Lake Sibaya

Sibaya lies behind the high coastal dunes of Maputaland, a shallow freshwater lake of around sixty to seventy square kilometres depending on the year - the largest natural freshwater body in South Africa. It has no river outlet; water arrives as rain and groundwater and leaves by evaporation and seepage through the dunes to the sea a couple of kilometres away, which is why the level swings dramatically between wet and dry cycles and why sections have dried out entirely in drought years. Hippos and crocodiles live in it, so swimming is out. The shoreline is fringed with reeds and swamp forest, the birding is strong, and communities living around the lake fish it and draw water. It is inside iSimangaliso, and access is by sand track through settlement, which means most visitors arrive through a lodge rather than independently.

What you actually see

• The largest freshwater lake - about sixty square kilometres with no river outlet.
• The dune barrier - a lake held two kilometres from the sea by high vegetated dunes.
• The level swings - a water body that has partly dried in drought cycles.
• The hippos - resident animals that rule out any swimming.

When to go

April to October. A day. Water levels vary enormously between years.

Honest expectations

Sand tracks need 4x4 and local directions; independent access is awkward. Hippos and crocodiles make the water dangerous. Malaria risk applies here. In drought years the lake retreats a long way from where maps put its shore.

Nearby

Sodwana Bay is on the coast; Mabibi is north.