S1 - Ep 376 - St Lucia - A Journey Through Unspoilt Beauty!
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2023
- Our long-awaited journey to St Lucia filled us with excitement as we finally experienced this renowned holiday destination firsthand. Our delight was kindled further by an unexpected gem along the way, Penicuik Station. This old railway station was transformed into a charming pub and accommodation, filling our journey with unexpected joy. Navigating through the village of St Lucia was a revelation, a journey through unspoilt beauty where nature reigns supreme. Wildlife roams freely, beaches lie in immaculate splendour, and the exuberant growth of plant life is prominent everywhere. In this village, we felt like humble observers, intruders in a world where the natural order holds sway, leaving an indelible imprint of awe and wonder. #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #travelongravel #kwazulunatal #stlucia #penicuik
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Hi guys, childhood family holidays, our car never traveled further than Durban 😂😂, so all of these towns and cities, that follow, is a real eye opener, it's awesome to share your Kwidi experience, love it 😊😊
Don't you worry, it was the first time that we had ventured this far up the North Coast of KZN too! And it was just too beautiful for words! 🚙😍 We love having you on the backseat of the Kwiddie, thank you for travelling with us!
The skies above you looks absolutely delightful.
I'm so glad you also appreciate the skies. 🌤️ We always notice them too. 😁
Thanks for some of my great memories!😊 Spent 3 months at the campsite you visited, after going through a crisis. Came out healed and transformed. Nature is such a great healer, and St Lucia has it in abundance. Unfortunately, you didn't get to see most of it: plenty of wild life including the rhino in its 2 game reserves (Cape Vidal and Dukuduku), hippos and crocodiles in the estuary, abundant bird life and coral reefs at CapeVidal.
We really don't worry about anything we didn't get to see. We have such a limited time on the road before we have to get back home, that we appreciate every little thing we get to see. 🚙🤩 Thanks for sharing your experience at the campsite, it sounds awesome. 🏕️
magic to feel African again..walking with you. Loved visiting Mkuze and being raided by the monkeys ..
Being raided by monkeys is such a typical African experience, it sounds like you had a great time! 🌍🐒 I appreciate you walking with me. 😁
Ballito - our old stomping ground - how it has grown in the past 20 years since moving to Canada - thanks for sharing
Sweet memories! ❤
As long as they're sweet, that's all that counts! 🚙😊
St Lucia is also my favourite place, we used to have timeshare by La Rochelle, my mother in law is actually going still this year. PS if you guys slept over in St Lucia the Hippos seriously come roam the streets at night, we saw one massive one grazing on new years. It's really something to witness, we were in a Amarok and the hippo was about the same size as us but also so calm like the warthogs you saw. Was truly amazing. You guys rule 🫶
I don't blame you for loving St Lucia, it's a gorgeous place! 🚙🤩 Wowzer, that sounds incredible! 😳🦛 We would've loved seeing a hippo strolling down the road at night. We were fast approaching the end of our trip though and had a few more stops, so we had to push on. We appreciate you watching!
Warthogs are super chilled in tropical paradise 😃
I'm telling you. They couldn't be bothered about us silly human beings! 😍🐗
Hi Dustbugs, thank you for the memories, was there 30 odd yrs ago on New Years Day. Got stuck @ our accomodation that night due to a massive march, weren't prepared for it & hadn't stocked up on supplies, no prob though, as South Africans do all the residents gathered together with whatever supplies they had , met @ the braai area & had a " care & share" braai so no one went hungry. Only in SA 🙏🚙🚙🚙🥳
Thank you for sharing that special story! 🚙😍 That is the true spirit of ubuntu!
inBetween st lucia and port edward..what was the most amazing experience?
we not comparing towns..jus a personal perspective on Kzn.
Ballito is our home which we love but Ramsgate is a Gem...
Much love to you
Our trip wasn't quite over by this time and we still had a few more days and places to go. We don't compare places either, but in the final episode, I do summarise my thoughts on the trip, so look out for that one! 🚙😁 One thing I will say, is that you're very fortunate to call the gorgeous coastline of KZN home. And your vegetation is spectacular! 😍🌳🌊
Absolutely gorgeous area. Makes me wish I was a north coaster🙂
The wild and natural beauty in this area is something else! 🚙🌳🌊 I'm glad that we could share it with you!
