Kosi Forest Lodge is an intimate 20-bed wilderness lodge in the Kosi Bay Nature Reserve, within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa's first World Heritage Site, just south of the Mozambique border. Eight rooms of wood, thatch and canvas are raised on wooden decks and nestled into the sand forest under giant Natal fig and milkwood trees, each with a private veranda, an indoor shower, and a romantic reed-enclosed outdoor boma bathroom where you can bath beneath the forest canopy and the stars. There is limited electricity, and candlelight in the evenings creates a warm, wild-Africa atmosphere.

The rate is full board: breakfast, lunch and dinner, with water, tea and coffee, plus a guided canoe trail through the lakes (for guests over 6) and a guided walk through the ancient Raphia palm forest. The lodge is a birdwatcher's paradise, home to the Palm-nut Vulture, the world's only fruit-eating vulture, and the elusive Pel's Fishing Owl. Mornings begin with a chorus of birds, fish eagles call over the lakes, and a sand-forest bird hide lets you tick off lesser-known species at your leisure.

Beyond the lodge, explore the 18 km lake system and estuarine waterways by guided canoe or motor boat, watch hippos, crocodiles and flocks of flamingoes at sunset, and visit the magnificent Kosi Bay Mouth with its fascinating 700-year-old Thonga fish traps. The warm water offers fabulous snorkelling year round, turtle tracking runs from November to January, and the lodge offers rich interaction with the local Thonga people and their culture. The area is low-risk malaria.

The last 9 km to the lodge are dune roads accessible only by 4x4. Guests in two-wheel-drive vehicles park at a secure 24-hour garage in Manguzi (KwaNgwanase) and are transferred by lodge vehicle (twice daily at 12:00 and 16:00, booked with your reservation, at an additional charge). A conservation Foundation levy is charged per person aged 13 and over per night, excluded from the rates.