Durban and North Coast - 210km

SUGAR COAST

This section of the coast stretches from Umhlanga Rocks northwards to Zimbali and inland to Mount Edgecombe, Verulam and Hambanathi. The coastal hills are dominated by vast fields of sugar cane, the origins of which can be traced back to 1847, when the first plantings took place. The foundation of the South African sugar industry was, however, laid by a British immigrant, Edmund Morewood (see Tongaat). Spread out along the coast are several popular holiday resorts. Best known among these is Umdloti Beach, named after the Mdloti River to the north. It has a magnificent beach which is popular with sunbathers, surfers and ski-boat anglers.

DOLPHIN COAST

This scenic stretch of coast, extending from Ballito northwards to Zinkwazi Beach, is named after the many bottlenose dolphins to be seen offshore. With its fine sandy beaches and popular resorts, the Dolphin Coast has for many years been a favoured destination forguests on South African holidays. It. Ballito, named after an Italian brand of stockings, has two small bays and a tidal pool offering safe swimming.

Thompson’s Bay has a magnificent semi-natural tidal pool, and is bounded to the north by a rocky promontory known as Shaka’s Rock. Still further north is Salt Rock, once a farm belonging to the Hulett family (a name synonymous with the sugar industry) and Umhlali Beach. Salt Rock was named after the rocky pools where Zulu women used to collect salt; the two tidal pools in front of the landmark Salt Rock Hotel are famous. Zinkwazi, the northernmost resort along the Dolphin Coast, lies on the shores of a lagoon surrounded by emerald-green fields of sugar cane.

HAROLD JOHNSON NATURE RESERVE

This small provincial nature reserve covers 104 ha of coastal bush and grassland on the southern bank of the Tugela River. It has an interesting variety of epiphytic orchids and ferns, while mammals to be seen include impala, bushbuck, blue, common and red duiker, bushpig, zebra and a variety of smaller mammals. Of historic interest is a remnant of the Ultimatum Tree, an old sycamore fig under which the British delivered an ultimatum to clan leaders of the Zulu king, Cetshwayo, on 11 December 1878.

The ultimatum, among other things, defined the boundaries between Zululand and the Transvaal and demanded the immediate disbanding of the Zulu army. The Zulu rejected the ultimatum, which expired on 10 January 1879. British troops invaded Zululand the following day, signalling the start of the Anglo-Zulu War. Another site of historic interest is the remains of Fort Pearson, built in 1878 as part of a system of forts to protect the northern border of Natal. It was one of the launching points for the British invasion of Zululand in 1879, and at one stage as many as 5 000 troops were garrisoned here.

STANGER

...lies about 8 km inland amid vast sugar-cane plantations. The town was established in 1873 on the site where the Zulu king, Shaka, built his second capital, Dukuza, in 1825. A memorial set in an attractive garden marks the grain pit into which his body was thrown after he was assassinated by his half-brothers in 1828. Another reminder of the Zulu king is the Indaba Tree, a large Natal mahogany under which Shaka held meetings and where he was killed. Stanger is home to the Sappi Fine Paper Mill, a unique facility producing high-quality gloss-coated paper from bagasse (cane pulp).

TONGAAT

...is synonymous with the South African sugar industry. A few kilometres north of the town, at Compensation, an attractive memorial garden marks the site where the first sugar mill in South Africa was erected. It was here that Edmund Morewood began the large-scale planting of sugar cane after a consignment was imported from the Indian Ocean island of Réunion in 1847. Four years later, Morewood built his own sugar mill, and in January 1852 exhibited his sugar at the offices of the Natal Witness. Also at Compensation is Crocodile Creek, home to some 7 000 crocodiles, alligators and pythons. Of interest in Tongaat is the Juggernath Puri, the tallest and oldest (1901) Hindu temple in South Africa.