Kwa Zulu Natal

Kwa Zulu Natal

Known as the ‘garden province’ of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal is a well-watered land of rolling green hills and a magnificent Indian Ocean coastline stretching some 600km (370 miles) from Mozambique in the north to the Mtamvuna River in the south. Much of the region’s northern half is occupied by the historic territory of Zululand; inland, the countryside rises to the foothills and then to the massive heights of the Great Escarpment, here known as the Drakensberg (or as legend has it, ‘dragon mountain’). Durban is the province’s largest city; Pietermaritzburg, in the misty uplands 90km (56 miles) to the west, vies with Ulundi in the heart of Zululand to the north, for provincial capital status. KwaZulu-Natal’s predominantly rural economy is based on the vast sugar-cane plantations along its seaboard; other major commodities include tropical and subtropical fruits (pineapples, bananas), dairy products, timber and maize. Coal is mined in the Newcastle area. Seventy-five per cent of the province’s inhabitants are black, mainly Zulu-speakers. Some 15 per cent of the population are Indian, while white people account for the balance of 10 per cent.

Northern Kwa Zulu Natal Coast

Rich and diverse in plant and animal life, the Northern KwaZulu-Natal coastline boasts one of the world’s great wetland and marine sanctuaries. The Maputaland area stretches from the Lebombo mountains – up to the Mozambique border and down to the St Lucia estuary – across Northern KwaZulu-Natal and to the sea. This vast wilderness boasts 20 different ecosystems, including three lake systems (including Lake Sibaya, South Africa’s largest natural freshwater lake, and the Kosi Bay lakes with patches of mangrove swamp, and palm and sycamore fig forests). Maputaland is the southernmost distribution point for fish and birds, and they are concentrated here like nowhere else in South Africa. Here, off the coast of Northern KwaZulu- Natal in the Maputaland Marine Reserve, coral-encrusted reefs entice the snorkeller, and fishing (even for marlin) is excellent from Black Rock, a 15-minute drive from Rocktail Bay Lodge.

THE GREATER ST LUCIA WETLAND PARK
From the St Lucia Park north to Sodwana Bay and inland, incorporating Lake St Lucia, is an area comprising an intricate mix of lakes and lagoons, pans, marshland and swamps, sandy forests, palm veld and grassland as well as dunes, beaches and offshore coral reefs – collectively known as Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. The centrepiece of this huge conservation area is Lake St Lucia, an extensive, shallow estuarine system that teems with waterbirds, and is home to crocodile and hippo. Among the wildlife wonders of the world, gravid sea turtles – loggerheads and leatherbacks – come ashore to lay their eggs on the beaches. Visitor amenities include walking trails and excellent opportunities for game-viewing, bird-watching, boating, fishing, scuba diving and snorkelling. Don’t miss the Santa Lucia boat tour, which ferries visitors the length of the estuary. The wetland park, which gained World Heritage Site status in 2000, is part of a much bigger scheme – the Lubombo Spacial Development Initiative – which takes in other regional conservation areas together with parts of Swaziland and southern Mozambique.

Kwa Zulu Natal Safari Area - Maputaland

The warm, humid climate and the lush vegatation which support a variety of grasses, shrubs and trees, provide an ideal habitat for a great variety of animals and birds. The reserves offer comfortable accommodation, game-viewing roads and walking trails, as well as guided wilderness walks conducted by knowledgeable and competent rangers. Among the more prominent reserves are the Hluhluwe and iMfolozi Parks (formerly the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park). A magnificent area of woodland savanna and flood plain dominated for much of the year by the White and Black Mfolozi rivers in the south, and the Hluhluwe River in the north, they are a haven for the ‘big five’, as well as cheetah, giraffe, zebra, blue wildebeest, spotted hyena and wild dog. Famed for the rhino conservation programme, Operation Rhino, begun in the 1960s, the area sustains between 1500 and 2000 white rhinos today. The northern reaches of these reserves boast a rich compound of misty forests, grass-covered hills, dense thickets and enchanting rivers. The Hluhluwe and iMfolozi Parks sustain 84 mammal species and an impressive 425bird species. Mkhuzi is a 34,000ha (84014 acres) sanctuary  comprising savanna, woodland, and riverine forest (giant sycamore figs). The reserve is renowned for its pans, in particular spacious Nsumu Pan, which is haven for a myriad waterbirds. Bird hides have been established. It’s also home to hippo, giraffe, antelope and leopard. Accommodation includes a hutted camp and a bush camp. border running along the banks of the Pongolo River. Its varied wildlife includes black and white rhino, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, antelope, and an array of birds. Phinda Resource Reserve, bordering Mkhuzi sanctuary, is certainly one of the most upmarket in the country. Home to cheetah and four of the ‘big five’, Phinda has superbly sited lodges – on mountain, among rocks and in the heart of the riverine forest. Ndumo lies in the flood plain of the Pongolo River. The river and pans sustain 400 species of avifauna, among them Pel’s fishing owl and the southern banded snake eagle. There are also hippo and crocodile, rhino, giraffe and buffalo, and the shaggy-coated nyala. Tembe Elephant Reserve has been created to protect the remnants of southern Mozambique’s once-great elephant herds. The area is still under development, and while there are few elephants, the park is home to the shy suni antelope and the white rhino.

