Mtunzini ( Zulu: ''eMthunzini'', from ''umthunzi'' meaning "a place in the shade") is a small coastal town that is situated almost exactly halfway along KwaZulu-Natal's coastline in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

approximately 140 km north 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 ...

. In 2011, the town's population was 2,199.

Name

The name is a word in the

Zulu language Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...

meaning ''place in the shade.''

History

After the breakup of the Zulu Kingdom after the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, cou ...

, Sir Garnet Wolseley created 13 'kinglets' - with two strategically located as buffer zones between

Port Natal 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 ...

and Zululand. One of these kinglets was John Dunn who used Mtunzini as his capital. In 1948, 9 square kilometres of dune forests, lakes and lagoon at Mtunzini was proclaimed a nature reserve known as the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. This area falls under the protection of the

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wildlife conservation areas and biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Their headquarters is in Queen Elizabeth Park situated on the northern slopes o ...

(previously known as Natal Parks Board). The Umlalazi Lagoon is a popular tourist attraction for watersports enthusiasts and fishermen alike. Recreational and commercial ski-boat fishermen also launch their boats in the lagoon to head for 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 t ...

via the mouth of the Umlalazi River. In 2002, Mtunzini became a landing point for the SAFE state of the art

Optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass ( silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a mea ...

Submarine communications cable, linking

Melkbosstrand Melkbosstrand (Afrikaans for "Milkbush beach") is a coastal town located on the South West Coast of South Africa, 30 km north of Cape Town. It forms part of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, the municipality governing Cape T ...

to the West with Saint Paul ( Réunion), Baie Jacotet (

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

), Cochin (

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

) and Penang (

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

). In 2009, Mtunzini became a landing point for the SEACOM cable, and in 2010 Mtunzini became the landing point for the

EASSy The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) is an undersea fibre optic cable system connecting countries in Eastern Africa to the rest of the world. EASSy runs from Mtunzini in South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan, with landing points in ...

cable.

Tourism

Mtunzini is a bird watchers paradise and is renowned as one of the few places where one of South Africa's rarest birds of prey, the palm-nut vulture, is found. These birds feed on the fruit of the rafia palm which produces its fruit once every twenty years before dying. Visitors can enjoy a walk through the lush vegetation at the Rafia Palm Monument, which features a raised boardwalk that meanders through to the magnificent palms. Mtunzini boasts, among other attractions, pristine beaches, a 9-hole golf course at the Mtunzini Country Club, AA-Event and Guest House,aa-events.co.za
/ref> numerous bed-and-breakfast establishments as well as a range of camping, caravanning and other self-contained holiday accommodations. The beach is not protected by shark nets due to Mtunzini's proximity to a shark breeding ground populated by Zambezi sharks as well as many others. This fact notwithstanding, the waves at Mtunzini are described by surfers as being some of the better ones to surf on the North Coast.

Gallery

Image:Umlalazi-lagoon.jpg, Umlalazi Lagoon at dusk Image:mtunzini-beach.jpg, Mtunzini Beach File:Anaciaeschna triangulifera.jpg, '' Anaciaeschna triangulifera''

References

External links

Homepage of Mtunzini Country Club

Homepage of Mtunzini

Home of KZN Wildlife

AA-Events and Guest House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mtunzini, Kwazulu-Natal Populated places in the uMlalazi Local Municipality