KwaZulu-Natal South Coast (better known as the KZN South Coast or just the South Coast) is a region on the southern coast of

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 ...

, South Africa. It stretches from

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 ...

in the north to Port Edward in the south and

Harding Harding may refer to: People *Harding (surname) *Maureen Harding Clark (born 1946), Irish jurist Places Australia * Harding River Iran * Harding, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province South Africa * Harding, KwaZulu-Natal United Sta ...

in the west. The coast is governed by the Ugu District Municipality. Its main towns are

, Pennington,

Hibberdene Hibberdene is a small coastal town on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in South Africa. It was named after C. Maxwell-Hibberd, the former postmaster-general of Natal. Hibberdene is located in the Hibiscus Coast region of the KZN South Coast and is ...

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...

, Margate, Southbroom and Port Edward however Port Shepstone is the municipal seat and the primary town as it is the powerhouse of the South Coast. As of 2016 the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast has a population of 753 336 ( Ugu District Municipality).

Demographics

As of 2016, the Ugu District Municipality (KZN South Coast) has a population of 753 336 people compared to 2011 where it had a population of 689 051 which indicates that between 2011 and 2016 the population grew at about 8.5%. The annual population growth was 2.03% and the number of men per 100 females decreased from 91.8% in 2011 to 88.4% in 2016.

Geography

It is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the east, East Griqualand in the west, Durban in the north, the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands in the north-west and the Mtamvuna River (border between KZN and

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

) to the south. The Mtanvuma River is the southernmost border which borders between KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Toti Main Beach sunrise

The coastline between Amanzimtoti and Clansthal is normally regarded part of the South Coast however according to Tourism KZN (government agency for tourism in KwaZulu-Natal), the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast starts officially from

in the north to Port Edward in the south.

Administration

The region is governed by the Ugu District Municipality with its seat in

. The three different regions are administered by their respective local municipalities. The only exception is where the Hibiscus Coast is governed by two local municipalities: Unfortunately the municipality has not properly maintained sewage lines along the South Coast with the result that many beaches along the South Coast are contaminated and dangerous to swim in. One should enquire about contamination and beach closures prior to traveling to the area and to seek medical treatment immediately upon any signs of diarrhea and vomiting as a result of swimming in these waters. * Umdoni Coast and Country- uMdoni Local Municipality (seat:

) * Hibiscus Coast- Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality (seat:

) & Umzumbe Local Municipality (seat: Mtwalume) * Harding and Surroundings- uMuziwabantu Local Municipality (seat:

)

Subregions

It is divided into three subregions which are Umdoni Coast & Country, Hibiscus Coast and Harding and surrounds.

Umdoni Coast & Country

Umdoni Coast and Country better known as the Upper South Coast stretches from

to Mtwalume. It is located south of the Greater Durban Metro. Its main town is

Hibiscus Coast

Hibiscus Coast also known as the Lower South Coast stretches from

in the north to Port Edward in the south and

Izingolweni Izingolweni or Ezinqoleni is a town in Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It was founded in the 1870s as a police and administration post. The name comes from the Zulu language word for "place with very sh ...

in the west. Hibiscus Coast is the ultimate economy booster of the South Coast due its location and as well as being home to the South Coast 's economic hub, Port Shepstone. It is known as the 'beach holiday mecca' of KwaZulu-Natal and is known for its 'unending' Hibiscus trees found along the coast.

Harding and Surrounds

is a small town located halfway between

and Kokstad in Griqualand East. It is famous for its sawmills in the Weza area and the Ingeli Forest.

Facilities

The KZN South Coast has eight hospitals.

Public Hospitals

*Dunstan Farell Hospital,

* G.J Crookes Hospital,

* Murchsion District Hospital, Murchison, near

* Port Shepstone Regional Hospital, Port Shepstone * St Andrew's Provincial Hospital,

Private Hospitals

* Hibiscus Private Hospital, Port Shepstone * Hibiscus Private Hospital,

* Netcare Margate Hospital, Margate * Shelly Beach Hospital, Shelly Beach

Golfing

The South Coast has more golf courses than any other section of South Africa; many of them are 18-hole courses and are in the country's top 100 courses. They include: * Harding Golf Club * Hibberdene Golf Club * Margate Country Club * Port Edward Country Club * Port Shepstone Country Club * San Lameer Golf Course, Southbroom * Scottburgh Golf Club * Selborne Golf Club, Pennington * Southbroom Golf Club * Umdoni Golf Club, Pennington