Ek was in 2003 daar toe kon jy nog by Suger loaf jetty sit en visvang....daar was geen riete nie
That must've been a great experience. 🎣 I was actually wondering when last one was able to walk on that jetty. 🎋
17:44 High dunes to the right of Jabula Beach.. excellent for Whale Watching at sunrise.. to about 07:00
Hi baie dankie vir die video dit gaan my aftree bly wees eendag ,ek het die video geniet Dankie julle vir dit
I think it must be an excellent place to retire and live so close to nature again. 🌳🌊 Thanks for watching! 🚙👌🏻
17:44 Left is Jabula and Main Beach.. neither designated swimming beaches.. to the right Ingwe Beach.. and the closes to the Boat Launching site.. excellent spectator sport early morning against a beautiful sunrise back drop
Thanks!! You never went to Cape Vidol, beautiful beach, but you go through the game reserve to get there.
Oh, but we saw so many other places. That's really all that is important to us. 🚙😁
17:40 Laroche.. Time Share Resort.. very nice and spacious
Hello😊 hope all is well with you both. Enjoyed St Lucia thank you❤
Thank you, I'm so happy to hear that! 🚙🤩
Wide clean beaches. And 4 beaches wow. Absolutely beautiful. The river is also very nice to see. Agree with Sonja it feels like untuched nature. In their developing the infra structure they kept nature as is. I think that was excellent planning to do that. Nice camping spots for visitors. The wooden walkway is so nice - surrounded by natural habitat.. You must have lost some kilos walking all thecway up to the dunes! A trip well done and thanks for the effort you put in to show us all. Seat booked for the next one.
I was there staying right in front of the estuary. Man you can get great fun out there, more if you are a fishing guy like I am.. Good video guys, most propably meet you guys some time in the Western Cape
@Marius Roos I wanted to make sure we get to all the beaches and I was so happy that we finally found Estuary Beach too. At one point, I thought we won't be able to get to it. This place was really beautiful everywhere we looked! 🚙🌊🌳 It was quite a stretch to get to the dunes and I never really want to leave Sonia alone for long, so I had a little jog in-between too. My running days are far behind me, I was huffing and puffing there for a while! 🤣🏃🏻 Your seat is most certainly booked for the next one! 🚙😁
This is busy changing.. Not Natal Parks Board in Charge anymore.. St Lucia is in Short supply of Eskom.. Refuse Removal and Sewarage.. things is going to change a lot in the next five years
@@PetrusandPardette I hope not for the worse sir. I want to visit and do the estuary boat trip again . Those hippos so close to was something.
@@nelsonchinasamy9857 Unfortunately the Commercialisation of the Park is going to sacrifice many untouched areas.. also make access on a regular basis very expensive.. and create VIP areas previously open to the general public. this will not influence your Hippo and Croc experience for atleast the next five years
We did spend an unforgettable holiday in the, Strand though, 1995.
7:49 R618 .. was built on top of the sand dunes .. through wetlands.. carry loads of Timber Trucks and Tourist Busses..
Heard such a lot of St Lucia.....what a nice place . Very green and "camping friendly" it looks like.
I thought of you as we were driving through that campsite. If it were just not that far for you, I'm sure you would've loved it! 😁🏕️ The natural beauty in this area is truly phenomenal! 🌊🌳
@@DustBugsTravel It won't be very long before we will have a new channel DustBugs Camping 😄
17:44 iSimangaliso means.. Wonders.. Miracle..
Hi guys never heard of st Lucia before but I am very impressed the drive in was great tree plantation and cattle in the road. Great use of the old Penicuik Station plus you got the the name!! Loved the double decker boat and the amazing views from the bridge glittering on the water .the anti tank guns were great escape for me as I was in the infantry (Queens regt) it's great the security is strict it would be sad to spoil such a natural place. But I'm pleased you could keep your pockets knife to cut biltong love it. Plenty of tourists plus the stalls are great .the whole place is a wild life sanctuary hippos crocs sharks and turtles it always amazes me to see the monkeys and warthogs just at the side of the road. Loved the story about dolphin restaurant do you eat them love it lol reminds me of first hearing about monkey gland steak I did the same thing .what a fantastic campsite with your own little glade !!! The raised wooden walk was amazing also the sand dunes of the estuary Loved the sign don't feed the crocs and no swimming busy little town centre with tropical fruits stand great the whole place was absolutely incredibly a real gem !!! When I was on holiday 19 years ago we stayed at Sleepy Hollow just outside Hazyview and where so lucky too see hippos grassing 50 foot away as we ate our evening meal. When we arrived I asked the manager about the hippos and he said the won't just come out because your here .but they did every night what can I say only in South Africa..thanks for taking me along cheerio till the next one
I thought you might enjoy those anti-tank guns and that it might take you back a few years in time! Nature in absolute overload was what we encountered in St Lucia. The natural beauty is spectacular and our first visit to the town was a fantastic experience. 🚙🤩 You and your monkey gland steak! 🤣🥩 A very dear friend of ours from the US couldn't believe it when I ordered monkey gland sauce for my steak. When she said she didn't know we eat monkeys here, we couldn't help but burst out laughing! How lucky were you to see hippos grazing as you were having dinner! That sounds like an unbelievable experience! 😍🦛 As long as they stay a fair distance away though! Thanks for joining us in beautiful St Lucia!
