The Area - KwaZulu-Natal
The project headquarters overlooks the sandy beach at Bhanga Nek, in north-eastern KwaZulu Natal. From this strategic position, monitors can access and survey the entire 56-kilometre project area south of the Mozambique border.
KwaZulu-Natal or the Zulu Kingdom is one of the 9 provinces (third smallest) of South Africa and covers an area of about 92,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg with a little bit of France thrown in. It includes Durban, the Drakensberg, Pietermaritzburg and Midlands, Zululand, South Coast, Dolphin or North Coast, Battlefields and East Griqualand regions.
Find out more about KwaZulu-Natal
About the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park
The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Turtle Monitoring Project is located on a remote, 56-kilometre stretch of beach immediately south of the border of South Africa and Mozambique near the Kosi River mouth. Centred on the Bhanga Nek locality and its adjacent Maputaland Marine Sanctuary, the Project area is located within the world-recognised Greater St Lucia Wetland Park.
About the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park
The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Turtle Monitoring Project is located on a remote, 56-kilometre stretch of beach immediately south of the border of South Africa and Mozambique near the Kosi River mouth. Centred on the Bhanga Nek locality and its adjacent Maputaland Marine Sanctuary, the Project area is located within the world-recognised Greater St Lucia Wetland Park.
The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park was declared a Ramsar site in the 1970s, and listed as a World Heritage Area in 1999. The adjacent coastline was also established as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the 1970s.
Intensive monitoring has been carried out along the entire 56 kilometres stretch of coastline since the Project was launched in1963. Less intensive monitoring is now also being undertaken south of the main monitoring area - south of Mabibi and Cape Vidal, as well as in southern Mozambique, north of Ponte Malongane.
