Everything about Kwazulu-natal totally explained
KwaZulu-Natal, often referred to as "
KZN", is a
province of
South Africa. Prior to
1994 the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the
province of Natal and all pieces of territory that made up the
homeland of
KwaZulu.
In the
1830s the northern part was the kingdom of
Zululand and southern part was briefly a
Boer republic called
Natalia. In the
1840s the latter became the British
Colony of Natal, though Zululand (KwaZulu in Zulu) remained independent until
1879. It is called the garden province and is the home of the
Zulu nation. Located in the southeast of the country, it borders three other provinces and the countries of
Mozambique,
Swaziland, and
Lesotho, along with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean.
Geography
The province has three different geographic areas. The lowland region along the
Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province. The central region is the
Natal Midlands and is an undulating hilly plateau rising towards the west. Two mountainous areas, the
Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the
Lebombo Mountains in the north. The
Drakensberg is a solid wall of
basalt rising over 3000m skyward near the
Lesotho border, whilst the
Lebombo Mountains are ancient
granite mountains forming low parallel ranges running southward from
Swaziland. The
Tugela River flows west to east across the center of the province and is the region's largest river.
The coastal regions typically have
subtropical thickets and deeper ravines and steep slopes hosts some true
Afromontane Forest. The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of
Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist
savanna habitat, whilst the
Drakensberg region hosts mostly
alpine grassland.
The former
Eastern Cape enclave of the town of
Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the
Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made other changes to the southern border of the province.
Climate
KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is
subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder.
Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28°C (min: 21°C), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23°C (min: 11°C). Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with
Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter.
Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30°C in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The
Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The
Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity.
Borders
KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho:
- Maputo Province, Mozambique - far northeast
- Lubombo District, Swaziland - northeast, east of Shiselweni
- Shiselweni District, Swaziland - northeast, west of Lubombo
- Mokhotlong District, Lesotho - southwest, north of Thaba-Tseka
- Thaba-Tseka District, Lesotho - southwest, between Mokhotlong and Qacha's Nek
- Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho - southwest, south of Thaba-Tseka
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
- Mpumalanga - north
- Free State - west
- Eastern Cape - southwest
Municipal structure
KwaZulu Natal is divided into 11
districts. One of these,
eThekwini is a
metropolitan municipality and the other 10 are
district municiplalities.
Amajuba
Zululand
Umkhanyakude
uThungulu
Umzinyathi
Uthukela
Umgungundlovu
iLembe
eThekwini *
Ugu
Sisonke
Coastline
The coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs. The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern Florida in the United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer. As one moves further north up the coast towards the border of Mozambique, the climate becomes almost purely tropical. North of Durban is locally referred to as "The North Coast", while south is "The South Coast". The Kwazulu-Natal Tourist board
includes towns like Margate, Port Shepstone, Scottburgh and Port Edward in its definition of what constitutes the South Coast, while Ballito, Umhlanga and Salt Rock are quintessentially North Coast resort towns.
Superb beaches of world-class quality are to be found along virtually every part of South Africa's eastern seaboard, with some of the least developed gems found in the far southern and far northern ends of the province's extents. The beach at Marina Beach (and its adjoining resort San Lameer) was recognized in 2002 as a Blue Flag beach.
An extraordinary natural phenomenon that's witnessed annually on the KwaZulu-Natal coast during late autumn or early winter is the "sardine run". Also referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northwards along the Eastern Cape coastline towards KwaZulu-Natal following a path close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches along the coast. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres and is followed and preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish, sharks, dolphins and seabirds. Usually the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Many questions surrounding this exceptional event remain unanswered.
Hilly interior
The interior of the province consists largely of rolling hills from the Valley of a Thousand Hills to the Midlands. These have been the subject of literature. Alan Paton, in the novel Cry, the beloved country, said:
» There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they're lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there's no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there's grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand.
History
Vasco da Gama of Portugal saw the coast of Natal on Christmas Day 1497. Christmas in Portuguese is 'Natal', which gave rise to the original name for the region. Its territory was once part of a short-lived Boer republic between 1839 and its annexation by Britain in 1843.
When the homeland of KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of Apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal which had existed between 1910 and 1994 was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy, and the majority population and language of the province is Zulu. It is also the only province in South Africa which includes the name of its dominant ethnic group in its name.
Provincial coat of arms
The supporters, the lion and the wildebeest, are symbols of the regions that were joined to create KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu and Natal Province respectively. The zig-zag stripe is representative of the Drakensberg mountains.
Further Information
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