The lake is still in the morning. A grey heron lifts off in slow, elegant wingbeats. Somewhere beyond the reeds, there’s the unmistakable snort of a hippo. And under the soft hum of ripples lapping the bank, something quite extraordinary is quietly growing.
Grass.
When the Pongolapoort Dam (also known as Lake Jozini) was built, it created a living, shifting border between land and water. This shoreline, often flooded and exposed in by the rhythm of the seasons, has now become home to some of Royal Jozini’s most important grassland zones.
These are dynamic and responsive spaces alternate between damp silt, dry clay, and lush growth depending on the rainfall and dam levels. And it is precisely this movement that has created something special. Grass that thrives in the space between dry land and the water’s edge.
If you take a slow drive around the northern shoreline, you’ll likely spot great patches of Cynodon dactylon (couch grass) spreading low across the lake banks. This is a hardy, fast-growing grass that doesn’t mind a bit of sogginess and it comes back fast after floods.
Beside it, Panicum subalbidum finds its home in the silty, seasonally moist soils. This nutritious grass is a favourite among hippos, which leave behind clear grazing lines, almost as if the lawns were mowed by a very large herbivore with a good eye for tidiness!
These grasses are both functional and beautiful. They bring a softness to the water’s edge, bringing it to life with movement and colour, often dotted with spur-winged geese or the long-legged silhouette of a saddle-billed stork.
They are also an incredibly important part of the ecosystem at Lake Jozini.
The shoreline savannas have become essential feeding grounds for both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Hippos graze here nightly, moving in slow parades through the shallows. Antelope follow their lead in the early morning. And during the drier months, these grasslands offer one of the few remaining green spots, especially valuable when upper grasslands are dry or overgrazed.
For birders, the shoreline is a feast. With grasses attracting insects, and soft edges giving water birds space to nest and fish, the dam margins are now one of the reserve’s richest zones for biodiversity. And for us? These gently waving grasses are a reminder that sometimes, where land meets water, nature writes a whole new story.
Come and see it for yourself.
Book a spot, pack binoculars, bring a hat, and head to the lake’s edge. You might just find yourself alone with a hippo, a hammerkop, and the rustling sound of a living shoreline.
Want more? Read more:
Guide to Grasses of Southern Africa by Frits van Outdshoorn
Identification Guide to Southern African Grasses
South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) Grasslands Programme
WWF South Africa – Grasslands Programme
