Remote. Coastal. Peaceful. And a UNESCO World Heritage Site to boot. If that hasn’t whetted your appetite about Kosi Forest Lodge, we’ll keep trying.
The is the place to see a forest in the sand, canoe along picturesque lakes and perhaps capture a photo of a vulture that prefers peeling fruit to pecking at animal carcasses.
There’s plenty that’s out of the ordinary and off the grid to see and experience when you stay at Kosi Lodge. How much of it you choose to sample is down to you.
Thatch meets canvas and glass in this collection of half a dozen rooms in the forest. There’s a generous amount of space between each, so you never feel overlooked and can enjoy a good degree of privacy, handy when you consider that your ensuite bathroom is open air.
There’s an open air boma too where you can enjoy al fresco meals. Your room is elevated on a wooden deck above the sandy forest floor, which allows for excellent views of the trees and wildlife from your bedroom and balcony.
Children are warmly welcome here, with those aged 3 and under staying for free. The pair of family rooms in the lodge each contains two connected chalets which have indoor shower rooms and a shared outdoor shower and boma bath.
Just in case the lakes and coast don’t give you the chance to experience enough water, there’s a swimming pool at the camp overlooking Lake Shengeza. You’ll likely find one or more of the other guests in the pool or sitting around its edge sipping something cool and refreshing, perhaps while watching a family of hippo relaxing in and around the nearby lake.
As with nearly every contemporary camp, the menu at Kosi Forest is rich with ethically sourced, sustainable products for guilt-free eating. Most meals are served outdoors under the natural canopy provided by the forest’s branches and leaves, although there is a covered dining area where you may prefer to take your breakfast and dinner. Heading to the bar after dinner seems to be a popular option.
With so much water all around the forest and the coast, it should come as no great surprise that many of the activities on offer are water based. Canoeing on the Kosi Lakes is worth booking, as is snorkelling and fishing if you’re into those. Plus you can enjoy boat trips, day trips to the beach and an expedition to track turtle.
Away from the water, you can walk a trail through the Raffia Palm Forest with an expert guide leading the way and showing you what’s what.
Hopefully you’ll be lucky enough to see a fish eagle or the world’s only fruit-eating vulture. These can be viewed from the bird hide at Kosi Lodge that lets you get eyes on the skies without raising any suspicion about your presence among the many feathered species that call iSimangaliso home.
Kosi Forest Lodge is part of Isibindi Africa Lodges, a family-owned collection established in 1996 by Brett and Paige Gehren. The group includes four distinctive properties in Southern Africa: Kosi Forest Lodge and Thonga Beach Lodge in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, and Tsowa Safari Island in Zimbabwe’s Zambezi National Park. Known for combining high-end, low-impact hospitality with deep, long-term partnerships with neighbouring communities and conservation areas, Isibindi Africa offers guests experiences that are both luxurious and meaningful.
The Isibindi Foundation, launched in 2019, channels guest levies and donations into community upliftment and conservation projects linked to each lodge. These initiatives include education, food security, rhino protection, marine conservation and wetland preservation. With all administrative costs covered by Isibindi Africa, every contribution goes directly to the projects themselves. Guests can also join guided community visits to see this work in action.
Staying at Kosi Forest Lodge, or any of the Isibindi Africa properties, means being part of a “journey with purpose” – enjoying extraordinary travel experiences while directly supporting local communities and protecting the natural environments that make these destinations so special.
"A dream come true"
We had the most amazing family holiday, everything worked so perfectly, the arrangements and accommodation was spectacular!
"Unforgettable trip to Namibia – Thank you Namibia Tours & Safaris!"
We are a group of four from Romania and spent 3 unforgettable weeks in Namibia. We can't recommend them enough, and for any future travels in Namibia or other parts of Africa, we will definitely use their services again.
"We had a great experience"
From the time we put the key in the ignition till we boarded the plane in Windhoek nothing went wrong.
"Unforgettable bird photography trip in Namibia"
It was a fantastic experience, everything was very well organised, went smooth and according to expectations. It was our first self drive in Africa and it was a great, unforgettable time.
