Zululand history, King Shaka, Ulundi, Eshowe and Richards Bay are some of the terms associated with thie world-renowned region of KwaZulu-Natal's Zululand.
The sheer majesty of Zululand will take your breath away. Under the hot African sun, the cobalt blue Indian Ocean, mangrove swamps and limpid lagoons give way to rolling green hills and indigenous forests which shimmer in the distance before they reach the Drakensberg Mountains.
While you are in Zululand, enjoy the welcoming wide smiles extended to you by the local people. Enjoy the comfortable accommodation in major towns, game lodges, to seashore cottages, Zulu homes or floating lake chalets.
Zululand teems with private and provincial game reserves which offer game-watching facilities as well as hiking and nature trails.
But it is probably 'the Zulu experience' which will linger in your mind long after you have left Zululand. Take an ox wagon to Zulu villages of bee-hive huts and experience traditional Zulu hospitality, or a rural wedding ceremony, and if you wish, visit a sangoma (traditional healer). You cannot leave without a visit to Ulundi, the site of the final battle fought in the Anglo-Zulu war. Nearby, Zulu kings lie buried in the Emakhosini Valley. In total contrast are the township tours showcasing modern Zulu life including taverns, shebeens and traditional medicine shops.
Further inland lie tea plantations, cattle ranches and pretty, historical towns such as Vryheid and Paulpietersburg where you can relax in the therapeutic sulphur springs.
Zululand, the heart and pulse of the Zulu Kingdom
If you are interested in touring or learning more about Zululand please use the following menu and links.
If you would like to receive a brochure on Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, please send an email requesting one to kznta@iafrica.com.
Originally part of a land grant to European farmers in 1885 by King Dinizulu, Babanango remains a centre of agriculture and is ideally situated for visitors wanting to explore the Zululand and the Battlefields Route.
The name Babanango translates as 'Father there it is' - indicating the high hill which is a landmark of the area.
Empangeni
In 1851, the Norwegian Missionary Society established a station on the banks of the Mpangeni River. The river was named after the profusion of Mpange trees growing along its banks, and the settlement that formed around the station took the slightly Anglicised name of the river.
Empangeni is a thriving, friendly Zululand town in the beautiful surroundings of the Mpangeni Valley.
Empangeni Art & Cultural Museum
A fascinating museum boasting regular temporary exhibitions and a permanent display including Zulu heritage art and the Harrison collection of the pioneer sugar farmers.
A small village near Empangeni housing a sugar mill labour force. The sugar mill here is one of the largest in the country.
Eshowe
Eshowe's cool, elevated position on a hilltop overlooking the hot and humid Zululand coastal plain gives the town its serenity, but the Dlinza Forest around which the town wraps itself, gives Eshowe it soul.
Gingindlovu
Gingindlovu, in the Zululand area of KwaZulu-Natal owes its origins to the military headquarters established in the mid-1800s by the future Zulu king Cetshwayo, following his triumph against his brothers in a bloody battle for succession at Ndondakusuka. Cetshwayo named his headquarters Gingindlovu, or Swallower of the Elephant, for it was said that by defeating his brothers - Prince Mbulazi in particular- he had eaten up the greatest opponent to his ambitions.
To the British soldiers who fought two major battles against King Cetshwayo's army at Gingindlovu 20 years later during the Anglo Zulu War, the village was known fondly as 'Gin, gin, I love you'.
Magudu
Many private game farms, hunting lodges and safari guides operate from this magnet for international trophy collectors. Magudu is also the site of a historical village that was once home to Magudu, the Zulu rain queen.
Melmoth
When the British government annexed Zululand in 1887 and established several magisterial districts, it was decided to administer that of Mthonjaneni from a town named after the resident commissioner - Sir Melmoth Osborn.
Melmoth is situated in a lush green mist belt 800m above sea-level. Melmoth is a long established trading and agricultural centre, with an emphasis on timber. The area embraces one of the largest conservancies in KwaZulu-Natal, plus a major bird sanctuary of the Zululand Birding Route.
