Beachwood Mangroves

The Beachwood Mangrove Reserve is an important estuarine habitat at the mouth of the Umgeni River in Durban. It consists of mangrove swamp forest covering an area 76 hectares in extent and black mangrove, red mangrove, and the white mangrove may be seen. On the shoreline, there are sand dunes where creeping plants and pioneer scrub are to be found. There is some birdlife, including the Mangrove Kingfisher, Curlew and Water Dikkop.

The Reserve was proclaimed in 1977 and has an activities centre and thatched gazebo which are available to educational groups and other interested parties. A bird hide is situated along a trail in the mangrove swamp and there is a boardwalk into the mangrove forest and a footbridge crossing the river on the path to the sea shore. The site is administered by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife who can provide additional information and accept bookings.