Charter's Creek
Units, campsites, restaurant and pool · Western Shores section, on Lake St Lucia, 25 km from St Lucia town · iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority (concession pending)
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (iSimangaliso Authority)
The Western Shores camp on Lake St Lucia, 25 km and about 46 minutes from St Lucia town, with 14 units, 12 campsites with private ablutions, a restaurant and a pool according to iSimangaliso's concession notice. The Authority put it out as a 20-year build-and-operate concession; bids closed on 27 February 2026 and no award had been reported by September 2026. No rate has been published. The Western Shores has the uMphathe game-drive loop and the uMthoma aerial boardwalk. Choose it only once you have a confirmed booking; until a concessionaire is named, ask iSimangaliso whether it is taking guests.
Pros and cons
Pros
- On the quieter Western Shores of the lake
- Restaurant and pool listed
- Campsites have private ablutions
- 46 minutes from St Lucia
Cons
- No published rate
- Concession pending, so operations may change
- Booking channel not confirmed
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Restaurant
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Birding
We could not reach a website for Charter's Creek, so this list is incomplete by definition. Ask them directly.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. iSimangaliso Wetland Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryGate fee and conservation levy plus the R12 accommodation levy, counted per day because no official document says whether multi-night guests pay the gate fee once.
- $9per person, per day
- VehicleR74 car fee, counted per day for the same reason.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $69 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Sleeping inside the boundary is what keeps that low. Overnight guests add the R12 accommodation levy per night, against $8 a day for anyone driving in from outside.
These are the 2024/25 rates, which expired on 30 November 2025; no newer table has been published. Sodwana, the Coastal Forest and Kosi Bay charge about half (R71 per international adult). Lodges in St Lucia town are outside every gate.
The full fee schedule for iSimangaliso Wetland ParkRates at Charter's Creek
Rates on request. No rate published: Charter's Creek was not on Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff and iSimangaliso has published none. The Western Shores gate fee (Dukuduku and Nhlozi gates) is R62 per South African adult and R130 per international adult on the 2024/25 table, plus a R7 conservation levy and R12 accommodation levy per person per night. VAT treatment is not stated.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked against the research dossier of 24 September 2026. State-camp prices come from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's 2023/24 tariff (1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024), the last official camp tariff that could be read; treat them as a floor, because iSimangaliso has published none since it took the camps over on 1 March 2026. Thonga Beach Lodge, Kosi Forest Lodge, Coral Divers, Mabibi Beach Camp and Umlilo Lodge are priced from their own sites. Every figure marked 'reseller rate' comes from SA-Venues, LekkeSlaap, Siyabona or a booking agent, uses that site's 'from' price, and usually prices a room for two; we halve it to give a per-person figure. Dollar figures use R16.36 to the dollar (24 September 2026) and are rounded. Gate fees are extra everywhere except in St Lucia town: R62 per South African adult and R130 per international adult at the dearest gates on the 2024/25 table, which expired on 30 November 2025 with no successor published.
Questions about Charter's Creek
Is Charter's Creek open?
iSimangaliso tendered it as a 20-year concession with bids closing on 27 February 2026, and no award was reported by September 2026. Ask iSimangaliso whether it is taking bookings.
What does Charter's Creek cost?
No rate has been published. It was not on Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff.
Is Charter's Creek good for families?
The 4-bed units and campsites suit a family. We found no published child policy, and there is no swimming in the lake.