Margate is a coastal resort town in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province, about 20 kilometres southwest of Port Shepstone. The river which flows into the sea at Margate is called "Nkhongweni" ''(place of entreaty)'' as the original inhabitants of the area were reputed to be so mean resulting in travellers begging for hospitality. It is one of the major hubs for tourists who are looking to visit the eastern coastline of South Africa.

History

In 1908, Henry Richardson, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

surveyor laid out the town and named it

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

after another seaside resort on the northern coast of the county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Margate hit the world headlines in 1922 (although this date is often disputed and stated as 1924) when an enormous, white, furry creature (dubbed "

Trunko Trunko is the nickname for a large unidentified lump of flesh or a decomposed sea creature, a so-called " globster", reportedly sighted in Margate, South Africa on 25 October 1924. The initial source for Trunko was an article entitled "Fish Lik ...

" due to it having an elephantine trunk) was washed up on the beach. The "Margate monster" was too decomposed to be identified.

Geography

Margate is located on a series of hills overlooking the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

with the altitude rising from Margate Beach and the CBD on the coastline to Margate Airport, the highest point of Margate. Margate is located about 15 km south-west of Port Shepstone and 127 km southwest of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. It is situated between

Uvongo Uvongo is a seaside resort in the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast at the mouth of the Vungu River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Uvongo is the largest upmarket residential area on the lower South Coast. The Vungu River has a waterfall that flows into ...

and

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

in which Uvongo lies north and Ramsgate lies south. Margate's Central Business District (CBD) similarly to the nearby towns of Shelly Beach and Uvongo is stringed along 'Marine Drive' with several business and hotels stringing from Margate Hotel to Desroches Hotel.

Communities

The greater area of Margate includes 13 suburbs with some being formally independent communities (eg. Shelly Beach), extending from Shelly Beach in the north to Ramsgate South in the south. It includes the following suburbs: *Beacon Rocks *Lawrence Rocks * Manaba Beach *Margate Beach *Margate North Beach *

*Ramsgate Beach *Ramsgate South * Shelly Beach * St Michael's-on-sea *

*Uvongo Beach *Windsor-on-Sea Apart from these listed suburbs, Margate Extension 3 and 7 located west of the R61/N2 form part of Margate proper but are not official suburbs of the town.

Economy

Retail

Margate is one of the largest retail nodes on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast with a large concentration of shopping centres and other retail facilities. The town has four shopping centres (excluding those of Greater Margate- eg. Shelly Centre) and include: * Emoyeni Centre which has Checkout as its anchor tenant is located in the precinct of the Margate Taxi Rank, just above/west of the CBD. * Hibsicus Mall, the largest shopping centre in Margate which has

Checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...

as its anchor tenant is located above the CBD, on Wartski Drive * Margate Centre is a small shopping centre which has PicknPay as its anchor tenant is located adjacent to the Hibiscus Mall on the corner of Wartski Drive and National Road. It has * Margate Mall, popularly known as 'Shoprite Mall' has Shoprite as its anchor tenant and is located on Marine Drive in Margate's CBD Nearby and larger shopping centres in the vicinity of Margate are

Southcoast Mall Southcoast Mall is a shopping centre located in Shelly Beach on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the second largest shopping centre on the South Coast after Shelly Centre and mainly serves the Lower South Coast region. ...

and Shelly Centre, both located in Shelly Beach.

Tourism

With Margate being a major seaside resort, majority of its economy comes from tourism. Signs of this can be found on the coastline where hotels and holiday accommodation apartments lie. Reputable hotels and holiday accommodation in Margate include the Margate Hotel, Margate Sands, Seagull Holiday Flats and the Desroches Hotel. It features

Blue Flag Beaches The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-g ...

for swimming, snorkelling, and surfing. Many apartment buildings offer accommodation for residents and visitors. It also contains a shopping street and many restaurants, pubs, and nightclubs, Margate is a spot where many

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics South ...

and foreign visitors spend their vacation. Margate is busiest during school and public holidays when inland residents travel to the coast.

