Wood smoke hangs heavy on the horizon and eagles drift above dusty bushveld trees. Village women hunker down over pots, their children playing with tin-can toys in the dust. Untrammeled nature envelopes many of these rural villages: this is Maputaland, a wild, tropical pocket tucked away in the north-eastern corner of South Africa.

Umhlaba'yalingana - or the earth that is flat, as it is known to the Zulu - is bordered on one side by the majestic Lebombo Mountains and on the other by the warm Indian Ocean. This flatland, which is a relic sea, includes numerous spectacular conservation areas, notably the 230,000ha Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, a magnificent slither of interconnected bush and beach, one of the largest conservation areas in South Africa and the only one to be given UNESCO Heritage Site status.

Rare white pelicans feed here and many species occur at the southern limit of their distribution. The park, like many in this region, is superbly managed by KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife and grand plans for the immediate future include the reintroduction of elephant. It is heartening to think that they will roam freely through this vast area from lake to sea, as they did for many thousands of years.

Further north, Maputaland has some of South Africa's top birding spots. Ndumo Game Reserve, a pocket-sized park on the border with Mozambique, covers just 10,000ha, yet hosts a dazzling 430 species of bird. Scenically, it's Maputaland's most spectacular park and ranks among the finest in South Africa.

At Lake Nyamithi, in particular, thousands of bright-yellow fever trees are reflected in the water and huge crocodiles lie like logs along the grassy banks. You may not yet find elephants here, but the scene always brings to my mind Rudyard Kipling's wonderful Elephant Child, who comes to the bank of "the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo all set about with fever trees".

Ndumo's three large pans, two river systems, sand forests and woodlands also have 62 mammal species, including giraffe, hippo and White rhino. There is an inexpensive KZN Wildlife camp and a luxury one managed by Wilderness Safaris. Ndumo Wilderness Camp occupies a stunning spot on the bank of Banzi Pan and offers en suite tents, guided walks, game drives and five-star bush cuisine.

Another birder's haven is the 30,000ha Mkuze Game Reserve, with more than 400 species. Its diverse ecosystem includes forests, rivers and bushveld. It also has four of the Big Five mammals (no lion) and a network of roads which can easily be explored in your own vehicle. A stroll through the rich, humid atmosphere of the Fig Forest provides numerous bird and monkey sightings. There are also guided walks, led by armed guards who can take you so close to rhino that you will hear your heart thumping. Don't miss out on the hides either: at Nsumo Pan hide, I've seen rhino, giraffe and kudu drinking simultaneously. There are two self-catering camps at Mkuze run by KZN Wildlife, one with chalets, the other tented.

A short hop from Ndumo is Tembe Elephant Park, with vast swamplands and spectacular sand forests dominated by thickets ofvery tall trees, giving it a wild character. The park was proclaimed in the 1980s and fenced off from Mozambique to protect the region's elephants. An information centre displays traps, tusks and hand-made weapons - poignant reminders of the poaching once locally prevalent. Don't be too sure of seeing elephant - they remain fairly traumatised and may take some years to settle down completely. On the two occasions that I've visited, the closest I've come to them has been their steaming piles of dung.

Maputaland's top spot for game viewing must go to Phinda Private Game Reserve, the only place in the region which has the complete Big Five. Thanks to the careful habituation of animals, sightings are virtually guaranteed. This 15,000ha reserve is owned by CCAfrica and offers an exceptionally high standard of service, with sumptuous glass-walled suites at Phinda's Forest Camp. For a more affordable Big Five experience, try Umfolozi and Hluhluwe game reserves nearby. Excellent, inexpensive accommodation and restaurants may be found at the KZN Wildlife Hilltop Camp and the game viewing, particularly for rhino, is phenomenal.

For many, the lure of Maputaland is the sea. The coastline has long white beaches, warm water and some of the world's most southerly coral reefs. Every morning at Sodwana Bay, inflatable rubber boats punch through the waves heading for spots like Two-, Five- and Nine-mile Reefs. The topography of these dive sites is fairly flat, but the marine life is rich and diverse. On a dozen dives here, I have seen Manta rays, Whale sharks, White-tipped reef sharks, Moray eels, turtles and innumerable tropical fish.

The downside of Sodwana Bay is, ironically, its popularity. During Christmas, Easter and other school holidays, revving vehicles are sometimes four deep on the beach. If you value serenity, you will want to avoid these times completely. The best places to stay are at Sodwana Bay Resort or at the KZN Wildlife chalets near the beach. Even quieter beach experiences may be had further south at the KZN Wildlife chalets at Cape Vidal, or north at Rocktail Bay (the twin sister of Ndumo Wilderness Camp), which offers superb snorkeling, turtle walks, salt-water fly-fishing and scuba diving.

Whereas most parks in South Africa are uninhabited, Kosi Bay has a large local population and offers a great chance for interaction with them. Maputaland is one of the poorest parts of South Africa and is largely inhabited by the Nguni and Thonga people. These subsistence farmers and fishermen rely heavily on the region's natural resources. Kosi comprises an estuary and four interconnected lakes, which run parallel to the ocean for some 18km, with decreasing salinity. At the mouth of the estuary are dozens of fish traps, which are still in regular use. Young men with fishing spears patrol the shallows and women walk with thatching materials piled on their heads.

You can explore the area on the four-day, 34km Amanzamnyama Trail. It takes in all four lakes, coastal dunes, raffia forests and long white beaches. KZN Wildlife also run a camp at Kosi, but unless you have a 4x4 and a boat you are likely to feel a little marooned. Best bet for most people is to head for Kosi Forest Lodge. It offers village tours, walks, boating, canoeing, cold G&Ts - and dreamy baths for stargazing.

Another way to get into the fibre of Maputaland is to visit one of the local towns. In a place like Mbazwana, near Sodwana Bay, you might see whole cows hanging from trees - this is the local butchery, which remains open, I'm told, as long as there's still meat on the bone. It was disconcerting to find that the local driving school doubles as the town's funeral service. Driving standards are not good in these parts; the mind boggles at the link between the two.

Although it may seem like a collection of unrelated nature reserves and lakes, Maputaland is a vast interconnected tapestry of wilderness and rural areas. As populations and tourism activity expand, increasing pressure on these regions is inevitable. Fortunately some visionary people are working to preserve them. For several years, plans have been proposed to link up Ndumo, Tembe, St. Lucia and parts of Mozambique into a massive cross-border park that will allow the free migration of animals beyond boundaries. This grand dream comes closer to becoming reality as other transfrontier Peace Parks are established regionally.

Another major step for more effective land management occurred recently when private landowners, rural communities and development bodies proposed turning the area into an International Biosphere Reserve. This means UNESCO will act as a big-toothed watchdog to nip at the heels of anyone who strays out of conservational line. It is an ambitious two-phase plan that will eventually encompass over 2.5m hectares, and is currently awaiting official UN approval. One of the Biosphere's first projects is said to be the development of Border Cave in the Lebombo Mountains, which saw the longest continuous habitation on earth. Its archaeological relics span 120,000 years - over three times longer than its nearest contender. Currently it is merely a hole in the ground, but it could become a real tourist attraction.

For the traveller interested in the raw, exciting spirit of Africa, Maputaland is compelling. The best way to take in its outstanding scenery and wildlife is to hire a car from Durban and point your nose north through the fields of sugar cane. In just over three hours, you could be scuba diving, game viewing or even watching leatherbacks laying eggs on the beaches.

Published in Travel Africa Edition Sixteen: Summer 2001 Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)