Kosi Bay camp
Chalets and lakeshore campsites · Kosi Bay section, on Lake Nhlange · iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority (Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife until 28 February 2026)
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (iSimangaliso Authority)
The small state camp on Lake Nhlange, the largest of the four linked Kosi lakes, with three chalets and fifteen campsites, five of them on the shore. Reception issues the permit for Kosi Mouth, the estuary known for snorkelling and for the reed fish traps that iSimangaliso says have been built here for more than 700 years; ask for it a day ahead. Kosi Bay is 3h44 from St Lucia, so it is a destination, not a day trip. The camp is state-owned and on the list for private tender; Ezemvelo ran it until 28 February 2026. Choose it for the lakes; fill up with fuel at Manguzi first.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Lakeshore pitches on Lake Nhlange
- Kosi Mouth permit from reception
- Lowest gate fee band in the park
- Over 250 bird species at Kosi Bay, per iSimangaliso
Cons
- Only three chalets, so book early
- Tariff dates from 2023/24
- Some Kosi routes may need a 4x4
- Far from everything: 3h44 from St Lucia
What's here
- Campsite
- Self-catering
Arranged from the lodge:
- Boat trips
- Birding
- Fishing
We could not reach a website for Kosi Bay camp, 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 Kosi Bay camp
From R900 per 2-bed chalet; campsites from R290 (2023/24 tariff). Ezemvelo 2023/24 tariff: 2-bed chalet R900, 5-bed R1,350, 6-bed R1,800; lakeshore campsite R340, other campsites R290 (per-site basis not stated). The Kosi Bay gate fee is extra: R34 per South African adult and R71 per international adult on the 2024/25 table, plus a R7 conservation levy and R12 accommodation levy per person per night. Get the Kosi Mouth beach permit at reception a day ahead; no fee is published for it. 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 Kosi Bay camp
How do you get a Kosi Mouth permit?
At Kosi Bay camp reception, one day ahead. No fee for it is published.
Do you need a 4x4 for Kosi Bay camp?
iSimangaliso says several northern camps need a high-clearance or 4x4 vehicle on sand tracks. Which Kosi routes are 4x4-only today is not confirmed, so ask when you book.
Is Kosi Bay camp good for families?
The 5- and 6-bed chalets suit a family. We found no published child policy. Do not swim in the lakes, which hold hippos and crocodiles.