The Santa Lucia chugs her way through the mist and up the estuary, pods of hippos huffing and puffing as they lumber out of her way. Crocodiles lie doggo on the mangrove banks, their reptilian eyes not looking, yet seeing the progress of the launch. Fish eagles cry warnings to each other as pelicans perform awkward take-offs and head for the lake upstream. On the lake, local fishermen in their primitive craft pull in their nets and fly fishermen from up country try their luck in the clear waters.

The sun rising over the coastal dunes shortens the shadows over the lake, the estuary, the rivers and the wetlands. On the other side of the dunes early beach-combers begin exploring the shoreline, rocky shelfs and driftwood cluttered coves.

The first boats are venturing out to the fishing grounds or the coral reefs, where the sun's rays are begining to cut down to the coral and its inhabitants. Beyond the beach, dunes and wetlands, early morning game drive vehicles have picked up the first of the Big Five, a leopard a little too tardy in making it back to his daytime hideout.

Down the road elephants are making a fuss about a rhino that also wants to use the waterhole. In the distance a lion roars and the zebra, wildebeest, impala and other plains game sit up and take notice. In the mountains the baboons hear it too and rub the sleep from their eyes.

In the villages and markets, handicrafts, fresh vegetables and fish are being laid out, shopkeepers and stall owners are sweeping their frontages and touting for business, and 4x4s and wandering dogs are barking into life.

St Lucia is waking up to another day.

The first European to explore the south eastern coastline of the African sub-continent was the Portuguese navigator, Vasco da Gama. He made landfall on these lush, sub-tropical shores on Christmas Day, 1497, and so called this new terra incognita 'Natal'. Three quarters of a century later, another Portuguese navigator named a great complex of rivers, lakes and estuaries on this coast 'St Lucia', in honour of the patron saint of the blind.

Today, this great complex is known as the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, and it is on the short list to become one of South Africa's first World Heritage Sites.

Actually, the naming of St Lucia was not that simple. There are conflicting historical records about the naming of various features along this coastline. One account claims that one Joao de Lisboa in 1514 named what is now the Tugela River, the St Lucia, and what is now St Lucia, the Rio de la Medaos do Ouro (the River of the Sands of Gold). Another account claims that in 1554 the survivors of a shipwreck at the mouth of the (now) Tugela River also called the area St Lucia. Struggling up the coast the same party of survivors then found that estuary, and also called it the Rio de la Medaos do Ouro.

Anyway, whichever account is correct, the names would probably have stuck if, in 1575, that other navigator, Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo, had not been sent out to map this same coast. By design, or by default, he managed to shift everything northwards, calling the Rio de la Medaos do Ouro, St Lucia, and moving the Rio de la Medaos do Ouro, to the point where today the countries of South Africa and Mozambique meet, Ponta do Ouro. And that is the way it is today.

It really started, however, 100 million years before that, in the period known as the Cretaceous. At that time the breakers of the Indian Ocean crashed against the Lebombo Mountains, 100 kilometres inland from the present shoreline.

The continent of Africa was tilting, however, pushing upwards in the west and causing the ocean to roll back. The receding ocean created a coastal plain rich in deposits of corals, shells, unique geological formations and fossil beds. It also left behind a lot of sand, and it was this flat, sandy barrier that caused the rivers flowing out of the interior to meander, to tarry, and to form lakes, lagoons and estuaries.

It was into this rich natural environment that early man first wandered, perhaps some 130,000 years ago. There is plenty of evidence of Middle and Late Stone Age activity, like stone tools and seashell trinkets. Later, Iron Age people moved into the area. Iron smelting furnaces from as early as 630AD have been found here, and these early St Lucians were the first to have an impact on the natural environment. They used fire to clear land for crops and cattle and they felled trees to feed their furnaces. In the second millennium it was the Thonga clans from the north and Zulu-speakers from the south and the west who inhabited this fertile plain.

The first outsiders to explore the region were in fact the Arabs, Venetian trade beads dating back to the 13th century having been found here. And then of course came the Portuguese, who moved on to establish Mozambique to the north, to be followed in the 19th century by the British - mariners, missionaries, explorers and hunters.

The British, however, stayed to create the Colony of Natal, and by the 1880s, after many vicissitudes involving the Bushmen, the Boers and the Zulus, they controlled the whole province of what is today KwaZulu-Natal.

The second half of the 19th century saw the wholesale slaughter of wildlife in the region, largely through uncontrolled hunting. The first game laws were in fact promulgated in the Colony in 1866, indicating that someone was concerned about the destruction of wildlife.

