Kosi Bay Lakes Trail

No. Vehicle luggage transfers are provided between the lodges. You need only hike with a daypack with your lunch, water and supplies for the day.

Trainers or strops are best suited to this trail. Strops allow sand to pass through and are great for the estuary crossings, but can cause chaffe when wet. With lightweight tekkies/trainers - just check that they have a solid liner under the upper mesh otherwise sand comes in from the top. Or wear lycra trail running gaiters to prevent sand from getting into the shoe.

Kosi Bay has a warm to hot and humid subtropical climate. It has an average yearly rainfall of 980 mm with rain occurring primarily during summer from Oct to March, with the most rain from Feb to March. May through to November provides the most pleasant hiking temps, but if seeing the turtles is a high priority, then you should plan your hike for Nov - end of March.

Availability is generally not a problem outside of the peak school holiday periods.

Kosi Bay is a sanctuary for many special and protected faunal & floral species. From the ancient Cycads to the most southerly grove of the giant Raffia Palm (whose fronds are the longest of any plant species in the world) on which the rare fruit-eating Palm-nut Vulture depends.

The Kosi Lake system is especially important for migratory birds such as the Greater and Lesser Flamingos and Ospreys. The protected lakes provide an important nursery function and support some of the largest populations of 8 fish species that are listed in the Red Data book for threatened or vulnerable species.

The loggerhead and leatherback turtles start to come ashore by early November. Bhanga Nek has one of the highest concentrations of Loggerhead nesting sites per square area in the world. The hatchlings start from early Jan (after 55-65 days of incubation). Once hatched, the babies move up to the warm sun-heated sand and wait till night, at which they will run the gauntlet back to the ocean. Bhanga Nek Turtle trails are best organised from Bhanga Lakeside camp or Kosi Forest Lodge.

The Kosi Bay area is still classified as an 'intermediate risk' area according to the Health Department but if you ask the lodges they will tell you this is very outdated. I would only take prophylactics if you are a high risk candidate (pregnant, elderly). Almost all of our hikers dont take, and we have never had a case of malaria reported.

Our standard trail offerings are 4 nights. We can reduce this to 3 nights / 2 hike days but I'd only do this if you have serious time constraints. Extra 'lay' days at any of the camps, can easily be arranged.

The 3-Lakes trail goes from Kosi Mouth through to Kosi Bay Lodge on Third Lake, whilst the Four-lakes trail’s include the smallest freshwater fourth lake. The 4 Lakes packages include an overnight at Kosi Forest Lodge or Bhanga lakeside camp.