Pongola (also known in Zulu as uPhongolo) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

on the north bank of the

Phongolo River The Phongolo River is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Maputo River. It rises near Utrecht in northern KwaZulu-Natal, flows east through Pongolo, is dammed at Pongolapoort, and crosses the Ubombo Mountains; then it flows north ...

, in a fertile valley on the N2, near the

Lubombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...

, in the valleys of Zululand, easily accessible to the Swaziland border posts. It was part of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

panhandle between the Phongolo (

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

) and

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

(now Eswatini) until 1994, when it was transferred to KwaZulu-Natal. It is a unique and tranquil subtropical environment. It has more than 50 km² of

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

plantations surrounding it. During the Depression years of the 1930s, drastic

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

systems were started in Pongola for sugar cane farms. The town thrived as a result of the canal system and a

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

mill that was built. Today it is part of the

uPhongolo Local Municipality uPhongolo Local Municipality, is a local municipality in the northern area of Zululand, in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. In 2007, the uPhongolo Municipality contained 154 rural shops, 124 schools, 27 hotels, resorts or conference ...

. Pongolapoort Dam and Pongola Game Reserve is to the east. It is the only dam in South Africa where you can catch African tigerfish (family Alestidæ). The uPhongolo Local Municipality is one of five local municipalities located within the area of the Zululand District Municipality. The municipality is governed by the ANC Council consisting of 22 Councillors and an executive committee and Hon. Cllr Winile Nhlabathi is the Mayor. The administrative functions are performed by the Municipal Manager and a team of managers. Among other schools, there are Pongola Akademie, Dingukwazi Senior Secondary School and Langa High School. Dingukwazi High Currently led by principal Dr S.G Msane and Bambanani led by Principal Mr M. Ntshangase are leading schools in Pongola in terms of enrolment so as Matric pass rates. Pongola is surrounded by hunting lodges and several have even the Big Five. Some farms specialize in biltong hunting and others concentrate on trophy hunting. Richard Antoine Rouillard, born in the Phoenix district of Mauritius in 1873, was the driving force behind the agricultural and economic prosperity of the Louwsburg and Magut districts. The pioneering spirit which opened up the interior of South Africa came in a variety of guises. Pongola is home to Tugam Game Farm, uPhongolo's oldest game reserve.

References

External links

Pongola Tourism

Pongola Game Reserve

Statistics at Stats SA
Populated places in the uPhongolo Local Municipality {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub