Originally established in 1932 to protect elephant population in the area, the land part is often referred as the Elephant Reserve. Large herds graze in the open floodplains and explore the thick dune forests.
The land area combines lakes, wetlands, swamp forests, grasslands and mangrove forests with a pristine coastline that lies within the Maputaland Centre of Endemism.
Several distinct waterbodies define the fresh and saline coastal lake system area.
Rivers include the Futi and Maputo. The largest lakes are Piti, Xinguti and Munde lakes.
Riverine and estuarine wetland systems provide a special habitat for various communities of species. These include sea grass bed, mangrove, saline and freshwater hygrophilous, grasslands, reed – and sedge beds as well as swamp forest.
