Uvongo

Uvongo is a seaside resort town situated along the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast at the mouth of the Vungu River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Situated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Margate, Uvongo is the largest upmarket residential area on the lower South Coast.

Uvongo
The commercial area of Uvongo along Marine Drive
The commercial area of Uvongo along Marine Drive
Uvongo is located in KwaZulu-Natal
Uvongo
Uvongo
Uvongo is located in South Africa
Uvongo
Uvongo
Coordinates: 30°49′S 30°23′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceKwaZulu-Natal
DistrictUgu
MunicipalityRay Nkonyeni
Main PlaceMargate
Area
[1]
 • Total4.52 km2 (1.75 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total4,288
 • Density950/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
 • Black African21.6%
 • Coloured2.0%
 • Indian/Asian4.4%
 • White71.8%
 • Other0.3%
First languages (2011)
[1]
 • English57.7%
 • Afrikaans25.5%
 • Zulu8.1%
 • Xhosa5.6%
 • Other3.2%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
4270
PO box
4270

Uvongo beach lost its "Blue Flag" title due to storms damaging it in April 2007 but has managed to regain a clean and prestigious beach front. Uvongo still remains the playground of the rich, with multimillion rand properties in the area. Uvongo is one of South Africa's favourite holiday destinations and attracts local and foreign tourists.

Etymology

The town is named after the Vungu River,[2] which is derived from the Zulu word that describes the sound of a waterfall or the wind in a gorge.

Geography

The Vungu River flowing through Uvongo forms a 23 metre high waterfall known as the Uvongo Falls above the river lagoon that flows into a small gorge near the river mouth. The Mhlanga River borders Uvongo to the north, flowing into the ocean in the adjacent St Michael’s-on-Sea area.[3]

Uvongo is flanked to the north by St Michael’s-on-Sea and Shelly Beach and to the south by Manaba Beach and Margate. It consists of three smaller areas, namely Uvongo, Uvongo Beach and Beacon Rocks. As its name suggests, Uvongo Beach sits on the coast (north of the Vungu River), Beacon Rocks sits on the rocky coastline (south of the Vungu River) while Uvongo is located west of Marine Drive just inland from Uvongo Beach and Beacon Rocks.[4]

Infrastructure

Roads

The R61 is a north–south toll freeway connecting Port Shepstone with Port Edward that by-passes Uvongo, while the R620 is the untolled north–south alternative route to the R61 connecting Port Shepstone with Margate that passes through Uvongo as Marine Drive. To the south, Seaslopes Avenue provides access to the R61 and connects Uvongo with Izotsha Road (to Ramsgate and Izotsha) to the west, while Knoxgore Drive to the north connects Uvongo with Gamalakhe to the west.

See also

References
  1. "Sub Place Uvongo". Census 2011.
  2. Jenkins, Elwyn (2007), Falling into place: the story of modern South African place names, David Philip Publishers, p. 76
  3. "Uvongo". www.sa-venues.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  4. "Census 2011: Main Place: Margate". census2011.adrianfrith.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.