- Choose a Sunny Day
- Pack your backpack with some essentials: Hat, Sunglasses, Sunscreen, Bathing Suit, Towel, Shoes for rocks & water, Camera, Cold Drinks, Snacks, Toilet Paper
- Check when the low tide is for this walk. Tide schedule can be found here at Kwathabeng
Mission Rocks Beach is easily accessible from St. Lucia, the quaint gateway town to iSimangaliso Wetland Park, which is South Africa’s first UNESCO World Heritage site. From the main roundabout as you enter town head north to the park gate. Park your vehicle and go inside the building to pay entry fees before going through the gate.
As soon as we entered the park we saw a family of 6 warthogs all calming nibbling on the green grass by the roadside. The young bull elephant we ran into was not so calm however, first sniffing us out and determining that we were out of his path only to realize 3 more vehicles were pulling up behind us and were not so considerate about his path. With a trumpet and some flapping of his ears he let the car know he was crossing his path.
Turn right at the sign post off the main tarred road onto a dirt road. The blue ocean meets the blue sky in the distance and beautiful green plants carpet the dunes. The view of the ocean is stunning but keep your eyes on the road too – we saw a tortoise and two small duiker antelopes. We found a shady place to park and packed our backpacks with everything we could carry. We walked down onto the beach and started our trek north (left) up the beach.
Approximately 1.5miles and a healthy brisk 30-45 minutes walk, depending on your gait, you will hear them before you see them. The screeching bats that inhabit Bat Cave made it sound like a radio was playing. As it’s their abode (and it stinks) we didn’t want to impose for too long and just had a quick look. We found another cave just south of Bat Cave that provided ample shade in the morning for our group of four.
After leaving Mission Rocks Beach, the only people we saw on the beach was each other and we spent this quiet, relaxing day exploring the tidal pools, fishing, reading, sunbathing, swimming, floating, & riding the waves.
We stayed past the high tide and only started our trek back as the tide was going out again. The sand was not as hard and the sun had tired us but the exertion felt healthy and the day cleansing so that we start anew again the next day.
On our ride back to St Lucia we were lucky to see Zebra and Kudu grazing the plains and the Hippos wallowing in the cool water, getting ready to make their evening journey to eat on land.