Tourism

The coast is rich in terms of attractions and tourism contributes largely to the region's economy. Eagles Nest, Oribi Gorge on Easter Sunday

* Avuxeni Adventures * Aqua Planet Dive Centre * Butterfly Valley * Crocworld Conservation Centre * Ingeli Forest * Macbutterflies * Margate Art Museum * Margate Main Beach *

Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve Oribi Gorge is a canyon in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 35 kilometres north-west of Port Shepstone, which itself is 120 km south of Durban. Oribi Gorge, cut by the Mzimkulwana River, is the eastern gorge of two gorges that cut ...

* Port Shepstone Lighthouse * Port Edward Lighthouse * Pure Venom * Red Desert Nature Conservation Area * Riverbend Crocodile Farm * Stephward Estate Exotic Nursery * St Micheals on Sea Beach * Aliwal Shoal *

Umtamvuna Nature Reserve The Umtamvuna Nature Reserve is situated in South Africa on the KwaZulu-Natal side of the Mtamvuna River, and is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. The reserve is 3,257 hectares in extent and was established on 25 July 1971.Pooley, T. and Player ...

* Wild Waves Water Park

Towns

The main towns or places in the Kwazulu-Natal South Coast includes:

Lower South Coast

* Boboyi *

* Izotsha * Margate * Murchison * Paddock * Port Edward *

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 ...

* Shelly Beach * Southbroom *

St Faith's ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

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 ...

Upper South Coast

Amandawe Mission Amandawe () also known as Amandawe Mission, or often informally abbreviated as AMA is a small township located at KwaZulu-Natal South Coast region of South Africa, the area is mostly populated with Black Africans. History Amandawe was a sugarcan ...

* Bazley Beach * Dududu * Ifafa Beach * Mtwalume * Park Rynie * Pennington *

* Sezela * Umzinto

Harding and Surroundings

* Weza

Transport

Road

The region is connected by the N2, R61, R102 and

R612 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 ...

. - The N2 links to Durban, Richards Bay and Ermelo in the north and Mthatha,

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

Gqeberha Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, S ...

, Garden Route and Cape Town in the south-west. - The R61 links to Mthatha, Graaf-Reinet and Beaufort West. - The R102 links to Durban, KwaDukuza and Empangeni. The N2 runs parallel on the coast from

and northwards and inland from Port Shepstone to Kokstad and westwards to Cape Town. The largest traffic volumes pass along the N2 towards Port Shepstone, and further towards Kokstad, as well as the R61 from Port Shepstone towards Port Edward. Large volumes of traffic also pass along the

from Park Rynie to Ixopo, and the road from

Umtentweni Umtentweni is a small coastal resort and extension of Port Shepstone between the Mzimkulu River ''(the great home of all rivers)'' and the Mtentweni River (named after a species of grass the grows on its banks). It is situated in the Ray Nkonye ...

to St Faith’s. The N2 and R61 run as the "South Coast Toll Road" between

and Southbroom and includes three toll plazas: Izotsha Ramp Plaza ( Shelly Beach), Oribi Toll Plaza (Port Shepstone) and the Umtentweni Ramp Plaza (Port Shepstone). An alternative route to the N2/R61 Toll Route for commuters and travelers is the R102 between Port Shepstone and

and the R620 between Port Shepstone and Southbroom.

Air

The South Coast is served by Margate Airport which currently has flights to Johannesburg operated by CemAir. A larger alternative is

King Shaka International Airport King Shaka International Airport , abbreviated KSIA, is the primary international airport serving Durban, South Africa. Located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately north of the city centre of Durban. The airport opened its doors to passen ...

, north of Durban which has flights to other domestic destinations as well as international destinations such as Doha, Dubai, Istanbul and Harare.

Media

Newspaper

The newspapers in the KZN South Coast are the South Coast Herald, South Coast Fever and South Coast Sun.

Radio

In terms of radio, East Coast Radio and Ukhozi FM are the main radio stations mainly serving the whole province of

References

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