The Tranquila Bird Hide is situated just off the N2 at Stanger, some 70km north of Durban. The hide overlooks a large settling pond which is bordered by reeds and sometimes covered by rafts of water hyacinth. A variety of wader and waterfowl species are attracted in fairly large numbers, and the hide provides an opportunity to view a number of difficult wetland species. A visit to the Sappi Stanger Bird Hide can be combined with a visit to Jex Estate at the Umvoti river Mouth.
Some of the special birds that have been recorded include:
Goliath Heron, Baillon's Crake, Black Crake, Greater Painted-snipe, Yellow Wagtail (in summer), Little Rush-Warbler, Lesser Swamp-Warbler, Sedge Warbler, African Marsh-Harrier, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, and Black-throated Wattle-eye.
Small flocks of Greater Flamingos and Great White Pelicans are often seen in front of the hide together with an array of ducks, cormorants and waders.
Recorded vagrants include Spotted Crake, Lesser Moorhen and Pectoral Sandpiper.
Sappi Stanger Mill
Stanger Mill is unique in South Africa in that it uses bagasse as its basic raw material to manufacture coated and uncoated woodfree papers. The mill is ideally situated in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal sugar cane fields, offering a ready supply of bagasse fibre. We also produce 30,000 tons of tissue per year.
The technology of pulp and paper manufacturing is dynamic and continually advancing as are the demands placed upon paper by end-users. In order to satisfy the steady increasing demands placed on print and packaging media, new products, methods and equipment are constantly being evaluated. In line with our overall goal of improvement, technical advances at Stanger Mill are achieved through product and process development.
Please be reminded that it is necessary to collect the keys from the Sappi Mill Gates.