I forgot to mention they have crocodiles in Richards Bay, too. Quite a lot of people have been killed by crocs at St Lucia over the years. People don't take the warnings seriously, and then find out too late they should've.
The tall trees with the needle leaves are from Australia, I think. They're called Casuarinas. There have been some efforts to eradicate them, there (they were introduced to stabilize the dunes, but have a tendency to take over). From videos I've seen of Mauritius it looks like they've been used to replace whatever natural flora there was there, originally.
The reserve between there and Cape Vidal is a Big Five reserve, now - elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard - something like that. It's a pity if you missed it. (There's a nice day drive to Cape Vidal and back.) If you missed it, at least you have an excuse to visit again one day.
Some of the creepers are weeds unfortunately weeds brought in with Boer War fodder (bought from Argentina because South Africa couldn't feed that many horses at the time). It's a thing called _Chromalina odorata_ (I don't know of a common name for it). It gets up into the canopy and completely smothers the trees it covers, and makes a dense thicket right down to ground level. Maybe where they now have elephants, the elephant have sorted the problem out? (I don't know.) In the game reserve, I mean. In St Lucia town, they'd have to control it by hand.
Anyway, nice to see things working properly up there.
We will always take every warning seriously, but I also can't imagine they would make a walkway if ordinary folks, including children, aren't able to walk there without anyone keeping watch. 🤷🏻♂️🐊 While we appreciate viewers pointing out what we missed along the way, that's really not important to us. It will always be impossible for us to catch everything in any area in the time we have on the road before we have to head back home. I guess our philosophy is just different to most. We find the extraordinary in the ordinary and will stop at things every other tourist would rush by to get to the places all the tourists go. It's about the mundane and the less-visited places for us most of the time, and we love it! 🚙😁 Interesting info about the vegetation, I had no idea about any of it. 🐘🌳
@@DustBugsTravel Sometimes pointing out something you missed is just in case someone watches the video, reads the comments, and finds the info useful. I know you guys do things your own way, and try to maximize the exploration aspect/ keep a nice clean slate, so that you're not seeing what you've been led to expect to see, and just see what you actually find, and I would've stopped watching by now if I didn't appreciate that way of doing things.
Sometimes (eg. with the vegetation) it's just letting something out that would make my head explode if I kept it in. :D
I've never been that far east in ZA. Lovely... baai lekker! Ha @ your Dolphin Fish comment. Lost in translation. 😂
I wish to visit St Lucia one day
I hope you get the chance to, I'm sure you'll love it! 🚙😁
Wouldnt it be cool to see a diesel trundling along. Yeah, that cow runs a lot like me these days! The river is certainly beautiful, great that you could take a walk over the bridge. Wonderful to see some wild life, especially Phumba and friends! It all looks so pristine and unspoiled out there. Really hope it stays that way. Good to hear that the turtles are being protected. Arent there quite a few game reserves out this way? Ingwe? I seem to remember that as crocodile. Yes, its a warthogs life, just eating and sleeping! Die lekker lewe van n ot! Dolphinon the menu? Hay?? I have seen dorado but didnt know that was dolphin! Love the lush tree lined streets. It would seem that private generators are the way forward. Oh, Okay, just got confirmation on the crocodile. I remember it from learning some Xhosa at school. Zulu and Xhosa can be very similar, a bit like Afrikaans and Nederlands. The camp site is so beautiful, I would want to camp there long term. Never mind far from ablutions...theres plenty of bushes! A-bush-ons!! Copper taps!! And they havent been stolen? Erm...are we still in South Africa? The estuary walkway is but beautiful! Thank you for taking us there.
