Utshwayelo Kosi Mouth Lodge and Camp
Tents, cabins and campsites · Kosi Bay section, at the Kosi Mouth gate · Utshwayelo, in partnership with the Tsonga community
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Budget
Inside the park
Community or local
A community-partnership camp with the Tsonga community at the Kosi Mouth gate, with Tusker tents, Hippo cabins, Turtle tents and Fish Eagle campsites, and, unusually for the far north, 2WD access. It runs snorkelling at the estuary mouth known as 'the aquarium', three-lake cruises, turtle tours and visits to the reed fish traps. The 2026/27 rate sheet is sent on request. Choose it to stay right at Kosi Mouth without a 4x4; ask for the rate sheet and about which tours suit children.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Right at Kosi Mouth
- 2WD access
- Snorkelling, cruises, turtle and fish-trap tours
- Community partnership
Cons
- No published rate
- Turtle tours only in season (November to March)
What's here
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Boat trips
- Fishing
- Community visits
Read from Utshwayelo Kosi Mouth Lodge and Camp's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
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 Utshwayelo Kosi Mouth Lodge and Camp
Rates on request. No rate published; the 2026/27 rate sheet is sent on request (082 909 3113). The Kosi Bay gate fee is R34 per South African adult and R71 per international adult on the 2024/25 table, plus levies. Ask whether VAT is included.
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 Utshwayelo Kosi Mouth Lodge and Camp
Do you need a 4x4 to reach Utshwayelo?
No. The camp lists 2WD access to the Kosi Mouth gate.
What does Utshwayelo cost?
The 2026/27 rate sheet is sent on request; call 082 909 3113.
Is Utshwayelo good for families?
We found no published child policy. Ask which tours take children.