COMMUNAL FACILITIES:
Kitchens:
There are 8 kitchens (cookers and kettles are available to rent) with a wash-up area with hot and cold water. There is no additional charge for the use of the kitchens, they are for all campsite guests.

Ablutions:
Spotless Gents and Ladies ablutions with hot and cold water.

Dining Area:
There is a covered dining area where guests can enjoy the beautiful sea view while having a meal.

This area is for use by all guests at the campsite.

Braai Area:
There are braai areas around the campsite with their own light and three prong plug 220V power point.

LOCATION:
Mbotyi is situated 26 kms from Lusikisiki and the road is easily accessible by motor car. There is a small portion of gravel road, which is in good condition. A short distance from the turn-off lies the Magwa Tea Plantation and it feels as if the beauty of the valleys and hills of this magnificent tea plantation transports one back into history. After a very short drive, the landscape changes dramatically with deep gorges filled with lush vegetation, waterfalls and then comes the descent through the Mqaba Forest which is teeming with fauna and flora that is waiting to be discovered. Mbotyi River Lodge is at the end of the road and the beginning of a new and wonderful adventure.

ACTIVITIES:

4x4 Trails:
There are no designated trails but some areas are better accessed by 4 x 4 vehicles. Some places to visit are Magwa Falls, Fraser Falls, Port Grosvenor, Monteku and Waterfall Bluff.

There is no limit to the amount of exploring that one can do with a bit of planning and chatting with the local people and the Lodge.

Beautiful Beaches:
Whether you want to swim, laze in the sun or body surf - Mbotyi and its surrounding pristine beaches is the place for you!

Mountain Bike Trails:
There are a number of trails for the adventurous explorer. As with all our trails, these can be tailored to your individual needs.
Visit many of the sites that can be reached by car or 4x4. There are some that will test even the most skilled rider.

Bird watching:
One of Mbotyi's main attractions is the pristine coastal forest that cloaks the hills overlooking the sea, the most extensive patch on the entire Wild Coast. A weekend spent birding this forest and surrounding areas should produce over 100 species.

Additional habitats include open grassland dotted with Acacias, cliffs and gorges, estuaries and lagoons with limited stands of mangroves, and sandy and rocky coastline.

Bird the last stretch of road before the coast or any of the numerous indistinct tracks leading into the forest for Olive Woodpecker, Yellowstreaked Bulbul and Terrestrial Bulbul, Chorister Robin and Forest Weaver. Knysna Lourie and Trumpeter Hornbill and Crowned Hornbill are common and conspicuous but listen carefully for the canopy calls of Delegorgue's Pigeon, Emerald Cuckoo, Narina Trogon, Scalythroated Honeyguide and Olive Bush Shrike. Sounds of scratching in the leaf litter may reveal the presence of a Cinnamon Dove, Spotted Ground Thrush or Brown Robin. Scan over the forest canopy for Cuckoo Hawk, Longcrested Eagles and Crowned Eagles, Forest Buzzard and Cape Parrot. Longtailed Wagtail and Halfcollared Kingfisher frequent forest streams, whilst the Barred Owl may be heard calling at night.

Check forest edges for Rednecked Francolin, Knysna Woodpecker, Barratt's Warbler, Southern Tchagra, Greater Doublecollared Sunbird and Swee Waxbill, and surrounding grassland for Crowned Crane, Wailing Cisticola and Croaking Cisticola, and Plainbacked Pipit and Striped Pipit.

The estuaries and their fringing mangroves support Water Dikkop and various Kingfishers.

The Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus:
Right now the Cape Parrot is going extinct. The species is South Africa's only endemic parrot. With less than 500 birds left in the wild, the parrot is among the most critically endangered in the world. The whole lifestyle of the bird is centred on Yellowwood trees Podocarpus species, which the parrots need for feeding, roosting and nesting sites. Cape Parrots are only found in the afromontane forest patches of the E.Cape, southern KZN and a relic population in Mpumalanga.

The Parrots face huge threats from habitat destruction and degredation, which diminishes parrot food (principally yellowood fruit) and nest sites (cavities in the old and usually dying trees), illegal capture for trade and disease.

Major conservation efforts a now underway. A Cape Parrot Working Group (CPWG) has been formed (Tel: 033 260 5118, Email: cpwg@nu.ac.za) bringing together nature conservation officials from both within the parrots range and nationally; forestry officials; academics, veterinarians; law enforcement officers; aviculturalists and conservation organisations amongst others. Every year a survey day to count the whole population of parrots is initiated and volunteer observers are always sought and welcomed (warburtonL@nu.ac.za or wns@nu.ac.za).

Louise Warburton,
Research Centre for African Parrot Conservation

Fishing:
The area around Mbotyi offers a wide variety of fishing opportunities for any angler. From heavy tackle shark fishing to ultra-light tackle estuary angling, this section of Pondoland has something exciting to offer in all sea and weather conditions.

Shark Point (2km's from Mbotyi) is one of Pondoland’s most productive deep-water shark venues. Importantly, it is also one of its safest. Hammerheads, duskies, bronze whalers, blacktips, raggedtooths and many other species are regularly taken by sport anglers.

The rocky shores and beaches are home to bronze bream, shad, kob, silver steenbras, white steenbras and a multitude of other panfish. They are productive all year round and one won’t have too much trouble finding a fish worth photographing for those unlucky enough to be at home.

The estuaries at Mbotyi itself and at Drew’s Camp are in pristine condition and are great venues for kids learning to fish. Rock salmon, kob, springer (skipjack), grunter, river perch and flathead are a few of the species on offer in the rivers. Most can be caught on live mullet, sardine, cracker shrimps etc. and, on ultra-light tackle, provide fantastic sport. The exciting part about the rivers is that even when the sea conditions are unfavourable, a keen angler can still have loads of fun all day.

