Thonga Beach Lodge is set on the secluded Mabibi Bay, in the heart of the iSimangaliso (formerly Greater St Lucia) Wetland Park, an internationally recognized World Heritage Site. With direct access onto the pristine shores of the Maputaland coast, this lodge is the ideal place to discover one of the last unspoilt and undeveloped wilderness beaches left on the African continent.

Mabibi is a magical place of tranquil swimming bays and snorkeling reefs, coastal forests, grasslands, bush, shimmering lakes and exquisite sandy beaches. Its clear warm waters offer superb snorkeling and fantastic offshore SCUBA diving.

The 12 thatched en-suite eco-sensitive rooms have been carefully constructed in the coastal dune forest to ensure minimum impact on the environment and maximum guest privacy. Each room has a double vanity, indoor shower, bar fridge, air conditioning, ceiling fan and mosquito net. Deluxe Rooms and Family Rooms have baths, and the Deluxe Rooms have outdoor showers.

Activities at Thonga Beach Lodge include SCUBA diving, open ocean experiences, kayaking and sundowners at Lake Sibaya, cultural tours and forest walks. Whether you are a walker or a diver, take advantage of the wealth of activities that await you in this beautiful hideaway, or simply relax with a spa treatment on the beach deck.

SCUBA diving at Mabibi is phenomenal. Our professional lodge diving team can accommodate enthusiasts, from the beginner to the veteran. For those who don’t dive, we have an open ocean experience. An exciting launch through the surf in front of the lodge takes you beyond the breakers to a world of dolphins, whales and snorkeling. The warm Indian Ocean supports a myriad of fish and marine life. Guests can sometimes swim with dolphins or whale sharks, or snorkel with manta rays and giant turtles.

In summer there are nocturnal walks and drives along the beach in search of pre-historic turtles laying their eggs. Witness the culmination of an incredible journey as giant leatherback and loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in carefully prepared nests. Turtle tracking is offered in the evening from November to end of February. (The laying takes place from November to January and hatchlings arrive from end December to end February.) Every precaution is taken to ensure these magnificent creatures are not disturbed during the laying process and data collected from the turtle drives is submitted to the Ezemvelo Turtle Monitoring Programme.