KWAZULU-NATAL SOUTH COAST
There are few things as relaxing as sitting next to the ocean underneath your rally tent in shorts and flip-flops. The KwaZulu-Natal south coast is filled with places where you can do just that.
South Africa is not a country lacking in campsites, but sometimes, when you want to pitch your tent between nothing and nowhere, you have to search far and wide for a patch of grass with an ablution block. In other places, like the Bushveld (mostly in the Bela-Bela area), the Garden Route, or the banks of the Vaal River, campsites are so numerous that it’s difficult to choose one. The south coast of KwaZulu-Natal is one such place, especially in and around Margate. >
SHELLY CARAVAN PARK First in line
If you’re following your GPS when you head out from the interior in the direction of Port Shepstone on the N2, the GPS lady will instruct you to turn right at the big crossing with the traffic lights on the Izotsha Road – before you’re even properly in town. The road runs through an industrial area and then past a quarry and rows of bushes. You might start worrying that the GPS lady has gotten you lost because it certainly doesn’t look like a road that’s going to deliver you to the beautiful campsite with the dam pictured on caravan park’s website. After 5 km you’ll see a broken road sign at another crossing with traffic lights. Only the “ach” of “Shelly Beach” remains on the frame that keeps the sign upright. The rest of the sign is on the ground and indicates you have to turn left. Half a kilometre farther a bright red Coca-Cola sign reassures you that you are indeed on the right track.
Make yourself at home
The turn-off first takes you over a train track and then past the campsite’s entrance to the reception office. Here, Kate Roberts takes care of paperwork and gives you a remote for the gate. The office is on a terrace above the campsite, but you have to take the road back to go through the gate that you passed earlier. As the gate closes behind you, you see a lush green campsite with 36 stands in front of you. The entrance road follows a loop around the camp, with most stands laid out on both sides of the road. Most of them have shade and they are also closest to the ablution block. The latter won’t win any prizes for its interior design, but it’s neat and clean and you don’t have to worry about hot water for your shower. If you’re looking for a stand with more privacy or shelter, aim for stands number 15–18 or 34–36. The former ones are on a terrace at the top of the pool and the other three in a cul de sac on the other side of the pool and the campsite’s only self-catering cottage. These stands are the farthest away from the through-road and the train track. There’s a power socket for every stand even though some of them are grouped together in one box. Each stand also has
A white-faced whistling duck treads water with rhythmic splashes and then takes off gracefully over the mirrored surface.
its own garbage can as well as built-up brick braai.
To the dam
At the edge of the campsite is a dam about half the size of a rugby field. It might be right up against the boundary fence but it’s without a doubt this place’s main attraction. A lizard drifts silently between the water lilies, with only its head poking out above the water surface. A white-faced whistling duck treads water with rhythmic splashes and then takes off gracefully over the mirrored surface. On the shore there’s a row boat with a handful of canoes that you may use to take to the water. You can try to hook perch and bream, but you have to bring your own gear. And remember: Whatever you catch needs to be released. By sunset the frog choir at the dam starts warming up, like in Paul McCartney’s music video for “We All Stand Together”. There are many different kinds of frogs, among them the micro frog, which is smaller than an adult’s pinky nail. It almost looks like crickets hopping around in the grass. And don’t have a fright if you find a reed or water lily frog sleeping off the previous night’s festivities underneath your tent flap. When the frogs start quieting down at dawn, the yellow finches carry on with the second verse while they cling to their nests upside down between the reeds.
Put down the iPad
You might be close to the sea, but the nearest beach and Margate’s attractions are 3 km away. But there is more than enough to keep the youngsters happy at the resort itself. If your kids are impatient to take a dip, they can make use of the resort’s pool. There is a small lapa next to it with a braai and picnic tables where you can relax while they splash around. There are concrete benches on the shore of the dam if you prefer to rather do a spot of bird-watching. When the kids are done playing in the pool, they can head over to the swings and jungle gym, or they can take some coins to the games room where they can shoot pool or battle it out on the ping-pong table. There’s also a dartboard, but you have to bring your own darts. >
It’s a beautiful campsite with a clean pool and all the facilities are neat. If you pitch camp near the gate you sometimes hear some road noise, but that doesn’t both me too much.