update (15 December 2016): All of the recently rehabilitated roads within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park are open to traffic as of the evening of 15 December 2016 with the exception of the kuMfazana Hide road on the Eastern Shores.
update (25 November 2016): The management of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu Natal has released an update regarding the road works and closures in the park:
Eastern Shores:
- Dune Loop is open
- KuMfazana Hide access road remains closed
- Mission Rocks Road is closed in its entirety
- Vlei Loop is closed
IMPORTANT NOTICE: From Monday 28 November until approximately 15 December the Cape Vidal ‘pass’ immediately before the Cape Vidal resort will be completely CLOSED daily to traffic between the hours of 10h30 and 14h30 as re-tarring commences. Visitors and staff are urged to plan their access and exits to outside of these hours.
Western Shores:
- All roads are now open on the Western Shores
Infrastructure improvements within the uMkhuze Section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park encompass both the rehabilitation of the road works as well as upgrades of the park facilities encompassing but not limited to the eMshophi gate, a number of the hides as well as staff housing. These works will require the closure of some of the tourist roads and points of interest within the park.
Road Closures and Traffic Control:
The road works in uMkhuze are essentially complete, with only minor drainage and finishing works being attended to. The park facility upgrades continue to require traffic control measures. The following roads are closed/under construction at uMkhuze from the 25th October to the 2nd December 2016. Road labels are as per the attached Map. Only the roads that are or will be closed to traffic are listed below:
- eMshophi Gate: Construction of the new eMshophi Gate House has commenced. The new gate house is situated approximately 1km before the existing boom gate into the Park. Traffic control in the form of stop and go’s as well as diversions around the construction works are in place.
Points of interest:
- KuMalibala Hide: kuMalibala Hide is currently closed to the public.
- KuMahlala Hide: kuMahlala Hide is currently open to the public.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: The kuMasinga Hide is currently closed to the public for cement work on the walkways to enable disabled access.
update (11 November 2016): The management of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu Natal has released an update regarding the road works and closures in the park (as of 04 November 2016):
Eastern Shores:
- Mission Rocks Road is closed in its entirety.
- Tourist and other Work will be continuing on Grasslands Loop and Pan Loop but the roads will be open and traffic will be controlled with flag people when necessary. The Bhangazi Culvert and Berm are not open to the public. Barricades have been placed before the culvert on the Grasslands Loop side and on the Cape Vidal side.
- uMphathe Loop: Final testing of the gravel surface at uMphathe Loop is underway.
- KuMalibala Hide Road: This road has been closed to the public by the Park management
- eMshopi Gate: Construction of the new eMshopi Gate House has commenced. The new gate house is situated approximately 1km before the existing boom gate into the Park. Traffic control in the form of stop and go’s as well as diversions around the construction works are in place.
- KuMahlala Hide: kuMahlala Hide is currently open to the public.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: The kuMasinga Hide is currently open to the public, but is expected to be closed towards the end of next week (dependant on progress of the works at the KuMalibala hide). The KuMasinga hide is anticipated to be closed for 4 weeks as concrete walkways are being laid to enable disabled access. It is planned to reopen by the start of the December school holiday period.
South Africa's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu Natal, is currently busy with routine road maintenance and repairs.
Eastern Shores:
- The Dune Loop is open
- The kuMfazana Hide access road remains closed
- Mission Rocks Road is closed from kuMziki Picnic Site to the beach
- Vlei Loop is open
- Pan Loop is open
- Grassland Loop: Please note that the Bhangazi Culvert and Berm are not open to the public. Barricades have been placed before the culvert on the Grassland Loop side and on the Cape Vidal side
- uMphathe Loop is closed
- uMdoni Loop is open (the uMthoma Aerial Boardwalk access route)
Infrastructure improvements within the uMkhuze Section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park encompass both the rehabilitation of the road works (expected to be completed at the end of November 2016) as well as upgrades of the park facilities encompassing but not limited to the eMshophi gate, a number of the hides as well as staff housing. These works will require the closure of some of the tourist roads and points of interest within the park.
Road Closures and Traffic Control:
The following roads are closed/under construction at uMkhuze from the 21 October to the 28 October 2016:
- KuMasinga Hide: Kumasinga Road 5 and Kumasinga Road 3 are both closed to the Public and will remain closed until Mid-November 2016. KuMasinga Roads 1, 2, 4 and 6 remain open
- KuMahlala Hide: Both Roads A and C remain closed to accommodate the construction of splashthroughs. The kuMahlala hide will remain accessible via road B (Road labels as per the attached Map). Road Section A is anticipated to be closed until mid-November, whilst Road C is will be closed to the end of November
- KuMalibala Hide Road: Closed
- Enxwala Vista Point Road: This road is closed as construction continues on the low level crossings situated on this road.
- eMshophi Gate: Construction of the new eMshophi Gate complex has commenced. The new gate house is situated approximately 1km before the existing boom gate into the Park. Traffic control in the form of stop and go’s as well as diversions around the construction works will be in place from Monday 17/10/2016
Points of interest:
These points of interest in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park are currently closed or are anticipated to be closed in the near future:
- Enxwala Vista Point: Not accessible due to road works
- KuMalibala Hide: kuMalibala Hide is currently closed to the public
- KuMahlala Hide: kuMahlala Hide is currently closed to the public. While subject to confirmation this Hide is expected to be reopened to the public towards the end of November 2016
- KuMasinga Hide: kuMasinga Hide is currently open to the public. While subject to confirmation this Hide is programmed to be closed to the public towards the end of November 2016
The iSimangaliso Wetland Park covers 332 000 hectares and contains of three major lake systems, eight interlinking ecosystems, most of South Africa's remaining swamp forests, Africa's largest estuarine system, 526 bird species and 25 000 year-old vegetated coastal dunes – among the highest in the world. The Park is is situated on the east coast of KwaZulu Natal, about 275 km north of Durban. It is South Africa's third-largest protected area, spanning 280 km of coastline, from the border to Mozambique in the north to Mapelane south of the Lake St. Lucia estuary.
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