The best way to explore the St Lucia Estuary , from aboard the luxurious passenger ferry vessel , ADVANTAGE CRUISER II . ** (( scroll down to the bottom for photos )) **

                                                 HIPPO and CROCODILE BOAT TRIP

The St Lucia Estuary falls within the town of St Lucia which is on the southernmost point of Lake St Lucia , which was proclaimed a  World Heritage Site in 1999 and renamed to the  iSimangaliso Wetland Park in November 2007 ,  within the northern province of KwaZulu Natal , South Africa

The St Lucia Estuary is the largest estuarine system on the African continent , and Lake St Lucia boasts the largest concentration of Hippo in South Africa ..

In 1998 three concessions were granted to private individuals to run boat trips on the St Lucia Estuary . Danie and Riëtte Bennett was able to obtain one of these concessions after a strict tender process .

Over the last 10 years the business have grown enormously mostly due to word of mouth and excellent service . After 2 hours aboard the ADVANTAGE CRUISER with the qualified skippers and guides you will realize why this was the right choice of cruise  to explore parts of the Wetlands . 

 (Concession issued by The Wetland Park  Authority) , the luxurious newly constructed ADVANTAGE CRUISER II, custom built to venture in shallow water with 4 x 115HP Suzuki environmentally friendly engines for a minimum impact on the ecology complying with EPA standards, departs from an easily accessible jetty in the heart of ST LUCIA , with safe parking for your vehicle or motorhome . The boat consist of a  luxury lower covered deck, with an added  open SUNDECK upstairs for the person seeking a suntan whilst onboard.

En route the 2 hour cruise we will show you some of the largest vegetated dunes in the World at the dunes of  Mapelane, a variety of prolific bird life can be viewed, oyster banks which was once part of the  Indian Ocean ,  are passed at the Islands at Honeymoon Bend.

At this point crocodiles basking in the sun is one of the main attractions.  Then for the main highlight we turn and venture North towards "The Narrows" for HIPPO sightings .  Riëtte Bennett, co-owner of ADVANTAGE CRUISER,  on occasion your lady "captain" , or her relief skippers, these qualified Theta guides will enthusiastically give you a full educational talk on the Mangrove swamps, the Hippo’s, Crocs, the eco systems, the Wetland Park and what she has to offer.

The boat itself has ample walking space for the avid photographer, with intermittent stops en route next to all the highlights you will be given the opportunity to take photographs for memories to last a lifetime.

The newly constructed luxury SUNDECK will allow you to get as much of the African Sun as possible , with the P A system also been heard from the topdeck , so no worry that you'll miss out on educational information .

Riëtte herself has been the only lady captain on the St Lucia Estuary since 1998 , having Dave and Steve as relief guides over the last 9 years , but in 2007 she employed 22year old Natasha and after 8 weeks of grueling skippering up and down the Estuary daily , Natasha also obtained her skippers licence and is now Riëtte's main relief when she's ''grounded'' to office duty - as owner/manager of ST LUCIA TOURS AND CHARTERS her attention is needed in the office more regularly .

Depending on where ''he'' is roaming around for the day , you might be fortunate enough to have a sighting of Vincent , our male hippo without the left ear ...ask your captain to tell you a little more about Vincent ...

ADVANTAGE CRUISER has luxury toilet facilities, a  full cash bar as well as tea/coffee facility,tuck shop , a variety of pre-packed snacks , a sophisticated Public Address system and comfortable spacious upholstered seats and is wheelchair friendly. 

Catering can be done by prior arrangement - more and more tour groups are making use of this facility to eat onboard whilst touring ,as this allows for more time to get to the next stop on your itinerary.

ADVANTAGE CRUISER operates 7 days a week, the journey lasts for 2 hours , and if need be, departure times can be negotiated to suit demand .

Our concession allows us to operate within a pristine part of the Wetland Park, and the boat complies with all the Park Authorities’ regulations and Department of Transport and SAMSA ( South African Marine Safety Authority ) Permits .

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A certain percentage of your ticket price is paid monthly by ADVANTAGE CRUISER, ST LUCIA TOURS and CHARTERS, to The Wetland Park Authority (renamed iSimangaliso Wetland Park), herewith the Park Authority enhances the state of roads in the Park, public facilities, picnic spots and ablution blocks, also for the training of new tour guides, and supporting the disadvantaged community and various other activities.
An additional R1-00 p.p. of your ticket price is paid directly to the Disadvantaged Community.