Crocworld (Scottburgh, South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal)

Welcome to our road trip of December 2021. We are travelling by car across South Africa (from the west coast → north coast → KZN south coast → back to the west coast). The distance we will cover, will be around 5,000km (3,106 miles).

Our main purpose for this trip, besides seeing places we have not seen before, is for Berto to scuba dive in Sodwana Bay and then to be a little more adventurous … diving with sharks in the ocean in Umkomaas on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal. We hope to share lots of pictures to show you our beautiful country.

Accommodation – Day 12 to Day 18:

Aliwal Dive Centre

During our week in Umkomaas, our main purpose was for Berto to dive with sharks. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t always great for diving … but that meant we could visit other close by attractions … such as the Crocworld Conservation Centre.

Crocworld is only 8km from Umkomaas and we were pleasantly surprised with this 24ha of beautifully landscaped indigenous gardens (with stunning sea views)!

Walking trails at Crocworld

You will not only find crocodiles here, but also snakes, tortoises and a variety of water birds. We had a look inside the snake section, but took no photo’s (we rather made a quick escape … they are very scary)!

We were quite impressed with the well-marked signs at Crocworld

Before we get to the crocodiles, let’s have a stroll through the section of water birds …

Water birds:

Over 200 bird species can be encountered at Crocworld. Not all of these are in cages, but it’s important to remember that those that are in cages are either rehabilitated birds or captive bred and unfortunately cannot be released back into the wild.

African Fish Eagle – it’s well-known cry is regarded as ‘the voice of Africa’
It’s such a green and luscious park
Marabou Stork – they can be found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa in both wet and arid habitats
A swan family. The baby swan is still grey and will only start to turn white at around the 1-year mark
The Greater Flamingo – it is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family
Grey Crowned Crane – they are considered endangered due to habitat loss
Blue crane, the national bird of South Africa
The conservation centre is in an excellent condition and we loved our stroll through the beautiful gardens

The Nile Crocodile:

Now, it’s time to have a closer look at the crocodiles. If you plan your visit, you might want to do it around the crocodiles’ feeding times (11am and 3pm). Unfortunately, our visit was between these times, but it was still very much enjoyable.

First, there is Henry … the oldest known Nile Crocodile in captivity who arrived at Crocworld in 1985 as an adult, with records that stated then that he was 85-years old. He is now 120 years old, lives in his enclosure with ten wives and has fathered over 10,000 offspring in the last 32 years … Henry must consider himself as a lucky crocodile!

Henry, the oldest known crocodile in captivity

Fun fact: Do crocodiles sweat?

Here’s an important fact to remember while watching the crocodiles: Crocodiles can’t control their body temperatures like humans – when we humans are hot, we sweat … but crocodiles open their mouths to cool down. Thank goodness I read this before we walked towards the crocodiles, because I saw many of them with open mouths!

Is he looking at me?
So many crocodiles!
Ah-ah, the open mouth one!
Very happy they are on the other side of the fence
I wonder: Is that a ‘ready-set-go’ position for a crocodile?
Oh my … 👀👀
The crocodile’s leathery skin from closer
More open mouth crocodiles – it was a hot day on our visit to Crocworld!
American Alligator – alligators and crocodiles may look similar, but they are genetically far apart
The birds keeping a watchful eye on the crocodile
A goose family – fortunately not on the crocodile’s side of the fence

Monkeys:

After spending quite some time in the sun, we decided to have lunch at the Fish Eagle Café. But on our way, we first have to negotiate our way around some monkeys to get to our food!

I’m sure this little one would love to have lunch with us!
We’ve met the whole family

Lunch at Fish Eagle Café:

The Fish Eagle Café is a beautiful place to enjoy either breakfast or lunch. There’s plenty of space inside the restaurant or you can choose to sit outside under umbrellas. We found a nice spot outside with some amazing views of the Indian Ocean. The staff is friendly and the food really tasty – our kind of place!

Both of us enjoyed our salads – perfect for a hot day
Spectacular view over the ocean while enjoying lunch

After lunch, we took a last stroll through the beautiful gardens before our visit to Crocworld came to an end.

A walk high up in the trees
We found this beautiful peacock on our pathway
While crossing a bridge, we looked down … those crocs are BIG

We had such an enjoyable day at Crocworld. It’s great to see how well the park is maintained and that the animals are well taken care of.

Leaving Crocworld – happy we got to see this beautiful place

In our next post (read here), we are slowly making our way back home. We still have some beautiful roads to show when we sleep over in the capital city of the Free State Province Bloemfontein, also known as the City of Roses.