The situation was exacerbated in the 1890s by a severe drought and the spread of nagana, a disease that causes sleeping sickness in human beings, but which is lethal to cattle. Ironically, wild animals are not affected by nagana and were thought to be carriers. One solution to the nagana problem was to eliminate wild animals, and this was pursued with an unhealthy enthusiasm which led to a conflict between conservations and cattlemen lasting for the next 50 years.

However, there was an upside, because also arising from all this was a concerted effort to have parts of Natal declared protected game areas. Eventually, five such game reserves, including St Lucia, were proclaimed in Government Notice No. 12, gazetted on 30 April, 1895 - an act described as the birth of the modern conservation movement.

But the resolution of the issues of hunting and nagana was not the end of St Lucia's struggle for survival as a conservation area. In fact the most protracted, most bitter, and most controversial issue and subsequent debate was still to come.

For over 120 years mining has been South Africa's most profitable, and therefore most important, economic activity. Wherever mining and nature conservation come into conflict, however, the debate is almost invariably heated. In the case of St Lucia it was white hot.

The controversy began in 1989, when the Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) mining company, whose holding company is the London-based giant Rio Tinto Zinc, applied for mining rights on the coastal dunes on the eastern shores of Lake St Lucia. The dunes of northern Zululand are rich in deposits of heavy metals, including titanium, and RBM's method of extraction is open cast dredge mining (a pond is created, in which a floating unit ingests the sand from one end, extracts the heavy metals, and disgorges it at the other end, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the unit, and the pond, gradually moving forward). The proposal covered some 1,400 hectares over a period of 20 years.

Initially the government was sympathetic to the proposal, but a howl of public protest hurled the issue into the spotlight, and there it stayed for seven years. The debate raged back and forth.

RBM and some conservationist supporters said that the mining would create much-needed foreign exchange and jobs, eliminate the exotic tree plantations already there, and anyway, RBM had a good track record in dune rehabilitation after the mining process (which indeed it had).

Those opposed to the mining proposal - most conservationists and members of the public - said mining would be disruptive and would mark the end of St Lucia as a conservation area, that the foreign exchange and job creation would be a temporary asset and that ecotourism was the only option.

The nation took sides. Old friends became bitter enemies, and former enemies became friends. And because of RBM's international links and the importance of St Lucia as a wetland, the issue became global.

On the formal side, a media campaign raised some 320,000 signatures on an anti-mining petition. An organisation called The Campaign for St Lucia was formed and RBM began to spend what was eventually to become about R5-million on its own media campaign.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was called for, and the national Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Environmental Services was asked to conduct the most comprehensive EIA ever done in Africa. The results were published for comment towards the end of 1993 and early the following year the St Lucia Environmental Impact Report recommended mining.

There was much jubilation in the pro-mining camp. But then, in a surprise move, a Review Panel that had been appointed overturned that recommendation and in turn recommended to the Cabinet that nature conservation and ecotourism was the only option for St Lucia.

Meanwhile, South Africa was in the throes of the run-up to its historic democratic elections in April, 1994, and few people, particularly the political parties contesting the election, wanted to take any decision on St Lucia that might impact on the electorate. The St Lucia issue was put on hold.

Two years later, however, in March, 1996, the Cabinet finally took a decision: St Lucia was not to be mined, giving the go ahead for the conservation option.

The biggest natural estuarine system in Africa, St Lucia is clearly of international conservation significance, not only because of its wetlands, but also due to its biological diversity and natural beauty.

Apart from the explorers, hunters, missionaries and entrepreneurs of old, the area of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park has been a popular place for tourists to visit for many decades. Recently, though, the attractions of St Lucia have become a little more sophisticated from an ecotourism point of view.

On the seaward side, there is diving on the coral reefs; game fishing from ski boats or the beach (some of the finest fishing in southern Africa); whale and dolphin watching (humpbacks commute along this coast and dolphins are resident); turtle spotting on the beaches (the giant females lay their eggs on the beaches, and later the hatchlings can be seen heading for the sea); guided nature walks; overnight hiking trails on the beach and through the dune forests; and the beaches and rock pools for those who want to enjoy the sea, sand and sun.

The Park includes some of the most southerly coral reefs in the world, sandy beaches, coastal dunes and dune forest; the lake and estuary systems; mangrove swamps, sand and swamp forest, and state exotic plantations, bushveld and grasslands.

