South Africa- KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
Mountains, battlefields, beaches and wildlife
From the soaring peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains, traditional Zulu villages and historic Boer War battle sites, to glorious sandy beaches lapped by the warm Indian Ocean and magnificent game reserves, KwaZulu-Natal- or KZN as it is often simply known, is a tourist’ s paradise. Vibrant Durban is South Africa’ s third largest city and a popular holiday haunt thanks to a subtropical climate, carnival atmosphere, warm seas, safe swimming beaches and luxury beachfront hotels. It’ s also an amazing sporting hub with lots of watersports and world class stadiums for rugby, soccer and cricket. Ten miles north is laid-back Umhlanga, an upmarket resort that attracts sun worshippers with gorgeous beaches, exclusive hotels, a village vibe, good shopping and adventure aplenty on both land and sea. The sheer jagged peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains rise to form a natural barrier between South Africa and Lesotho, and are South Africa’ s highest mountain range. A number of foothpaths make hiking by far the best way to take in the seriously stunning landscape or, you can zip around by mountain bike or even opt to sightsee on horseback. The mountains form part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed uKhahlamba- Drakensberg Park, a stunning natural mountain wilderness area with a huge diversity of protected plants and animal species as well as around 35,000 examples of San rock art. When it comes to wildlife, KwaZulu-Natal’ s most outstanding game reserve is Hluhluwe-iMfolozi. Dating back to 1895, it’ s South Africa’ s oldest proclaimed reserve with conservation efforts resulting in it becoming one of the world’ s best places to spy endangered black and white rhino. Elephant are also plentiful as are other members of the Big Five. Comprised of 328,000 hectares of magnificent scenery with a huge variety of habitats, iSimangaliso Wetland Park is another of KZN’ s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Centrepiece of this very special slice of Africa is Lake St Lucia which has large numbers of hippos, crocodiles, pelicans and flamingos. Elsewhere in the park you can watch for whales, sea turtles and dolphins as well as elephant, rhino, giraffe and buffalo. Learn about some of South Africa’ s most turbulent history with a tour of the 19th century battlefields which echo with the heroic and often tragic deeds of the past when Zulus, Boers and the British all came to blows. Rorke’ s Drift and Isandlwana are two of the most famous battlefields and other noteworthy sites include Spioenkop, Elandslaagte, the Blood River Monument and Talana Museum near Dundee. Gain cultural insights in Zululand, a beautiful swathe of KwaNulu-Natal with mist-shrouded hills and traditional settlements. Visit one of the many cultural villages to experience Zulu hospitality and learn about the legendary King Shaka. Another enriching experience is to follow the Midlands Meander, also known as the‘ arts and crafts route’, which runs northwest from Pietermaritzburg to Estcourt. The drive winds past Midmar Dam, some 200 arts and crafts studios, flower farms, artisan workshops, rolling green hills and quaint villages.
Bergville •
Dundee • Rorke’ s Drift •
• Isandlwana
• Elandslaagte
• Spioenkop
Zululand •
KWAZULU-NATAL
• Estcourt uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park
•
Balgowan
• Midmar Dam
LESOTHO
• Pietermaritzburg
• Umhlanga
Durban
• Hluhluwe
• Lake St Lucia
• Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
Indian Ocean
iSimangaliso Wetland Park
•
Getting there: Durban is approximately 12 hours( non-stop) flight from the UK. There are also excellent flight links within South Africa to Durban, including from Johannesburg, which takes 1 hour 10 minutes and Cape Town, which is a 2 hour flight.
Best time to go: KwaZulu-Natal is a year-round destination. Durban enjoys warmth and lots of sunshine with occasional rain, while further north the conditions are more subtropical with higher temperatures and humidity.
Conservation / park fees: Applicable at selected game reserves and lodges and payable locally, details of which will be advised on quotations and at time of booking.
Durban
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi
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