Exploring the Phongolo Floodplain

Nile Crocodile caught at Nyamithi Pan 

The Phongolo Floodplain
Tucked away in the north eastern corner of KwaZulu-Natal is one of South Africa's best kept secrets - the Phongolo (Pongola) River and Floodplain. I first stumbled across this incredible system while studying Nile Crocodiles at Ndumo Game Reserve from 2009 until the present. Four years of exploration by canoe, 4x4, foot and by air both inside and outside of the reserve as well as an extensive literature review (for my studies) has led to a deep appreciation of how truly unique a system the Pongola is. Allow me to share with you a little of what I have found...

Canoeing on the Pongola River

The River
Gin clear waters flowing throughout the year, meandering around white sandbanks and under giant Sycamore Fig trees...80km's navigable by canoe and easy enough for beginners to handle. Water so clear that you can snorkel.... over 40 species of fish to see and catch. Twenty five major pans ranging from 20 - 400ha in size interspersed along the length of the river creating a diverse habitat for over 400 species of birds including the elusive Pels Fishing Owl, African Finfoot, and Black Coucal to name a few. 

The Camp
Blown away by all the Pongola has to offer we established a tented camp on the banks of the river and started offering Canoe Safaris, Birding, Flyfishing for the mighty Tigerfish and general leisure and camping trips. Proceeds form these trips help maintain the 300ha Kwa Nyamazane conservancy surrounding the camp and will very soon allow us to set up another camp and conservancy on one of the pans a days paddle downstream from the current camp.

Sunset at Madonela Pan

The Mission
Through this blog we invite you to follow our journey as we aim to put the Pongola Floodplain firmly on the map as a primary eco-tourism destination and keep you up to date on the fishing, birding, canoe trips and conservation initiatives taking place. Next weeks missions includes:

• Explore the as of yet un-fished waters of the lower floodplain
• Take a closer look at Mzinyeni Pan - historically a great birding site
• Follow up on a reported 'problem croc' that has been feeding on livestock

That's all for this week folks! Stay tuned for more pics and stories next week. Comments and questions welcome.