Popular Tourist Attractions in KwaZulu Natal
Cultural, History, Eco, and Adventure Tourism in One Province
Oct 26, 2009
Many tourism destinations in this province offer a complete package that range from eco tourism and adventure tourism right through to cultural tourism, like the Drakensberg Mountain region.
Drakensberg – Eco, Adventure, and Cultural Tourism
The Drakensberg or uKhahlamba (the Barrier of Spears) is a 200-kilometer-long mountainous wonderland and a World Heritage Site.
The Zulu people named it 'uKhahlamba' and the Dutch Voortrekkers "The Dragon Mountain" (Drakensberg). Besides wonderful climbing and hiking routes, tens of thousands of paintings depicting the daily life of the San people can be found on the rock faces and in caves.
The KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg area can be divided into Bergville and the Northern Drakensberg; Winterton and the Central Drakensberg; Himeville, Underberg and the Southern Drakensberg and East Griqualand and UMzimkhulu.
History Tourism – the Battlefields
The legacy of the Zulu Kingdom's, blood-soaked conflicts today live peacefully reconciled in this region's Battlefield sites with names like, Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift and Spioenkop as well as in the historic towns and villages called Ladysmith, Dundee and Colenso and the many national monuments and museums in the region.
The Battlefields are a very popular history tourism destination, especially with Anglo Boer War and Zulu War buffs as visitors can walk in the footsteps of famous military strategists – King Shaka, Winston Churchill, and General Louis Botha. (And Mahatma Gandhi, who commanded a Red Cross Unit for the British Army during the Boer War).
Eco Tourism along the Elephant Coast
The Elephant Coast of KwaZulu-Natal is a patchwork of wetlands, freshwater lakes, wilderness livestock and scattered Zulu villages that greet the Indian Ocean on a virtually seamless stretch of white sand.
This whole area is dotted with private and public game parks. All the public game parks and wilderness areas fall under the auspices of Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife.
St Lucia Wetlands - World Heritage Site and Prime Eco Tourism
St Lucia is an enclave within the World Heritage Site of Isimangaliso and presents the entire range of accommodation options - from back-packer to ultra- luxury - and while the approach from Mtubatuba is breathtaking, nothing compares to views of the surrounding magic from the village itself and the best diving and eco tourism in the country.
While on the Elephant Coast, visitors cannot miss:
- Cape Vidal
- Kosi Bay,
- Sodwana,
- The Dukuduku Forest near St Lucia and
- Hluhluwe, iMfolozi and Mkuze Game Parks
Shakaland – Traditional Zulu Experience
Zululand history, King Shaka, Ulundi, Eshowe and Richards Bay are some of the terms associated with this region of Zululand. Visitors wanting to enjoy the traditional Zulu experience can take an ox wagon to Zulu villages of beehive huts and get a real understanding of traditional Zulu hospitality. Maybe even visit a sangoma (traditional healer).
Even for those who are not Battlefield aficionados, a traditional Zulu experience is not complete without a visit to Ulundi, the site of the final battle fought in the Anglo-Zulu war.
Shakaland, 14 km north of Eshowe off the N68, is a one-stop Zulu-experience “theme park.” Built in 1984 as the set for the TV series Shaka Zulu. Visitors can stay overnight, watch Zulu dancing, and immerse themselves in Zulu culture.
Kick off a KwaZulu-Natal Vacation in Durban
The best place to kick off a vacation in KwaZulu-Natal, in order to see all these popular tourist attractions, is in the cosmopolitan and buzzing holiday city of Durban, the third largest city in South Africa – less than an hour by plane from Johannesburg.
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