After our stay at the beautiful Thonga Beach Lodge, we’re heading to our next stop: Kosi Forest Lodge. Along the way we stop at a local church, about the size of a small classroom, where locals, sitting on plastic chairs, dressed in their best sunday clothes, are singing gospel from the heart. Goosebumps. A shy young girl smiles curiously at me in her pretty red dress. An old man tries to read the words in his aged bible, through his broken glasses. The sunday clothes have some holes in them and shoes are worn out, but everybody smiles at us. We feel welcome.

After this experience I will never forget, we drive to Kosi Forest Lodge, where we are welcomed with ice cold homemade lemonade. You may have seen some photos on my Instagram already. The Kosi Forest Lodge is located in a beautiful forest, where monkeys jump around our cottage and with a swimming pool that we should leave before sunset, otherwise some curious & territorial hippos will join us. Just another day at the Elephant Coast…

Our cottage is basic, but super comfortable with an outdoor bathroom including a bathtub! There are no activities planned for this first day and although I usually want to jump right into new adventures, this easy afternoon/ evening is good for me; I’m not feeling well. That happens almost every time I travel at least one day and I always bring kuzu with me. This powder is a miracle worker when you’re not feeling well.

The next morning my friend is feeling sick too, but I have recovered and decide to go and explore the area around the lodge. Around Kosi Forest Lodge you find mangroves, swamps & 4 interlinked lakes only 2 km from the Mozambique border. The area is a Unesco World Heritage Site and is part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. The Kosi River Mouth is called ‘The Aquarium’ and is known for the abundance of fish species that you usually only get to see further out in the ocean. Therefore this is one of the best snorkeling spots in South Africa!

The weather is not cooperating today, but I decide to go into the water anyway, I’m wet already, and THANK GOD I did! The water is warm & shallow at the Kosi River Mouth and I see an underwater world of unbelievable beauty, that is just as impressive as the Great Barrier Reef, where I dived a couple of years ago. We spot Devil Firefish, Honeycomb Moray Eels and we find Dory….well, she looks like her…

Because of the rain, we can’t do a lot of the other activities. The highly recommended boat trip & kayaking are not an option now. Because I didn’t feel good the day before, we had to skip the forest walk too. So it’s clear to me: I have to come back! This was just the tasty appetizer…

Kosi Forest Lodge, Kosi Nature Reserve Manguzi, South Africa
http://www.kosiforestlodge.co.za

Click HERE to read Pt. 1 of my stay in Kwazulu-Natal/ Elephant Coast: Tembe Elephant Park
Click HERE for Pt. 2: Thonga Beach Lodge

This trip was sponsored by South African Tourism.

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