KwaZulu-Natal is South Africa's most diverse province, offering grand mountains, fine tropical beaches, and exceptional wildlife encounters. Whether the focus of your travels is; a relaxing beach vacation, an exciting Big 5 Safari, or a private cultural tour of the province or its battlefields - Kwa-Zulu Natal offers a vacation option to enchant each traveler.
Need Advice?KwaZulu-Natal is a traveler's delight with sandy beaches, 'Big Five' safari areas, and some of the highest mountain peaks in South Africa. An advantage is visiting various highlights can be a manageable amount of traveling between destinations.
The top safari area in KwaZulu-Natal has the distinction of being the oldest national park in South Africa. This park played a leading role in restoring the black and white rhino numbers from the brink of extinction.
Luxury 'Big Five' safaris are available at the Phinda Private Game Reserve. The reserve is home to the 'Big Five' and at least seven different ecosystems where open 4X4 game drives are conducted.
Keen hikers and rock art enthusiasts will find a travel experience to the Drakensberg an enriching adventure. Spectacular scenery, crisp mountain air, and many outdoor country pursuits make this area an ideal getaway.
KwaZulu-Natal is a wonderful destination, as it offers so many unique attractions and natural regions close to one another. It is an ideal family vacation destination, offers some of the best golf courses in South Africa, game viewing in some of the oldest reserves in the country, and a long stretch of sub-tropical coastline washed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.
The province is also home to many historical sites and battlefields spanning several conflicts, not least the Anglo-Boer and Anglo-Zulu wars. From Blood River to Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift, history buffs will surely find a visit to KwaZulu-Natal an enriching experience.
From beachfront hotels to luxurious lodges set in pristine Big Five safari areas, KwaZulu-Natal offer something for everyone. We recommend considering the following properties.
A sand forest envelops the luxurious Phinda Forest Lodge in the premier private Big Five reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. Guest accommodation consists of sixteen glass-walled chalets.
The main national park camp in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi reserve offers basic but comfortable accommodations and splendid views of the surrounding wilderness, once the hunting ground of Zulu Kings.
Sixteen beautifully appointed suites offer some of the best accommodations in the northern Drakensberg, an area famous for its natural splendor and country pursuits.
Three Tree Hill Lodge overlooks the Spioenkop Game Reserve in the Foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains. It offers excellent service and an ideal base from which to explore battlefields.
We offer a wide range of vacations in KwaZulu-Natal, from family-friendly beach vacations to historic battlefield tours.
Suppose you are traveling on a private overland tour in KwaZulu-Natal. In that case, it will be in an air-conditioned vehicle that may vary depending on the size of your traveling party. All our vehicles are comfortable and adhere to strict safety standards.
On the other hand, if you are staying at one of the private game reserves in the province, like Phinda or Mkuze Falls, game drives are conducted on open-air 4x4 vehicles, which have been specifically modified for these purposes.
Durban Airport provides easy access to the north and south coasts and Midlands. The battlefields and the Drakensberg drive about four to five hours from Durban. Those wishing to visit the game parks of northern KwaZulu Natal should consider Richards Bay Airport. There are several daily flights from Johannesburg to both of these airports.
Traveling overland from Johannesburg to Durban is a drive of about seven to eight hours with one or two stops. We recommend that those choosing this option consider overnighting in the northern Drakensberg, which lies roughly halfway between Johannesburg and Durban.
The game areas of northern KwaZulu-Natal are best visited during the cool winter months from May to August. At this time, game viewing is at its finest. The summer months are excruciatingly hot in this region. The province's beaches are popular during the spring, summer, and autumn months, from September to the end of April.
You can visit the Drakensberg region and the primary battlefields throughout the year. These areas have temperate summers and some unique activities during the winter months when snow is relatively frequent.
Malaria is endemic to northern KwaZulu Natal, and you should consult your physician about anti-malaria prophylactics that will suit you.
It is prudent to consult local experts about areas in Durban that should and should not be visited. Like any major city, crime can be a problem.
The varied geographical areas KwaZulu-Natal is home to are protected in several national parks and private game reserves. The most notable of these are:
This national wildlife park, situated in the north of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, was established in 1895 as three different reserves before joining together in 1989. It is the oldest of its kind in Africa and has been instrumental in bringing the rhino back from the brink of extinction.
This reserve is currently home to the Big Five and a large diversity of other mammal species. Notably, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi is home to the world's largest population of white rhinos. Birdlife in the area is abundant. The park is a favorite destination for ornithologists the world over. In addition to its wildlife, the area is also rich in historical sites and artifacts. Some are displayed at Hilltop Camp and glimpse the area's past as a royal hunting ground for Zulu kings.