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

South Africa’s highest mountain range, the Drakensberg is a massive and strikingly beautiful rampart of deep gorges, pinnacles and saw-edged ridges, caves, overhangs and balancing rocks. In the winter months its upper levels  lie deep in snow, but clustered among the foothills far below, in undulating grasslands, is a score of resort hotels, many of them old-established, unpretentious venues created and maintained for the family holiday-maker. People come for the fresh, clean mountain air; for the walks, climbs and drives; for the gentler sports (trout fishing, golf, bowls and horseback riding); and for casual relaxation in the most exquisite of surrounds. Particularly recommended are the Northern (the Mont-aux-Sources area) and Central Drakensberg (Giant’s Castle to Cathedral Peak).

UKHAHLAMBA DRAKENSBERG PARK  
This is an extensive floral and wildlife sanctuary, home to antelope and about 200 bird species, among them the black (Verreaux’s) eagle, the bearded vulture (lammergeier) and the Cape vulture. Also noted for its scenic magnificence and its 30 or so charted walks, one of the park’s longer trails takes you up to the imposing Mont-aux- Sources plateau and its Amphitheatre; the excursion to Tugela Falls, where the river plunges into the pools below in a series of cascades; one stretch drops sheer for 183 metres (600 feet), making it the country’s highest waterfall. Horse-riding is popular in the Drakensberg, and numerous bridle paths cross scenically enchanting landscapes. All rides are accompanied by experienced guides. The park’s streams and dams offer fine fishing.

GIANT’S CASTLE GAME RESERVE
This reserve (part of the larger Drakensberg Park) offers scenic splendour, horseback riding, a stunning array of plant life (a large number of the Drakensberg’s 800 flowering species are found here) and a number of raptor species; bearded vultures are fed at hides or ‘vulture restaurants’, affording visitors the opportunity to study and photograph these majestic birds in their natural environment. The area is dominated by the Giant’s Castle and Injesuthi buttresses. The reserve is famed for its Bushman rock art, some of which is on view in the site museum.

Durban

South Africa’s third largest metropolis, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and foremost seaport (the harbour is Africa’s biggest and busiest and is ranked ninth in the world), Durban began life as the remote trading and white-hunter outpost of Port Natal. Today the city sprawls along the coast to the south, across the Umgeni River in the north, and up and beyond the Berea, a ridge of hills that overlooks the city centre, the beachfront and the bay. Durban and its subtropical surrounds are among the southern hemisphere’s best-known holiday playgrounds, popular for its superb swimming and surfing beaches, its hotels, restaurants and nightspots, its splendid shopping complexes, its excellent museums and galleries, its parks and gardens, its sporting amenities, and its social, business and entertainment calendar, particularly events at the Playhouse complex and the impressive Durban International Convention Centre. But much of the attraction lies along the seafront and harbour, which offers the historic Victoria Embankment, its Maritime Museum, and pleasure cruises from Ocean Terminal. The Golden Mile Durban’s beachfront, known as the Golden Mile, stretches six kilometres (four miles) along the sandy Indian Ocean shoreline and, in addition to the beaches (protected, as are most in and around Durban and the popular resort towns, by anti-shark nets) it offers much to the hedonist: paddling pools, pavilions, piers, amusement parks, colourful markets, and eating places. Apartment blocks and some of the country’s best-known hotels line the beachfront boulevard. Among the strip’s special features are the rickshaws, lightly built carts pulled by Zulu ‘drivers’, both elaborately decked out in beads, furs and streamers. Today the rickshaws survive exclusively as a tourist attraction. A short walk along the beachfront leads to another wildlife experience – the Fitzsimon’s Snake Park on Snell Parade, North Beach. The park contains a fine collection of exotic and indigenous species plus crocodiles, leguaans (iguanas) and terrapins. Open daily, demonstrations are held four times a day in the bustling tourist season; feeding time for the snakes and crocodiles occurs over the weekend. At 1 Bell Street is Durban’s uShaka Marine World, with its bottlenose and dusky dolphins as well as Cape fur seals entertaining throughout the day. One of Durban’s shopping complexes is The Wheel, a lively collection of speciality shops, restaurants, bars and cinemas in Gillespie Street and Point Road, and The Bazaar, which has over 80 stalls offering a wide range of products from leather goods to curios. For those who need a break from the noise and bustle, take a stroll to the Amphitheatre on Marine Parade (opposite the Holiday Inn Garden Court Hotel) – a sunken area of quiet lawns, flowers and fountains, footbridges and gazebos. A colourful flea market is held here every Sunday; traditional dances are performed and exotic dishes served on international theme days. Access to the Golden Mile can be difficult during the holiday season. The area is packed with people and cars; only the lucky find parking spaces. The best ways to get there from the city centre are by taxi, by conventional bus, by ‘mozziecab’ (adapted Suzuki jeep), or by the Tuk-Tuk three-wheelers that travel through the city to points along the beachfront. Or make your way there on foot: much of the strip is within comfortable walking distance of the central area – though not in the sweltering heat of a midsummer’s day (between December and March).

