ACCOMMODATION:
Luxury game viewing rooms-
- 5 Standard Rooms
- 1 Honeymoon Suite
- Maximum Capacity 12 People
- Airconditioned / Heated
- Insect Proof Screen Doors

THE HISTORY:

THE NAME MAKAKATANA
The name Makakatana is the name of a Zulu Chief called "Makakatana’ who lived in the area many years ago. The southern most bay that opens into Lake St Lucia from the Narrows was named after the Chief.

THE MAKAKATANA BAY LODGE LOGO
The logo of the crab was used because the land on which the lodge lies had an old concrete block house built on it that John Kemp Morrison (Jock) used to store fish and crabs in. The concrete storage house was later left abandoned due to the severe heat of summer and due to the banning of commercial catching of the Crabs.

The block house then got the nick name ‘the Crab House’.

Today the ‘Crab House’ is now called the ‘Crab Cellar’ and is home to a Strangler Fig tree and the Makakatana wine stocks! On request we offer the old cellar as a venue for private dinners.

MAKAKATANA HISTORY
James (Jimmy) & Ursula Morrison lived at Makakatana for 50 years before moving to Ballito, on the Kwa-Zulu Natal north coast, where they are currently living. Ursula Morrison has written some wonderfully rich memoirs of the history behind Makakatana.

A MESSAGE FROM THE OWNERS
We, Hugh and Leigh-Ann Morrison are very proud and privileged to be able to continue living at Makakatana and to run our beautiful Lodge here. To us, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is a paradise that we cherish and are honoured to be able to share it. We are so grateful to my Mom & Dad (James (Jimmy) & Ursula Morrison) in helping us build our business and for all your support.

To all our future guests, we pride ourselves in being able to allow you to experience this wonderful paradise, and to all our past guests & friends, we thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you all again.

Hugh and Leigh-Ann Morrison

THE GREATER ST LUCIA WETLAND PARK:
On 27 April 1897 lake st Lucia was declared a game reserve. The conservation area was a 35000 hectare lake with a 1km strip of land surrounding the lake. At a later stage other conservation areas were added. On 1 December 1999 UNESCO declared the lake and adjacent coastal areas a world heritage site. The 328 000 hectare reserve was South Africa’s first world heritage site and encompasses five major ecological zones.

Makakatana Bay Lodge remains the only privately owned lodge situated within this world heritage site.

ECOLOGICAL ZONES:
The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park encompasses 5 major ecological zones:

MARINE ECOSYSTEM - Warm sea, coral reefs teaming with fish, whales and dolphins.
EASTERN SHORES ECOSYSTEM - Golden beaches flanked by some of the highest vegetated sand dunes in the world, grassy plains and a variety of wetlands.
LAKE ST. LUCIA - Africa's largest natural estuary, populated by hippopotamus, crocodile and water birds.
MKUZE SWAMPS - A reed and papyrus wetland
WESTERN SHORES - Dry savannah and thornveld with rich deposits of fossils.

THE SIZE OF THE LAKE:
Lake St. Lucia is the largest marine lake in Africa and is connected by the sea in the South by 21 km of winding channels called the Wetland Narrows. It then opens up to the main lake that is approximately 40km long and the width is between 100 metres and 21km wide. The average depth is about 1 metre and the expanse of water is about 300sq km.

FEEDER RIVERS TO THE LAKE:
5 Rivers that feed the Lake are the Mpate, Nyalazi, Hluhluwe, Mzinene and the largest being the Mkuze River. There is an incredible interplay between marine and freshwater life where in the saline areas there are mangrove swamps and the less saline area there are lake reeds. The lake system provides an important nursery for many marine species where fish and prawns breed in the sea and migrate to the lake to mature. In fact, the St. Lucia Lake system is probably the most important prawn habitat in South Africa.

SALINITY OF THE LAKE:
The ecological status of the Lake responds significantly to the fresh water influx.

When the rainfall has been low, the salinity rises, changing the ecosystem. During the saline phase there are higher numbers of Flamingo & Pelican in the lake When the lake salinity reaches that of the sea, the numbers of Pelican seen escalates substantially.

