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South Africa: Kwazulu-Natal

Overview

Kwazulu-Natal (sometimes called South Africa’s garden province) covers 92,100km2 (35,560mi2), which is only 7.6 per cent of the country, but houses over 20 per cent of its population. It offers a variety of attractions (probably more than any of South Africa’s other provinces), including Zulu culture (architecture, art, music and dance), big cities, beaches, mountains and wildlife. It’s also more politically unstable than any other province, the primarily Zulu political party Inkatha having a history of discord with the ruling ANC party, although there’s rarely any public manifestation of unrest and foreign visitors and homebuyers are largely unaffected. The coast has warm water and a pleasant, sub-tropical winter climate (although humidity can be high in summer), and this has been exploited with a 250km (15mi) strip of holiday and retirement homes at Margate, Port Shepstone and Umhlanga Rocks.

Along the northern coast of the province, the Maputaland region borders Mozambique. Maputaland is an intriguing mix of wilderness, wetland and lakes and is one of South Africa’s most isolated regions. Coral reefs lie off the coast at Sodwana Bay and the region has the country’s best scuba diving and snorkelling.

Kwazulu-Natal’s excellent game parks are concentrated in the north of the province, west of Maputaland. Some of them are almost the equal of Kruger (although not in size) and the most famous is probably the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park.

The middle of the province, around the Tugela River, was once designated the most English area of South Africa. It’s a pretty rather than impressive region, with sugar plantations and polo clubs.

The south-west of the province is occupied by part of the Drakensberg range. As well as being stunningly beautiful, it’s a hikers’ and fly-fishers’ paradise, as well as home to over 600 San rock art sites, comprising over 22,000 individual drawings and paintings, dating back between 8,000 and over 20,000 years.

Durban

The city of Durban, South Africa’s second-largest city, with a population of just over 2.7 million, lies in the southern half of this strip and is the province’s industrial centre and main harbour. It’s the largest port in Africa, one of the world’s ten largest harbours and one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the world. Cape Town is by far South Africa’s most inviting city for the visitor, but Durban comes a respectable second, offering an interesting blend of Zulu, Indian and white influences, sights, sounds and cuisines. It’s also known for its rampant, oversized vegetation.

Other Towns & Resorts

Around 80km (50mi) north-west of Durban lies Pietermaritzburg, the provincial capital and South Africa’s ninth-largest city, with a population of around 460,000. It’s a multicultural city with a high student population, a good art gallery and some attractive Victorian buildings. Another important town is Richards Bay, a significant coal export harbour, and there are several coastal resorts, including Margate, Port Shepstone and Umhlanga Rocks. In the interior, Eshowe is the centre of the sugar cane and forestry industries, Estcourt of meat processing, Newcastle of steel production and coal mining, and Ladysmith and Richmond of mixed agriculture.

Population

Kwazulu-Natal (sometimes called South Africa’s garden province) covers 92,100km2 (35,560mi2), which is 7.6 per cent of the country, has a population of 8.4 million (20.7 per cent of the total).

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