THE DURBAN COAST
The upmarket resort area of uMhlanga Rocks to the north of Durban boasts fine beaches, luxury hotels, holiday homes and apartments, excellent shops, and more than 30 restaurants. It is known for its safe bathing (particularly to the left of the lighthouse), and excellent surfing. The La Lucia residential suburb is one of the region’s most fashionable. The Dolphin Coast, quieter than the south, stretches for 90km (55 miles) just north of uMhlanga up to the Thukela River mouth. You can travel on either the N2, or the more interesting Old North Coast Road (M4). The old road runs a few kilometres inland, following the trade routes once used by the Zulu impis, and now serves the vast plantations and ‘sugar towns’ of the region, of which Tongaat is the ‘capital’.  aManzimtoti is a substantial resort town that offers a wide range of holiday accommodation, restaurants, bars, entertainment, marvellous stretches of sand, a lagoon and tidal pool (boats are available for hire), and angling from rock and beach. The nearby aManzimtoti Bird Sanctuary, Umdoni Road, is worth a visit: waterbirds, including the greenbacked heron, are prominent, and peacocks are plentiful; visitor facilities include bird-watching hides, a short walking trail, and cream teas at weekends. The Ilanda Wilds Nature Reserve is a small but beautiful and richly varied riverine haven for 160 species of bird and 120 of tree and shrub (there are nature trails and picnic spots). Southwards from aManzimtoti the coast is lined with scores of little towns, villages and hamlets, each with its own distinctive charm, most linked by the excellent N2 coastal highway. Prominent among these is Scottburgh, which boasts safe bathing, good fishing and Crocworld, which includes a complex of crocodile pens, a wildlife museum, a snake pit and a Zulu village where traditional dances are performed on Sunday afternoons. Port Shepstone boasts a fine golf course, and lively Margate (the hub of the so-called Hibiscus Coast and focus of annual festivals) offers beaches, a golf course, hotels and self-catering complexes, shops, restaurants and discos. Inland from Port Shepstone is the Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve, a magnificent expanse of rugged hills, deep valleys, emerald grassland and a spectacular canyon, and home of the shy samango monkey; for information, contact the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service. For excitement and glamour, the Wild Coast Sun casino resort offers lively round-the-clock entertainment, and is only one and a half hours from Durban, and easily accessible from the South Coast Road.

Battlefields

For most of the 19th century the Natal midland region was a battlefield, with Zulu, Boer and Briton fighting for supremacy. Military enthusiasts and historians will find the Battlefields Route (including Isandhlwana, Blood River, Rorke’s Drift, uLundi, Majuba Hill, Dundee, Bloukrans, Talana, Elandslaagte, Tugela Heights, Colenso, Ladysmith and Spioenkop) fascinating. Particularly notable is Rorke’s Drift, a garrisoned mission station whose British defenders heroically resisted a Zulu onslaught on 1 January 1879; no less than 11 Victoria Crosses were handed out after the engagement. At the African Craft Centre at Rorke’s Drift, you can view and buy hand-woven rugs and tapestries, handprinted fabrics and fine examples of Zulu pottery. The more important battle of Isandhlwana, where the Zulus wiped out a far bigger British force, lies to the east. One can either book a tour or embark on a self-guided drive around the area; call Pam McFadden, curator of the Talana Museum, tel: (034) 212-2654, or the local area publicity association for information (a beautifully produced selection of booklets, tapes and brochures is available). An intriguing optional extra for hire is the Walk ‘n Talk series of tapes (audio commentary plus sound effects as you stroll around).