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

and

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

are especially busy times, with Margate's main street often clogged with heavy traffic during these times. Margate is one of the most visited tourist destinations in South Africa and had the third highest inflow of new visitors in December 2019 in South Africa after

Plettenberg Bay Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed Plet or Plett, is the primary town of the Bitou Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of the census of 2001, there were 29,149 population. It was originally named Bahia Formosa ("beautifu ...

and

Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...

in the

Western Cape Province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

. This means that Margate had the highest inflow of new visitors in December 2019 in

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

. The Margate Country Club is located on the western outskirts of Margate on Wingate Drive. Other golf courses in the broader South Coast area are in Port Shepstone, Port Edward,

Southbroom Southbroom is a coastal village in Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is located 143 km south-west of Durban, and 213 km south of Pietermaritzburg. The village was officially founded in 1933, an ...

, Hibberdene, Pennington and

Scottburgh Scottburgh () is a coastal resort town located on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It situated south of the mouth of the Mpambanyoni River ''(confuser of birds).'' History Named after Natal Colony Governor John Scott, in 186 ...

Education

Public Schools

* Hibiscus Primary School * Margate Middle School * Margate Primary School

Private Schools

* South Coast Academy *Hibiscus International Academy

Infrastructure

Transportation

Road

Margate has access to one highway, the R61 freeway (future

N2 Wild Coast Toll Route The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of makes it the ...

). The

R61 R61 may refer to: * R61 (South Africa) The R61 is a long provincial route in South Africa that connects Beaufort West with Port Shepstone via Graaff-Reinet, Komani (previously Queenstown), Mthatha and Port Edward. The R61 is co-signed with the ...

/ N2 (South Coast Toll Road) runs through Margate, bypassing the CBD to the west and the suburbs of Extension 3 and 7 to the east. The freeway links the town to Port Shepstone and Durban in the north-east and Port Edward, Mbizana and

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

in the south-west. Access to Margate from the R61/N2 is obtained through the ''Seaslopes Avenue'' interchange (Exit 33), north of Margate and ''Alford Avenue'' (Exit 29) interchange, south of Margate. The R620 (Marine Drive/National Road) runs along the coast and bypassing the CBD by circling around it to the east. The regional route links the town to

, Shelly Beach and Port Shepstone in the north-east and Ramsgate,

and Port Edward (via the R61) in the south-west. The R620 can also be used as an alternative route to Shelly Beach, Port Shepstone, Durban and

Kokstad Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Kokstad is named after the Griqua chief Adam Kok III who settled here in 1863. Kokstad is the capital town of the East Griqualand region, as i ...

(via the

R102 The R.102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a British airship planned in 1930 but never built. The development of R.102 resulted from the Imperial Airship Scheme, when it became apparent that the R100 and R101 airships then being buil ...

in Port Shepstone) for motorists avoiding the Izotsha Ramp Plaza in Shelly Beach and the Oribi Toll Plaza in Port Shepstone. 'Seaslopes Avenue'/'Wingate Avenue' is a small secondary road which starts at the intersection with the R620, between Uvongo and Manaba Beach links Margate to the R61/N2, Margate Country Club and the Gayridge agricultural holdings in the north-west. 'Izotsha Road' is a small secondary road that borders Margate to the west, running adjacent to Margate Airport's runway and links Margate to Ramsgate and Southbroom in the south-west, Oatlands Landfill, Gamalakhe, Izotsha and

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

in the north-west.

Airports

Margate Airport Margate Airport is an airport in Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa . The airport is welcomed by many tourists (including local and international) and provides a convenient alternative to King Shaka International Airport in Durban. It only ...

is located on the western outskirts of Margate in its Extension 3 neighbourhood. It is a small, regional, airport with easy and quick access facilities. There is one scheduled domestic route to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

offered by

CemAir CemAir (Pty) Ltd is a privately owned airline operating in South Africa, servicing popular tourist destinations and important business towns, as well as leasing aircraft to other airlines across Africa and the Middle East. The airline is based i ...

. King Shaka International Airport, near

is about 166 km north-east of Margate.

Health systems

Margate only has one hospital, Netcare Margate Hospital which is a private hospital owned by one of South Africa's largest healthcare groups,

Netcare Netcare Limited is a South African private healthcare company. It operates through a number of subsidiaries and employs just over 21 000 people. The group offers a range of medical services across the healthcare spectrum and operates South ...

. Margate also has one public clinic located in the CBD whilst the nearest public hospital is located in Port Shepstone.

References

External links

Margate, South Coast Accommodation and Adventure Guide

360 degree Virtual Tour of Margate Beach