Inland, there are cruises on the lake and estuary systems and ecological cruises for those wanting to get a little closer to nature. There are birding trips, by foot and boat, guided and overnight trails through the grassland, swamp forests and mangroves around the lake system. There is fishing and boating on the waterways, mountain biking, and 4x4 vehicle hire for beach and bush driving; and game drives and self-drive safaris through the big game areas like Mkuze and Phinda.

Apart from the Mkuze Game Reserve, the Natal Parks Board also manages much of the St Lucia area, including the lake and its surrounds, the Marine Reserve, Mapelane and Sodwana.

An exciting development in this region is the involvement of local communities in ecotourism projects. With the assistance of the Natal Parks Board in the form of training and support, many local entrepreneurs have set up projects like trail guiding in the various eco-systems, including turtle spotting, bird watching and game walks, traditional craft making and marketing, tribal dancing and music, and the provision of various forms of accommodation.

The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is an area of particular importance as far as its biological diversity and its natural beauty are concerned. It is half-a-million hectares of prime Africa. It is rich in history and the cultural and natural heritage of this part of the sub-continent - a special place that belongs not only to South Africans, but to the rest of the world's peoples as well.

St Lucia and South Africa's World Heritage Bid

After many years of political isolation, South Africa is once again a full member of the United Nations and therefore UNESCO, its Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. It is under the UNESCO umbrella that the system of World Heritage Sites falls, and so South Africa is now in a position to make application for such status for a number of her natural and/or cultural sites.

A short list of potential sites was drawn up some time ago, being the Kruger National Park, Table Mountain and the mountain chain of the Cape Peninsula, the Drakensberg Mountain range, the Richtersveld National Park bordering Namibia and, of course, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. A johnny-come-lately in the stakes has been the famous - or infamous? - Robben Island. There are some problems with the applications, however. The World Heritage Council, which has inspected some of the proposed sites, gave South Africa an extension on the July 1 deadline for 1997 applications, but nevertheless it has been decided that the applications should be held over for July, 1998. The main reason for the delay appears to be the consolidation of management authorities for the various sites and land claims against some parts of some sites.

The short list has now been reduced to the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, Table Mountain and the Peninsula, and Robben Island, (the others are to be included on a 'country list' still being compiled). The St Lucia authorities claim they are ready, the Table Mountain ones admit they are not, and the Robben Island authorities have been advised that much more work needs to be done. There is an impression in some quarters that the whole campaign for World Heritage Sites is on hold until such time as Robben Island can be put forward as the first application.

Regardless of the current situation, however, South Africa should soon takes its rightful place in the family of countries with World Heritage Sites.

ST LUCIA FACTFILE

Flora and Fauna: Lake St Lucia and its environs is a treasure trove of biological diversity. Some 420 species of birds - more than half the total for southern Africa - can be found here, including important breeding sites. The area contains the largest protected populations of the Nile crocodile, hippos and reedbuck in South Africa. There are more than 1,200 species of marine fish and no fewer than 105 Red Data Book species of mammals, reptiles,amphibians, birds, butterflies and fish occur in the varied habitats.

Top Fauna: Africa's Big Five: Lion, Leopard, Elephant, both Black and White Rhino, and Buffalo; the giant sea turtles: Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill, and Leatherback; the rarely seen Nerina Trogan and African Finfoot; and massed Pinkbacked Pelicans and Flamingoes (Greater and Lesser); and the deadly Gaboon Adder.

Top Flora: Lebombo tree cycad Encephalartos lebomboensis, Tongaland cycad Encephalartos ferox, the Fever tree Acacia xanthophloea, the protected White milkwood, Sideroxylon inerme, the Swamp fig Ficus trichopoda, White Avicennea marina and Black Mangroves Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, the Wild date palm Phoenix reclinata, and the culturally important Bastard tambuti Cleistanthus schlechteri and Torchwood Balanites maughamii.

Transport: There are local buses and taxis, coach tours and private tours, a north-south railway line along the western boundary of the area, and an excellent network of roads. The best way to get around the area is self-drive. It should be remembered that the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is not one geogl unit, but rather a montage of different conservation areas and concepts, and therefore requires a degree of the explorer's spirit.

Health: This whole area is in a malaria belt and anti-malarial prophylactics are strongly advised. Refer to our malaria story on page 66.

Where to Stay: Natal Parks Board: A range of accommodation from camping and caravan sites to rustic huts cottages, log cabins and self-catering lodges, in St Lucia itself and at Mapelane, Sodwana, Cape Vidal, the camps around St Lucia and the Mkuze Game Reserve.

Published in Travel Africa Edition Two: Winter 1997/8. Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)