KwaZulu-Natal

I

Introduction

KwaZulu-Natal, province in eastern South Africa, bordered on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the south by Eastern Cape province, on the west by Free State province and Lesotho, and on the north by Mpumalanga province, Mozambique, and Swaziland. A small portion of Eastern Cape forms an enclave in the south. The province was formed in 1994 by the merger of Natal, one of the four former South African provinces, and KwaZulu, a former Bantustan (or black homeland) created for Zulu-speaking people as part of the government’s system of apartheid.

II

Physical Geography

The province has an area of about 92,100 sq km (35,560 sq mi) and can be divided into three geographical zones: a lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast; rolling plains in the central section of the province; and a mountainous area including two ranges, the Drakensberg in the west and the Lebombo Mountains in the far north. The Drakensberg range has South Africa’s highest mountains, including Champagne Castle (3,375 m/11,072 ft), Cleft Peak, Monk’s Cowl, eNdumeni, and Cathkin Peak. The northern part of the province, to the south of the Swaziland border, is mainly savannah grassland, which provides a suitable habitat for a rich variety of wildlife. National parks and game reserves in the province include Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999; Ukhahlamba/Drakensberg Park, also a World Heritage Site (since 2000); Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park; and Tembe Elephant Park. At Dukuduku and Kosi Bay, in the north-east of the province, there are areas of subtropical indigenous coastal forest.

The climate is subtropical: average temperatures in the province range from 17° to 28° C (63° to 82° F) in the warmer part of the year (October to April) and from 11° to 25° C (52° to 77° F) in the colder months. Annual rainfall totals about 690 mm (27 in), with rain falling most months of the year.

III

Population

KwaZulu-Natal is the most populous province of South Africa, with a population of 9,651,100 (2005 estimate). The capital of KwaZulu-Natal, since 2004, is Pietermaritzburg (population, 2001, 223,518), which was the former capital of Natal. Ulundi (1996, 339,715) was a royal capital of the Zulu kingdom in the 19th century and became the administrative capital of the former Bantustan KwaZulu in the 1970s. In 1995 a commission of inquiry recommended that government sittings alternated between Ulundi and Pietermaritzburg, but in 2004 Pietermaritzburg became the official provincial capital. The port of Durban (2001, 3,090,122) is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and one of the largest harbours in the world. Other important towns include Dundee; Estcourt; Ladysmith; Newcastle (2001, 44,119), a steel and coal centre; Port Shepstone; Richards Bay, a port that primarily serves as an outlet for coal exports; Umlazi (1991, 299,275); and Vryheid.

The majority of the people that live in KwaZulu-Natal are Zulu, but the province has the largest share of the country’s Asian population—almost 85 per cent are black Africans and over 8 per cent are Asian. The main languages are Zulu (81 per cent), English (14 per cent), Xhosa (2.3 per cent), and Afrikaans (1.5 per cent). Universities and institutions of higher education in the province include the University of Zululand, in Kwa-Dlangezwa; the Durban University of Technology, in Durban and Pietermaritzburg; and the Mangosuthu Technikon, in Umlazi, as well as a regional campus of the University of South Africa, in Durban. The University of KwaZulu-Natal was established in 2004 following the merger of the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville—teaching takes place at campuses in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

IV

Places of Interest

Important historical sites of interest in the province include Blood River, the site of a battle between Afrikaners and Zulu in 1838; Isandhlwana, the site of a battle between the British and Zulu in 1879; and the site of Dukuza in the present town of Stranger, the royal capital of Shaka, the Zulu chief from 1816 to 1828. Some of the most well known places of cultural interest in the province are located in Durban. These include the Natural Science Museum, with wildlife and natural history exhibits including the skeleton of a dodo; the Kwa-Muhle Museum, which is dedicated to 20th-century African urban life; and Durban Art Gallery, featuring an impressive collection of South African art and craftwork. Museums and cultural institutions in Pietermaritzburg include the Natal Museum, focusing on the geology and natural history of the region; the Macrorie House Museum, with clothes, furniture, and jewellery from the British Victorian period; and the Tatham Art Gallery, featuring artwork by 19th- and 20th-century European Impressionist and Modernist painters.