Mantuma camp
Rest huts, chalets, safari tents and cottages · uMkhuze section, inside eMshopi Gate · iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority (Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife until 28 February 2026)
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Mantuma camp yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (iSimangaliso Authority)
The rest camp of the uMkhuze section, with 30 units from 2-bed rest huts to 6-bed cottages, a shop and a pool for overnight guests. It is the only place to sleep inside uMkhuze apart from the eMshopi campsite and the small bush lodges, and the camp books guided game drives, walks and the walk through the Sycamore Fig Forest. The hides at kuMasinga and iNsumo Pan are drives from camp. Mantuma is 2h20 by road from St Lucia and 1h27 from Sodwana. The camp is state-owned and is one of those listed for private tender; Ezemvelo ran it until 28 February 2026. Choose it for birds and game at the hides.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Rest huts from R700 for two on the 2023/24 tariff
- Guided drives and walks sold at camp
- Pool for overnight guests
- Wide choice of unit sizes
Cons
- Tariff dates from 2023/24
- 2h20 from St Lucia, so not a day trip from there
- Operator may change under the tender programme
- Unit counts and booking channel unconfirmed since March 2026
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Self-catering
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Guided walks
- Birding
We could not reach a website for Mantuma 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 Mantuma camp
From R700 per rest hut for two (2023/24 tariff). Ezemvelo 2023/24 tariff, standard (high season in brackets): 2-bed rest hut R700 (R820); 2-bed safari tent R1,000 (R1,300); 2-bed chalet R1,060 (R1,300); 4-bed tent R1,500 (R1,950); 4-bed chalet R1,590 for a minimum of three (R1,950); 6-bed cottage R2,400 for a minimum of four (R2,700). Game drive R380, guided walk or fig forest walk R330 (2023/24). The uMkhuze gate fee is extra: 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.
It depends which package you book. This camp sells more than one basis, from self-catering up to fully inclusive. The rates note says what each one covers.
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 Mantuma camp
What does Mantuma cost?
On Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff a 2-bed rest hut was R700, a 2-bed safari tent R1,000 and a 6-bed cottage R2,400 for four. Game drives were R380 and guided walks R330. Gate fees and levies are extra.
Can you self-drive to Mantuma?
Yes. Leave the N2 at Mkuze for eMshopi Gate; the main uMkhuze roads take a sedan. From St Lucia it is 136 km, about 2h20.
Is Mantuma good for families?
The 4-bed tents and chalets and 6-bed cottages suit families. We found no published child policy for the drives and walks, so ask when you book.