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Geography: Richards Bay is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It situates on a 30 Sq. KM lagoon of the Mhlatuze River.
Population: Approx. 80-90K People
Currency: South African Rand (ZAR); Currency Converter
Cruise Port: Google Map Location
Tender Port: No
Best Time to Visit: January to March
We visited Richards Bay, Africa on our Norwegian Cruise Line (Dawn) on February 16, 2024. We had about 10 hours at this port. Majority of the population speaks Zulu. The first thing you'll see when you dock at the port is coal. They are one of the largest coal export ports in the world. Whale watching is also very popular in the month between June - December. The public transportation used in the region are mini buses but they are quite pricey and only locals really know about the stops/times.
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Richards Bay port is an industrial port so the ship provided a free shuttle that will take us to the entrance but there's nothing in the area. The closest place that is worthy of checking out would be the Broadwalk Mall. The Lake Side Mall and Checkers Mall are all within walking distance as well. Our cruise provided a shuttle to go there for $10 each way.
There are two main attractions that people tend to pick when they arrive in this location: iSimangaliso (St. Lucia) Wetland park and Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve. Booking through the links I had suggested in this blog was way cheaper than what we paid with the cruise line's organized tours. Since we booked too late and these were sold out at the time, we had to choose our tour to St. Lucia's Wetland Park with the cruise.
On the way to iSimangaliso's Wetland Park (1.5 - 2 hour drive pending on traffic), you'll see a lot of eucalyptus trees. The park is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the largest estuarine systems in Africa. This 180km-long strip of coastal lowlands comprise of swamps, woodlands, grasslands etc...
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The "entrance" to the park is quiet raw. It didn't feel like it was ready for tourism. There's nothing besides a bathroom and some vendors selling souvenirs. The tour was supposed to be 2 hours long, taking us on a boat ride to explore this beautiful wetland, but we ended up having only 1 hour because the cruise overbooked two groups of people for the same excursion.
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Once on board the boat, try to get a seat on the lower level in the front instead of on the sides. You'll capture better photos. There is one bathroom on board as well. We made the best out of the 1 hour we had and saw a bunch of hippos in the water and one alligator!
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I was a bit disappointed with the experience as I felt that I saw way more alligators in the Everglades' tour in Florida. Good thing this tour had two drink (water, soda, local beers) tickets included! If I have a chance to return to this port, I'll probably pick another activity from below:
Here are some other suggestions for tours:
On your own:
Feel Free to reach out to us with any questions!
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