Winterton is a small town on the banks of the

Tugela River The Tugela River (; ) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , and a drop of 1370 metres in the lower 480 km, it is one of the most important rivers of the country. The river originates in M ...

in the foothills of the

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Zulu language, Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho language, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment, which encloses the central South Africa#Geography, Sout ...

mountains,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It was founded in 1905 as Springfield when the Natal Government built a weir across the

Little Tugela River Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

. The town later changed its name to Winterton in honour the secretary for agriculture, HD Winter. Winterton is a small town with only a primary school. It is close to the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

battle sites of

Battle of Vaal Krantz The Battle of Vaal Krantz (Afrikaans: Slag van Vaalkrans, 5 - 7 February 1900) was the third failed attempt by General Redvers Buller's British army to fight its way past Louis Botha's army of Boer irregulars and lift the Siege of Ladysmith. Th ...

and Spioenkop. The town is situated on the R74 between

Bergville Bergville(formerly known as Ntenjwa) is a town with a Rich History. *History The area was formerly known as Ntenjwa (eMangwaneni). The land was taken by the Hlongwane clan from the Hlubi clan after a conflict in the mid-19th century, believed ...

and the N3, as well as the R600 between Ladysmith and the Central Drakensberg. Winterton also serves as an entry point to the Champagne Valley as well as the Cathedral area of the central Drakensberg, boasting well known mountain peaks such as

Champagne Castle Champagne Castle is a mountain in the central Drakensberg range, and is the second highest peak in South Africa. It contains a series of subsidiary peaks, amongst them, Cathkin Peak (3149 m), Sterkhorn (previously called Mount Memory), Monk's ...

and Cathedral Peak respectively - these mountains are considered to be among the most spectacular sights in Southern Africa. The world-famous Drakensberg Boys' Choir School is outside the town, just about south-southwest of Winterton. The town has also grown to become a popular tourist destinations, for South Africans and foreigners alike.

References

Populated places in the Okhahlamba Local Municipality {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub