The houseboat's dining deck at sunset: a long table set with white linen, candles and greenery, woven pendant lamps overhead, the lake glowing gold through open glass sides

South Africa  ·  Lake Jozini, Zululand

Shayamanzi Houseboats

South Africa's first and only houseboat: cruise Lake Jozini beneath the Lebombo Mountains, watch the Pongola Game Reserve from the water, and try tiger fishing.

Shayamanzi was the first houseboat in South Africa, and it remains the only one of its kind, which gives it a certain swagger before you have even stepped aboard. It cruises Lake Jozini, also known as Pongolapoort Dam, with the Lebombo Mountains standing along one side and the Pongola Game Reserve along the shore.

A safari from the water is a different animal. The lake is calm, the horizon is long, and the wildlife of the reserve comes to the edge on its own terms while you watch from a deck that happens to be moving. It is difficult to feel hurried on a houseboat. Most people stop trying by the first afternoon.

Guests fishing from a small tender at sunset, rods raised against a golden sky, the houseboat moored along the far shore of the lake
Lines out at sundown, the houseboat beyond
It is difficult to feel hurried on a houseboat. Most people stop trying by the first afternoon.

For those who need something to do with their hands, there is tiger fishing, which is thrilling in the way that only a fish with an attitude can be. For those who need something to do with their legs, there is mountain biking through the Zululand bushveld.

Shayamanzi is about taking time out to appreciate Africa's particular wonders, and it does so at a stately pace.

01

On board

A cabin bed scattered with bougainvillea petals and folded towels, sliding glass doors open onto the green water and bush of the lakeshore
Cabin, petals, lake
A glass of sparkling wine held up against the glittering lake, a South African flag and two tenders trailing behind the boat
A glass on deck
Two children lie on the bow of a boat looking out across the calm lake to the Lebombo Mountains
Bow seats, Lebombo Mountains ahead

02

On the water

A girl at the deck rail shields her eyes to look out across the choppy lake toward distant mountains
Scanning the lake
A woman in a red dress holds a fishing rod out over the calm, softly lit water
A line in the water

Shayamanzi Houseboats

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