Weather and Camp
What a great month! Even though February is a fairly slow month for travellers throughout Southern Africa, it's an excellent time to visiti Rocktail Beach Camp. A real highlight here is the overlap between nesting turtles and hatching nestlings - which we will discuss more in this month's turtle newsletter.
On the weather front, things have been somewhat unusual, and rain has been patchy. In defence of our rain god, other areas in the region have experienced above-average rainfall, which has helped crack the long drought that has been plaguing northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Marine Life
We touched on the excellent snorkelling at Lala Nek in the last newsletter - but it has become even better - if that is possible. According to Gugu and MB, our guides with a combined 40 years of experience in the area, the snorkelling is better now than it has been in many years. The bay in which we snorkel was scoured out by storms early in January and it seems that more and more silt is being removed as the months tick by. As more rock structure, with its associated micro-habitats, becomes exposed, more habitat is thus available for invertebrates and crustaceans. On a particular snorkelling excursion, seven new species were identified (i.e. not seen since the opening of Rocktail Beach Camp), and since then a further three species have been identified for our growing species checklist at Lala Nek.

Fishing
Fishing continues to improve, particularly for the kingfish species on artificial baits like fly and plugs. A cold water snap midway through the month upset catch records for a good ten days. The water went from 28° to 21°C (82° - 70°F) overnight; the severity of the drop overwhelming some fish that couldn't handle the sudden change and washed out on the shore. March and April are the golden months for fishing, but prepare yourself if you plan to wet a line - give the camp a call for an up-to-date report on fishing conditions.

Guest News
We have an announcement that will make all future guests very happy - tea and coffee is now available in all our rooms.
A most special event occurred this month, with the engagement of Keith to his lovely wife-to-be Tracey. As far as Tracey knew the weekend away was to celebrate Keith's birthday, but Keith had other plans... Unbeknownst to Tracey, he arranged a romantic dinner for two at the bird hide, while unbeknownst to Keith, Tracey did the same. The dinner was therefore no surprise to anyone, but the real intention was! The lovebirds were left to enjoy the evening alone and on their return to camp announced that Tracey was officially, and forever, off the market.

Camp Staff
Sadly Ondyne, our dive instructor, has left us for a future with her fiancé, Mark. We'll miss them both. Apart her commitment to guests and her unwavering patience and professionalism, she will be most dearly missed for her peanut butter butternut roast! We warmly welcome our new instructor, Catherine, fresh from the Caribbean.