km north of the town was proclaimed.
- In 1971 St Lucia Lake and the turtle beaches and coral reefs of Maputaland have been listed by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (RAMSAR).
- In December 1999 The Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Trivia
- The park is home to 1,200 Nile Crocodiles and 800 Hippopotamus.
External links
- KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government homepage (http://www.kwazulunatal.gov.za/)
- Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (previous known as Natal Parks Board) (http://www.kznwildlife.com/)
- SANParks (http://www.parks-sa.co.za/)
See Also: List of conservation areas of South Africa, List of World Heritage Sites in Africasv:Greater St. Lucia våtmarksområde