Fact File
Ten reasons and more to choose KZN as your destination for 2010:
1. Portugal's ship-borne explorer Vasco da Gama sighted the KwaZulu Natal coastline on Christmas Day, 1497, and duly named it Natal – meaning Christmas in Portuguese and giving rise to the original name for the region.
2. At the end of Apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal was renamed KwaZulu Natal. KwaZulu means "Place of the Zulu or 'Place of Heaven'. Inhabitants are referred to as the amaZulu - 'People of Heaven.’
3. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy and is also the only province in South Africa which includes the name of its dominant ethnic group in its name.
4. Kwazulu Natal is known as the Garden Province and the Kingdom of the Zulu people, home to the Zulu Nation.
5. KwaZulu Natal Manufactures all the sugar for the country.
6. The Provincial coat of arms features the lion and the wildebeest as symbols of the regions that were joined to create KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu and Natal Province respectively. The zigzag stripe is representative of the Drakensberg Mountains, whilst the star represents the coastline being given the name "Natalia" by Vasco da Gama, as well as the Zulu myth that the Zulu people are "people of heaven" or "star people". The strelitzia flower on the shield is a symbol of the province's beauty, the assegai and knobkierrie behind the shield represent peace and protection and the crown base is a head ring worn by Zulu elders, representing wisdom and maturity. The crown itself is a round grass hut built in the Zulu style. The motto is "Masisukume Sakhe", isiZulu for "Let Us Stand Up and Build".
7. KwaZulu Natal is divided into 11 districts, with eThekwini being the name of the Metropolitan municipality that includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns.
8. Traditionally used to choose a wife, the ‘Reed Dance’ ceremony is now the much sought after event hosted by Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu to promote abstinence until marriage to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS instead.
9. 2010 Host City - Durban - is the city that hosted South Africa's first football league in 1882.
10. South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL), currently features the following teams from the province: AmaZulu, Golden Arrows and Thanda Royal Zulu from Durban.
11. The ‘sardine run’ is a phenomenal, annual occurrence on the KwaZulu-Natal coast during late autumn or early winter. Referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", millions of sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northwards towards KwaZulu-Natal where the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban.
12. KZN has three different geographic areas. The lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast; the central Natal Midlands region with its two mountainous areas, the Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the Lebombo Mountains in the north and coastal regions with subtropical thickets, deep ravines and steep slopes.
13. The Border Caves found in the Lebombo Mountains show evidence of continuous human occupation for some 150 000 years. These are among the oldest Homo sapiens remains on earth, and one school of thought further suggests that our Border Caves witnessed humankind's first use of fire and burial of the dead!
14. The Tugela River that flows from west to east across the center of the province is the region's largest river.
15. The area north of the Tugela River is the traditional home of the Zulu people and you can visit famous Battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift where the British, Boers and Zulus fought many years ago.
16. Famous, annual flagship sports events hosted by the province includes the Comrades Marathon - an annual marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban; the Midmar Mile - a mile long swimming race held annually at Midmar Dam; an annual canoe marathon referred to as the Dusi Canoe Marathon; South Africa's premier annual horse racing event known as the Vodacom Durban July and a premier international surfing event hosted in Durban – the Mr Price Pro.
17. The mountains in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park are classified as a World Heritage Site. The brilliant coral reefs of the Indian Ocean fringing the lakes and wetlands of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, (Greater St Lucia Wetland Park) are also a World Heritage Site.
18. The Drakensberg Mountains or uKhahlamba (the Barrier of Spears) is a 200-kilometre-long mountainous wonderland and world heritage site. The awe-inspiring basalt cliffs form a massive barrier separating KwaZulu-Natal from the Kingdom of Lesotho. The only road access to the Drakensberg is via Sani Pass, which at the top, boasts the highest pub on Africa, 3 000 metres above sea level.
19. The mountainous region known the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park hosts a wealth of biological diversity, 290 species of birds, 48 species of mammals and rare varieties of plant life. Tens of thousands of paintings depicting the daily life of the San people can be found on the rock faces.
20. Unesco World Heritage site - iSimangaliso Wetland Park (formerly known as the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park) - is located along KZN’s Elephant Coast – considered an 'ecotourism Mecca' of the Zulu Kingdom. iMfolozi, Maputaland, Kosi Bay and Sodwana are home to elephant, rhino, whales and turtles. The area made modern natural history at the dawn of the 21st Century when 'living fossils' - coelacanths - were discovered off its warm Indian Ocean shoreline. It is the only place on the globe where the world oldest land mammal (The Rhino) with the world’s biggest terrestrial mammal (The Elephant) share an ecosystem with the world’s oldest fish (The Coelacanth) and the world’s biggest marine mammal (The Whale),” Nelson Mandela
21. The tropical savannahs of Zululand boast the "big five", where elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard inhabit Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park. Once the hunting ground of the Zulu Kings, the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve is also famous for its white and black rhino protection program.
22. KZN’s South Coast features three beaches with International 'Blue Flag' status: Ramsgate, Marina Beach and Lucien beach.
23. The South Coast (Margate, Port Shepstone, Scottburgh, Port Edward) is often referred to as 'The Golf Coast', what with nine excellent 18- hole golf courses, two of which are rated amongst the top 12 in the country.
24. Durban - the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal is the home of Africa's best managed, busiest port and has 3 million people.
25. The world-class International Convention Centre Durban has hosted an historic line-up of events including conferences of a global scale.
26. North Coast - The Zulu Kingdom's North Coast, also known as the Dolphin Coast, stretches from Zimbali to the mighty Thukela River. This is the playground of the bottlenose dolphins, which frolic in the waters close to shore and are visible all year round.
27. The great Shaka Zulu is buried at Kwa-Dukuza, in KZN’s North Coast region and Nobel laureate, Albert Luthuli, lies buried nearby.
28. KwaZulu-Natal's Zululand is world reknowned for its majesty and is considered the ‘pulse of the Zulu Kingdom.’ King Shaka, Ulundi, Eshowe and Richards Bay are some of the terms associated with the region boasting mangrove swamps, lagoons, rolling green hills and indigenous forests reaching the Drakensberg Mountains.
29. Zululand’s Ulundi is the site of the final battle fought in the Anglo-Zulu war; the region also features private and provincial game reserves, tea plantations, naturally therapeutic sulphur springs and 'the complete Zulu experience.’
30. The KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields area of South Africa is rich in history having provided the battlefields for the Zulu wars, accommodating such legends and military strategists including Shaka, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi and General Louis Botha.
31. Pietermaritzburg - KZN’s capital city is the town in which the annual Dusi Canoe Marathon starts, and is the beginning or ending point of the world- renowned annual Comrades Marathon between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, which attracts about 15 000 participants.
32. The Midlands Meander, the first route of its kind in the country, opened up the wonders and beauty of the interior of KwaZulu-Natal over a decade ago. It features Howick Falls and has grown into an eclectic and fascinating mix of arts and crafts with a wide range of sporting, environmental and historical pursuits.