All in all, the fishing in and around Mbotyi caters for all types of fisherfolk and one can always find an exciting and productive spot to wet a line.

- Warwick Rebeck

“Eyes & Ears of the River”

This programme makes use of the estuaries along the wild coast for the purpose of fly-fishing guiding, birding, boating and in general taking the tourist to the upper parts of these lovely water systems. The programme also introduces the awareness of conservation to the community and teaches them the values they have in these estuaries. The programme has since expanded into the fresh water systems.

The programme has been developed by B2 Marketing (Pty) Ltd to serve local communities living near a river or estuarine system. In essence, the project is aimed at the rehabilitation of a river system while teaching the community to derive an income from it, once they have assisted in its restoration. After one year, trainees are equipped with a whole host of new skills such as guiding, birding, fly-fishing, fly-tying, water testing and dealing with the tourist on all matters in and around their particular environment. From these new skills the River Rangers can derive an income from a river or estuary as well as maintain a high quality level of the water, as it is fundamental to their future income.

Part of the community buy-in is to have the leaders select people from their community for the purpose of training. This selection must include both sexes but preferable female, as they are usually the ones that have to carry the financial burden of bringing up children.

Training commences with the cleaning and clearing of the river. Trainees are taught to measure water quality, namely pH, temperature, DO and OD. These figures are recorded and kept for comparison later. In addition, they are to keep records for the future and in this way monitor the water quality. In event of any adverse change the source of pollution is to be found and terminated.

Part of the fund raising for the project is used to pay salaries and purchase items such as overalls, boots, torches, sleeping bags, uniforms, caps, binoculars and a bird book on Southern Africa, fly-fishing equipment and tools. These are distributed during the training period and remain with them for the future.

As work progresses, they are trained in the use of the binoculars and the recording of the different species of birds that can be found in the area. They are taught to understand the value of these birds and that instead of destroying them, they “sell” them to the tourist by guiding the tourist along the waters and pointing out some of the natural beauty found along the river. This rule applies for all species including fish, insects and even snakes.

Their boats are exceptionally stable and are perfectly suited for photography as well.
Bookings are made at Reception and payment must be made directly to the River Ranger. Prices on request from Reception. A session is approximately 3 hours, either morning, midmorning or afternoon.

Sport Kites:
A great way to take advantage of the endless beaches - sport kites are used to propel one along the surf zone, either on skis or a bodyboard.

Kite Surfing - the hotest extreme sport hits Mbotyi! Recently on a trip to Mbotyi I was afforded the opportunity to introduce the locals to the hottest extreme sport to hit South Africa, Kite surfing.

Ideal conditions require a strong steady cross-on shore wind, a long beach and a reasonably good surf break. Well Mbotyi certainly delivered. The Summer north easterly Trades blow pretty much every afternoon. Added to this is the almost perfect 700m long beach with rocky points to the north and south, save for the washed up drift wood which could tear the kite during a careless launch. The surf break can also be pretty hectic with left and right barreling beach breaks, making this a spot for the more experienced kiter only. Mboyti can defintely be regarded as one of the most beautiful spots for the travelling kite surfer and should definelty been included in any itinery.

- Chad Lahana

Tea Plantation Tours:
This is a self drive tour to the Magwa Tea Estate. It is characterised by rolling hills, deep gorges and spectacular waterfalls. The steep rise in the topography from the coast at Mbotyi to the Magwa Tea Estate places Magwa in the orographic rainfall and mist belt.

Visit the plantation and see how tea is grown and processed. Permission can be obtained to visit the plant and to purchase some of the finest tea. At the same time take in the wonderful view of Magwa falls, that lies just past the main entrance to the Estate and is surrounded by the plantation.

Walking Trails:
There are a number of interesting sites to be visited on foot. Trails range from an easy 1 hour walk to Sharks Point, to more challenging walks. Below are just some examples:

Manteku:
This is a walk of about 4 hours to the Mzintlava river mouth and back. This is a scenic walk with a mangrove swamp in a spectacular gorge.

Port Grosvenor:
This is a shipwreck that has been declared a world heritage site.

Forest Walks:
There are many areas to walk in the forest and view the Fauna and Flora.

There are five magnificent waterfalls within walking distance from Mbotyi River Lodge.

Sugar Loaf:
This is a beach walk of 2 to 5 hours. You can swim at the base of a waterfall and pay a visit to a cave at the base of the hill.

Waterfall Bluff and Little Goss:
This is a full day's walk for the experienced hiker. The area is also accessible to 4 x 4 vehicles. During the sardine run this is a wonderful vantage point from which to see whales and dolphins.

Whale and Dolphin Viewing:
The most common whale that is seen from our coast is the Southern Right Whale that frequently enters shallow water to calve.
Dolphins are also a frequent sight off this coast especially during the annual sardine run.

Mbotyi lends itself to the avid whale/dolphin watcher as there are many vantage points from where these beautiful creatures can be admired.

The Mbotyi Campsite - A Community Joint:
Mbotyi Campsite is a joint venture between the Mbotyi community and Mbotyi River Lodge. The Campsite is managed by the "Mbotyi Campsite Trust" . It should be noted that the Campsite does not form part of the Lodge and that it is a separate business with its own shareholders. The Campsite facilities and those of the lodge are for the specific use of the guests of each venue and there are no reciprocal rights between the two.The Campsite opened on 4 June 2002. It is an upmarket venue with electricity, purified water and 24 hour security. The property is fenced and provides safe, off-road parking. The campsite has been left as natural as possible and the tent sites have been terraced for campers. It is advisable to book a site suitable for the size of the tent you wish to pitch.