Other popular tourist attractions in the capital are the African Bird of Prey Sanctuary, Butterflies for Africa, the Voortrekker Museum, and the KwaZulu-Natal National Botanic Garden with many rare and endangered plant species. Annual music festivals, monthly steam train excursions, weekend wine tasting sessions, a superb aquarium open 365 days of the year… KZN offers an exciting array of outings suitable to most tastes, ages and budgets. KwaZulu-Natal Tourism KwaZulu-Natal Hotels Tick off lifers in Ndumo Game Reserve (pictured above) Rising from its 800km of Indian Ocean coastline to the formidable 3000m-high escarpment of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is the most ecologically diverse of South Africa’s nine provinces. Tee up at the Wild Coast Country Club, whose spectacular coastal setting and rugged terrain – traversing hills, ravines, lakes and waterfalls – have earned it a place among the country’s top 10 golf courses. Spend a rainy day sheltering in Gateway Mall 5. Which experiences are best for cultural tours in KwaZulu-Natal? Cruise along Durban’s beachfront on the back of a rickshaw. It has a big city heart in Durban, the busiest port in Africa and centrepiece of one of the continent’s ten largest municipalities. Ascend the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg via Sani Pass 41. Also unearthed here is the earliest evidence of systematic counting: a 35,000-year-old notched baboon fibula resembling the calendar sticks used by Namibian hunter-gatherers to this day. Abseiling and whitewater rafting are also available. In addition to 390 shops and 70 restaurants under one very large roof, it is home to 18 cinema screens, an IMAX theatre, and a tantalising selection of indoor sports and adventure facilities, including a skating rink, a bowling alley, an indoor climbing rock, and the aquatic thrills of the so-called Wavepark. Depart Durban for KwaZulu-Na … Soar above spectacular Oribi Gorge Moreover the bloody 19th-century wars between the Zulus (who still comprise about 80 per cent of the population) and aspirant Boer and British settlers featured several battlefields here. Seek the Big Five in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi (pictured above) To set you on your way, Philip Briggs suggests 50 of the province’s top sights and activities. Appropriately housed in a colonnaded building that formerly served as Durban’s notorious Department of Native Affairs, the KwaMuhle Museum will give you chills as you learn about the development and application of apartheid in the city. Milan – The Fashion Capital Of The World. Mahlasela Hide is the best spot to see and photograph these impressive pachyderms in action. We have reviews of the best places to see in KwaZulu-Natal. Pay respects to the British and Zulu dead at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift (pictured above) White rhino usually visit several times daily and a steady stream of impala, nyala, warthog, zebra and baboon offer non-stop opportunities for you to shoot tight portraits. 25. Nelson Mandela Capture Site, Natal Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal. This course explores KwaZulu-Natal. Experience awe-inspiring world heritage sites such as the coastal iSimangaliso (Greater St Lucia) Wetland Park and the mountainous 'Barrier of Spears' in Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. This article was first published in issue 60, and has been updated. It’s just too hot for that - and besides, it takes too much energy. This means that host-guest interaction is inevitable. In recent years the extent of this phenomenon has waned and it has become less predictable and therefore more challenging to catch. The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg and Border Cave hold important relicts of early human habitation. 27. The next day, the same Zulu army attacked the mission at Rorke’s Drift, only to be repelled by a mere 150 British soldiers, 11 of whom were awarded the Victoria Cross. For the reasonably fit, the summit is an attainable goal for a tough day hike – ideally with an early start and a local guide. Ornithological hotspots include the mistbelt and coastal forests of the east, the wetlands and coastal scrub of iSimangaliso, and the undulating slopes of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg. Join samango monkeys swinging between the treetops on the Karkloof Canopy Tour, which connects eight elevated platforms in the vast tract of mistbelt yellowwood forest protected within Karkloof Nature Reserve. 33. Sandwiched between Hluhluwe-Imfolozi and iSimangaliso, Mkhuze Game Reserve lacks the former’s Big Five credentials or the latter’s spectacular coastal scenery. 13. Key attractions. The vast web of trails through the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg embraces everything from easy two-hour rambles to week-long wilderness hikes. Tembe Elephant Park is home to 250-plus elephants, including southern Africa’s three largest tuskers. Umgeni River Bird ParkIn the Riverside district, on the north bank of the Umgeni River, Umgeni River … KwaZulu Natal is one of the most picturesque and fun places to visit in South Africa.While there are many sightseeing attractions, historical sites and places of natural beauty to be seen, there are three family-friendly attractions not to be missed during your stay in KZN, South Africa. 2. 42. 16. If you’re interested in visiting South Africa, to explore KZN or elsewhere, speak to Mahlatini Luxury Travel. Enjoy the view at legend-shrouded Howick Falls (pictured above) The 125m aerial boardwalk through Dhlinza Forest Reserve, KZN’s most accessible patch of mistbelt forest, offers a rare opportunity to glimpse the region’s most diminutive antelope, the blue duiker. Find what to do today, this weekend, or in January. KwaZulu-Natal. The Top Ten Cultural Attractions in Mpumalanga. Catch a seaside tan and swim in the warm Indian Ocean KwaZulu Natal is a world in one province: to the North of Durban you will find the best of African game reserves and pristine beaches, to the West lie the majestic Drakensberg Mountains and temperate Midlands while to the South there await superb golf courses, fishing spots and … According to local lore, only sangomas (Zulu diviners) can safely approach the pool, so it’s perhaps fortunate that the seasonally spectacular waterfall can be observed at a safe distance from elevated viewing platforms in the town. 8. 26. KZN is steeped in history. KZN has a wide variety of places to see which are wonderful tourist attractions and include Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Park, Rhino Route, Lake Jozini, St Lucia Wetlands- a world heritage site - , Tuzi Gazi Waterfront, Ithala Game Reserve and many other tourist attractions in KwaZulu-Natal. Ideal for self-drive safaris, the rolling hills of the 960-square kilometre Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve support dense rhino populations, and elephant and buffalo are almost certain to be encountered over a couple of days here. KZN is an endlessly rewarding outdoors destination. Gaze up at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue in Pietermaritzburg, which commemorates the expulsion of the young Indian lawyer from a ‘whites only’ carriage at the city’s railway station in 1893. These social impacts can be seen as … 649 likes. The city is known for its splendid Indian Ocean frontage and balmy subtropical climate, as well as its lively and cosmopolitan character that reflects its rich mix of Zulu, Indian and British heritage. Board the Umgeni Steam Train, one of the last locomotives of its type in South Africa, as it puffs its way between Kloof and Inchanga, usually on the last Sunday of the month. 11. Among the most underrated of KZN’s 50 or so provincial reserves, Oribi Gorge protects an immense river canyon hemmed in by sheer euphorbia-studded cliffs. Safarigoers hoping to complete the Big Five stand a good chance of spotting both lion and leopard. Also recommended are Main Cave in Giant’s Castle Game Reserve and the Didima Rock Art Centre near Cathedral Park. The sole vehicle track to breach the 200km-long escarpment dividing KZN from Lesotho, the 4WD-only Sani Pass switchbacks up the Mkhomazana River Valley to a 2865m summit near Sani Top Chalets (12km south of Southern Africa’s highest peak Thabana Ntlenyana). KZN isn’t all just beaches, safaris and mountains. 19. For the British, the impact of this loss was widespread, with three leading football grounds even renaming a stand in commemoration (most famously The Kop at Liverpool’s Anfield).