False Bay campsites (Lister's Point)
Powered and unpowered campsites · False Bay section, western arm of Lake St Lucia near Hluhluwe · iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority (Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife until 28 February 2026)
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (iSimangaliso Authority)
The campsites at Lister's Point on the False Bay arm of Lake St Lucia, 93 km and about 1h30 by road from St Lucia town, reached from the N2 at Hluhluwe. There are 14 powered and 24 unpowered sites. The section has sand forest and three self-guided trails, Mphophomeni (about 2 km), Ingwe (7 km) and Dukandlovu (9 km), and iSimangaliso says plainly that the bay holds Nile crocodiles and hippos and that swimming is not recommended. The state owns the camp; Ezemvelo ran it until 28 February 2026 and the iSimangaliso Authority has since taken over. Choose it if you want a cheap, quiet pitch with walking; skip it if you need a sea beach.
Pros and cons
Pros
- From R180 a site for two on the 2023/24 tariff
- Three self-guided trails start in the section
- Powered sites available
- Lower gate fee band than Cape Vidal or uMkhuze
Cons
- Prices date from 2023/24 and will have risen
- No swimming: crocodiles and hippos in the bay
- The booking phone number dates from the Ezemvelo era and may have changed
- Gate open only 06:00 to 18:00
What's here
- Campsite
- Solar or 24h power
Arranged from the lodge:
- Guided walks
- Birding
We could not reach a website for False Bay campsites (Lister's Point), 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 False Bay campsites (Lister's Point)
From R180 per site for two (2023/24 tariff). Ezemvelo 2023/24 tariff (1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024): unpowered site R180 for a minimum of two plus R90 per extra person; powered site R220 for two plus R110. No later official tariff has been published, so treat these as a floor. The False Bay gate fee is extra: R57 per South African adult and R120 per international adult per entry on the 2024/25 table, plus a R7 conservation levy and a R12 accommodation levy per person per night. VAT treatment is not stated.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
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 False Bay campsites (Lister's Point)
How much does it cost to camp at False Bay?
On Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff an unpowered site was R180 for two and a powered site R220 for two, with R90 or R110 for each extra person. No newer official tariff has been published, so expect more. Gate fees and levies come on top.
Can you swim at False Bay?
No. iSimangaliso's False Bay page says the bay is home to Nile crocodiles and hippos and that swimming is not recommended.
How do you book the False Bay campsites?
Under the old arrangement bookings went through 035 562 0425. Ezemvelo left the iSimangaliso camps on 1 March 2026 and the Authority now runs them, so confirm the current booking channel on that number or with iSimangaliso before you travel. We found no published child policy.