Mtunzini
The Zulu word "emthunzini" means "a place in the shade" but in the history of this beautiful small coastal town it refers specifically to the place under the milkwood trees near the Umlalazi River where the White Zulu chief, John Dunn, would meet with the tribal elders of the area.
Visiting this Zululand town today gives exactly that feeling - a place in the shade.
Blessed with a sub-tropical climate (humid summers and mild winters) and a high annual rainfall, Mtunzini - or The Village, as the locals often refer to it - boasts a clean, safe, peaceful and abundant environment with a stunning outlook over the Umlalazi Nature Reserve and the sea.
Nongoma
Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, considered one of the busiest little towns in rural KwaZulu-Natal, lies north west of Hluhluwe and is fast becoming a major tourist attraction, thanks to King Goodwill Zwelethini, who makes Nongoma his home.
Derived from the Zulu word, "ngome" - the mother of songs - Nongoma was originally established in 1888 as a buffer between two warring Zulu factions to try to establish peace in the area. Today, the hereditary leader of Zululand has his royal palaces here and has opened these to the public. Local businessman, Mlungisi Percy Nzuza, who owns Nongoma Lodge, is a driving force behind local tourism in the town and arranges dinners at which members of the royal family appear to chat informally to visitors about the Royal House and the traditions of the Zulu people.
Paulpietersburg
Paulpietersburg is a small, pretty town nestling in the foothills of the Dumbe Mountain - a big, flat-topped, triangular mountain in the middle of flatlands territory, popular with paragliders and hikers and named after the wild dumbe fruit which grows on its slopes.
Paulpietersburg is also on the Rainbow Route, an alternative means of reaching the coast that starts in Mpumalanga and passes through Paulpietersburg, Vryheid, Melmoth, and Piet Retief and ends in the town of Mtunzini. Paulpietersburg is only 3.5 hours' drive from Johannesburg and Durban and popular with visitors because of the nine hot and cold mineral water pools at the Natal Spa just 9 km outside of town. The spa is fed by a natural, hot spring that surfaces on the southern approaches to the 1 536m Dumbe Mountain.
Pongola
Pongola is a small town situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, only 10 kilometres from the Swaziland border. Pongola has 50 km² of sugarcane and subtropical fruit plantations surrounding it. During the Depression years of the 1930s, drastic irrigation systems were started in Pongola. The town of Pongola thrived as a result of the canal system and a sugar mill that was built.
Considered as the jewel of Kwa-Zulu Natal, uPhongolo or Pongola is now said to be "Right at the Heart of the Zulu Kingdom". Road access to the area is via the N2 from Gauteng and Natal and the Golela Border post from Swaziland - a major gateway to the area for foreign visitors traveling south from the Kruger Park. Distances from all major centers are: Johannesburg 420km, Durban 380km and 270km south of the southern gates of the Kruger National Park.
Richards Bay
Richards Bay was named after British naval commander Rear Admiral Sir Frederick William Richards, who landed troops on the Zululand coast in 1879, this was a small fishing village until the port was opened in 1976. Richards Bay now boasts the largest export coal terminal in the world - loading 65 million tons every year - and the specialised ships that call are a must-see for maritime buffs. The enormous operations of Richards Bay Minerals top the list of industrial tourism opportunities for the curious-minded.
Ulundi
Situated in the heart of the old Zulu kingdom and current KwaZulu-Natal Zululand region, which lost its independence to Colonial expansionism in the late 19th century, Ulundi is near the site of King Cetshwayo’s royal settlement – razed to the ground after the final battle of the Anglo-Zulu War.
Vryheid
Vryheid was once the capital of the Nieuwe Republiek, and incorporated into the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, in 1884. Vryheid (Freedom) became a focal point for German immigration which continues to inform this modern, progressive town. Many examples of Tudor and Edwardian architecture stand among the numerous historic landmarks of Vryheid.
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