Two species of flamingo are found here, The Greater Flamingo and The Lesser Flamingo. Flamingos are filter feeders and feed with their heads upside down. The Lesser Flamingo filters microscopic algae and diatoms food from the surface, whereas the Greater Flamingo submerge their entire head and feed on larger crustaceans, moluscs and diptera larvae.

MARINE LIFE IN THE ESTUARY:
It is estimated that over a hundred different species of fish utilize the St Lucia estuary as a nursery, but use the sea as the maternity ward or spawning area.

Annual spawning occurs between April and August.

MARINE ACTIVITIES:
Activities include diving the coral reefs, boat cruises, walking for miles on golden beaches, exploring great dunes, wandering through magical coastal forests or roaming across grassy plains. You can also try your hand at canoeing, snorkeling and angling. This is the place to indulge yourself.

THE COELACANTHS:
The oldest living species on the planet, the Coelacanth, is found in deep water off the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. The Coelacanth was thought to be long extinct, but in 1938 the first specimen was found along the eastern coast of Africa. It has now become known that Coelacanths live in the underwater canyons offshore of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park.

Scientists are trying to research these creatures and obtain an understanding of the number of these fish, their locations and habitats. They are also interested in finding out if the population of coelacanths living in these waters are resident and are breeding. Information found will feed the Greater St Lucia Wetalnd Park Coelacanth Management plan so that the species can be conserved and protected as part of the World Heritage Site.

BIRDLIFE:
The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park supports approximately 367 different bird species in 11 major habitats. There are only a few places in Africa that support such a concentration of bird life. About one third of the species are waterside birds. St. Lucia has the only breeding colony in South Africa of the pink backed pelican. Flocks of flamingos and pelicans make homes on the islands when the plankton levels are high.

WILDLIFE:
There has been a substantial increase of animal species within the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Reserve. The most noticeable are the buffalo and elephant now to be seen on the Eastern and Western shores. The goal of the Conservation Park Authority is to re-habilitate the park and re-introduce animals that used to occur in this region. A Game Introduction Policy has been set out and are formulating a 5 year Game Introduction Programme whereby they will be able to determine what species will be introduced and to what areas.

Although typically home to Hippopotamus and Crocodile, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park will eventually become a Big 5 Game Reserve.

As it currently stands the Park is only short of Lion.

HLUHLUWE UMFOLOZI:
This is a large and incredibly scenic park with rippling hills covered in low acacia bush, and lofty viewpoints giving a bird's eye view of who's doing what where. The north of the park is more rugged and mountainous with forests and grasslands, while the south and west is more undulating with open savannah. Hluhluwe is a difficult word to pronounce but something sounding like "Shoushlooee" is close enough.

The park contains an immense diversity of fauna and flora and is particularly famous for its conservation of black and white rhino. It contains hundreds of endangered black rhino and the largest population of white rhino in the world.

Apart from game-viewing drives, there are two self-guided auto trails, for those wishing to self drive themselves around the park. There are a number of picnic sites and several self-guided walks providing magnificent views. Two daily walks in the company of a field ranger can be booked through the camp office and extended several day hikes are undertaken in the southern Umfolozi part of the park.

ANIMALS & BIRDS:
Hluhluwe Umfolozi is home to 1,600 white rhino and 370 black rhino - an impressive number which means you are very likely to see one or both species. It also contains the rest of the Big Five; buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard, as well as many other species including blue wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, waterbuck, nyala, kudu, bushbuck, warthog, cheetah, hyena and jackal plus about 24,000 impala. You may have some close encounters with elephants as they often cross or block the road right in front of your vehicle.

In excess of 300 species of birds have been recorded.

SEASONS:
Rainy Season: This is a hot and humid sub-tropical area and most rain falls during the months of September to April. Annual rainfall is 29-39 inches (750-1,000mm).
Dry Season: The dry season lasts over winter from May to August and the temperatures are very pleasant with warm days and cool nights.

HLUHLUWE AND UMFOLOZI GAME RESERVE SPECIALITIES
- Black and white rhinos
- Rippling scenery with splendid viewpoints
- Self drive, self walk or guided walks
- 'Big Five' animals
- Close encounters with elephants