Ithala Game Reserve is one of the younger reserves found in South Africa. Its formation started in the 1970s with the acquisition of farms by conservation authorities. The landscape here is a rocky and mountainous one, with altitudes varying greatly between mountain tops and the valley of the Pongola River. Birdlife in the area is rich, with the most notable residents including a variety of different eagles, vultures, and other large bird species like secretary birds. Mammals found here are mostly larger herbivores like giraffes and browsers that feed on the typical Lowveld treetops that fill most of the beautiful slopes here.
The great Drakensberg mountain range, the largest of its kind in Southern Africa, is the centerpiece and cornerstone of this park. The mountains between this part of South Africa and Lesotho are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many animals are found here, even though the conditions are unlike most of South Africa, considering that only a handful of other places in Sub-Saharan Africa experience snow anytime. Klipspringer and reedbuck are some of the inhabitants adding to the area's natural splendor.
uMkhuze Game Reserve, with its rich biodiversity, is a wonderful mix of various habitats that all suit the needs of different game species found within KwaZulu-Natal, to the south, and the north in Swaziland and Mozambique. Its proximity to the coast endows the area with high rainfall, providing abundant water sources to sustain a higher density of animals than the Kruger National Park.
Isimangaliso incorporates the stunning Lake St. Lucia, which, in its prime, attracts birds from all around in an epic concentration of life. The protection of the park also encapsulates many other water sources. These include untainted white-sand beaches and rich ocean waters on the park's coastal side, perfect for fresh water and ocean fishing for most of the year. The park gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1999 after the rare oceanic life found off the coast and the biodiversity here was recognized and fully understood for the first time. Historically, this area is occupied by the Tsonga tribe, which owned most of the land from here to Maputo bay along the coast.
KwaZulu-Natal is home to many historical battlefields, most notably those of the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer wars. The most famous are listed below:
The battle at Isandlwana was one of the very first battles between the British Empire and the Zulu kingdom during the Anglo-Zulu War, in which the British invaded Zululand. This particular battle occurred on the 22nd of January 1879, when some 20 000 Zulu warriors got the order to attack a portion of the British. The Zulus overcame the British despite being armed mostly with traditional weapons, which were supposed to be no match for the firepower of the British army. The Zulu army lost around 1 000 soldiers that day, and more loss was to come their way as the British decided upon a more aggressive approach that would see them win the war and destroy the Zulu Kingdom.
This battle immediately succeeded the battle at Isandlwana. The fight again involved a Zulu attack upon the British, this time on the mission station of Rorke's Drift, named after the former owner of the old trading post - James Rorke. This battle was one the British won, as they successfully defended the station against between 3 000 and 4 000 Zulu soldiers that most probably also fought in the battle of Isandlwana. A mere 150 armed British men fended off the Zulus, who eventually retreated as they had been journeying for nearly a week by this time and had not eaten for the past two days.
This battle, between the Transvaal and Orange Free State on one side and the British Empire on the other, took place between the 23rd and 24th of January 1900 along the Tugela River of modern-day KwaZulu-Natal. It was one of the battles fought during the Second Boer War and resulted in a Boer victory. The battle started when the British saw an opportunity to gain an advantage around Ladysmith, a British town taken over by Boer forces at the time. A group of only a few soldiers readied themselves and went for the hill during the evening but were surprised to find a small group of Boers guarding or occupying the hilltop. As they got there, a battle broke out, and the Boers that could retreat to the town to alert the rest of the forces of the approaching danger. The battle ended with a significant number of Boers firing upon the British, resulting in 1 300 casualties for the latter.
One of the most notable and iconic battles in South Africa's history was between an Andries Pretorius-led group of some 470 Voortrekkers and some 15 000 to 21 000 Zulu Soldiers near the Ncome River on the 16th of December 1838. The Boer Voortrekkers outfought the Zulus, who had over 3000 casualties, while only suffering from light wounds. The Boers had achieved this in a straightforward but effective way.
The province of KwaZulu-Natal has seen many historical events and settlements, making it rich in natural biodiversity and history. Most of the western input started when British colonialists came here centuries ago to establish sugar cane plantations, worked by cheap labor imported from India. The area was proclaimed a British colony in the year 1843.
Many battles and wars have been fought in the region, with power and influence changing hands several times. The area was first ruled by the Zulu tribe, made legendary by the famous King Shaka. The British subsequently shaped it into a part of the newly westernized world. Followed by a handover to the Boer Republic in 1910, the province was ruled by South Africa's apartheid government between 1948 and 1994. It eventually became part of the democratic South Africa we know today.
The province's current name comes from a large homeland that existed here during the apartheid days, 'KwaZulu,' and the province as it was then, 'Natal.' The cultural diversity that can be found here is great thanks to all the different groups of people that have established themselves in the area, whether as enslaved people, indentured laborers, natives, or colonialists.