There are quite a few Game Reserves in this area, but they were not on our agenda to visit this time around. We always, but always, hope for a train to come along wherever we are, but they are very few and far between these days. 😢🚉 Ingwe appears to mean leopard and ngwenya is crocodile. 🐆🐊 Dolphinfish was shortened to dolphin on the menu, therefore our utter shock and disbelief! 🐬 That copper tap blew our minds too, it was indeed hard to believe it was still there! The beauty in this area is clearly what makes people love it so much. Nature is truly stunning here! 😍🌊🌳
I visited St Lucia 25 years ago. We stayed at a friend's timeshare, the place was called Perna Perna or something like that. We had a great week. We went to the estuary and spent the day fishing. Returned later that evening to walk along the jetty and there was a massive crocodile lying in the exact spot where we had been sitting earlier in the day. We also found a bat behind the headboard in our bedroom on the first night. We went on a boat trip, that was very enjoyable. Bought loads of papayas and avocados from the street market. The avocados were huge.
Believe me when I say, any speedbump at above normal speed in a Renault, Better than to slow down and go slow 😂 I had many as rep cars, funny enough, Renaults where build to absorb speed bumps better at speed than any other car... Just a thought to ponder on. Ps. Don't Crash a Renault, write off Immediately, I know $ Renaults later 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Still Good economical cars that can take a Huge South African Roads Punch!
Ps. Thanx for your Informative Videos, Always looking 4ward to your next episode!
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy our videos, we love making them! 😁 We've rented 20 Renault Kwids now and I can't say enough good things about it. It has taken us on some pretty rough roads and we've never had any issues whatsoever. We just love the little car! 🚙😍
Good video, pity so little of the actual town itself
Thank you for watching! 🚙😁
17:28 Wave Dancer.. 9.3 m Butt Cat.. 2x200Hp Suzukis.. Charter Fishing operation here in St Lucia.. can watch their Launching videos here on RUclips under Extreme Boating..
17:44 Red Duiker and Bush Buck .. are regularly seen on this road.. loads of monkeys.. Bushbabies at night and sometimes Leopard.. oftern hippo
Thanks for showing us this beautiful place. Lots of memories. We had our honeymoon there in September 1979. It had changed tremendously
This is where we spent our holidays. My husband never liked civilization.
Thanks guys as always great content in your blogs.
Went to St Lucia last November for four nights and walked along the same boardwalk but saw no crocodiles.
The wetlands were awesome and two game parks not far away were great.
Have fun.
Ohhh St.Lucia, daar had ik al op gehoopt. In december was ik daar met mijn groepsrondreis. Tijdens een boottocht zagen we veel hippo’s waaronder een baby. Dat kleintje hadden ze George genoemd, naar de zojuist overleden zanger George Michel. Het zal vast inmiddels een grote stevige jongeman zijn 😅. Om ze op straat tegen te komen lijkt me geen pretje want in het water knokten ze flink, met de bekken tegen elkaar. Mooi die houten wandelpaden, en zoveel toegangen tot het water en even langs de camping 😄🏕️. Dat zag ik allemaal niet destijds dus leuk om nu alsnog mee te maken. Verleidelijk als die souveniers. Uiteindelijk was het een hypo uit een fraaie art winkel in Knysna die in mijn koffer mee naar Nederland ging 🦛
It sounds like you had an incredible time in St Lucia! 🤩 A lucky hippo to relocate all the way from Knysna to the Netherlands! 😁🦛 We have a very high respect for all wildlife, but would still love to see a hippo waltzing down a residential street and grazing as it goes along. 😍
St lucia is toe gegroei met Riete en to gesluk met modder..
We thought it was very beautiful there and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. 🚙🤩
15:38 You where to late in the day for the Hyenas on this piece of road.. Hippo are mainly nocturnal grazers..
17:44 Water percolating under the road and sand dunes into the ocean.. why the road always in bad condition here
14:52 Children.. Tour Busses and Children don't mix well.. that why all the speed bumps..
14:12 St Lucia Estuary.. An Estuary not a river..
16:05 Male has Four Warthogs warts.. females only two.. in town the only natural predators they could encounter is Leopards