KwaZulu-Natal

Upland savannah near Pietermaritzburg

Mangrove forest at the Umgeni River estuary in Durban

KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 21 °C (70 °F), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23 °C (73 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (52 °F). Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter. Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, supporting many sugar cane farms around Pongola.

KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho:

• Maputo Province, Mozambique (far northeast)
• Lubombo District, Eswatini (northeast, east of Shiselweni)
• Shiselweni District, Eswatini (northeast, west of Lubombo)
• Mokhotlong District, Lesotho (southwest, north of Thaba-Tseka)
• Thaba-Tseka District, Lesotho (southwest, between Mokhotlong and Qacha's Nek)
• Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho (southwest, south of Thaba-Tseka)

Domestically, it borders the following provinces:

• Mpumalanga (north)
• Free State (west)
• Eastern Cape (southwest)

A map of South Africa showing the districts of KwaZulu-Natal province

Population density in KwaZulu-Natal

•   <1 /km²
•   1–3 /km²
•   3–10 /km²
•   10–30 /km²
•   30–100 /km²
•   100–300 /km²
•   300–1000 /km²
•   1000–3000 /km²
•   >3000 /km²

Dominant languages in KwaZulu-Natal

•   Afrikaans
•   English
•   Xhosa
•   Zulu
•   Sotho
•   Swati
•   No language dominant

The KwaZulu-Natal Province is divided into one metropolitan municipality and ten district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 44 local municipalities. The local seat of each district municipality is given in parentheses:

In 2012, the Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal, in many municipalities. This amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust.

A beach on the North Coast

The coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs. The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern Florida in the United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer. As one moves further north up the coast towards the border of Mozambique, the climate becomes almost purely tropical. North of Durban is locally referred to as "The North Coast", while south is "The South Coast". The Kwazulu-Natal Tourist board includes towns such as Margate, Port Shepstone, Scottburgh and Port Edward in its definition of the South Coast, while Ballito, Umhlanga and Salt Rock are North Coast resort towns.

San Lameer Resort

Beaches of world-class quality are to be found along virtually every part of South Africa's eastern seaboard, with some of the least-developed gems found in the far southern and far northern ends of the province. Marina Beach (and its adjoining resort San Lameer) was recognised in 2002 as a Blue Flag beach.

Some visitors come for the annual late autumn or early winter phenomenon on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of the "sardine run". Referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northward along the Eastern Cape coastline toward KwaZulu-Natal. They follow a route close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres; it is preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish, sharks, dolphins and seabirds. Usually the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Scientists have been unable to answer many questions surrounding this exceptional seasonal event.

The interior of the province consists largely of rolling hills from the Valley of a Thousand Hills to the Midlands. Their beauty has inspired literature. Alan Paton, in the novel Cry, the Beloved Country, wrote:

There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles (11 km) into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and Griqualand East.

KwaZulu-Natal's provincial government sits in Pietermaritzburg. The foundation stone of the new legislative building was laid on 21 June 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. The building was completed two years later. On 25 April 1889, the Governor of Natal, Sir Arthur Havelock, opened the first Legislative Council session in the new building.

This was the former site of St Mary's Church, built in the 1860s. The congregation built a new church in 1884 at the corner of Burger Street and Commercial Road. The old building was demolished in 1887 to provide space for the legislative complex.

When governance was granted to Natal in 1893, the new Legislative Assembly took over the chamber used by the Legislative Council since 1889. Further extensions to the parliamentary building were made. The building was unoccupied until 1902, when it was used without being officially opened, due to the country's being engulfed in the Anglo-Boer war. The war forced the Legislative Assembly to move the venue of its sittings, as its chamber was used as a military hospital.

The Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council buildings have both been protected as provincial landmarks. They formed a colonial Parliament of two houses: a Council of 11 nominated members and an Assembly of 37 elected members. The Natal Parliament was disbanded in 1910 when the Union of South Africa was formed, and the Assembly became the meeting place of the Natal Provincial Council. The council was disbanded in 1986.

The Provincial Legislature consists of 80 members.

Composition of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

The African National Congress (ANC) holds power in the provincial legislature, winning the province with a convincing overall majority in South Africa's 2019 elections. After the election, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) regained the title of the official opposition in the province.

KwaZulu-Natal is the home to the Zulu monarch, currently King Misuzulu Zulu kaZwelithini. Although not holding any direct political power, he holds considerable influence among the more traditionalist Zulu people in the province. As of 2015, The king is provided a stipend of 54 million South African rands by the provincial government.[13] He is also the chairman of the Ingonyama Trust, which controls 32% of the area of the province.

The government in KwaZulu Natal has been under sustained controversy for their eviction of shackdwellers and mistreatment by provincial police structures that has resulted in more than 200 arrests of Abahlali members in the first last three years of its existence and repeated police brutality in people's homes, in the streets and in detention.[21]

The attack on Kennedy Road informal settlement by an armed mob in 2009 in [Durban] put local and provincial government under sustained scrutiny. It was reported by members of the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement that the attackers were affiliated with the local branch of the African National Congress and it was claimed that the attack was carefully planned and sanctioned by the provincial police department.[22][23] Academic research seems to confirm that the attackers self-identified as ANC members and that ANC leaders at Municipal and Provincial level later provided public sanction for the attack.[24][25]

Despite a court interdict, the eThekwini municipality, with the support of the provincial SAPS, repeatedly evicted shackdwellers in Durban's Cato Crest.[26][27] The General Council of the Bar has also expressed concern over the evictions.[28]

Hilton College

Michael House

St David's Marist, Inanda

Port Shepstone high School, Port Shepstone

Creston College, Oslo Beach

Crawford, La Mercy

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has five campuses in the province.[30] It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.[31] Other universities are :

• University of Zululand
• Durban University of Technology (merger of ML Sultan Technikon and Technikon Natal)
• Mangosuthu University of Technology

• Comrades Marathon, an annual marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
• Midmar Mile, a mile-long swimming race held annually at Midmar Dam.
• Dusi Canoe Marathon, an annual canoe marathon starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban.
• Durban July, South Africa's premier annual horse racing event at Greyville Racecourse, Durban.
• Mr Price Pro, a premier international surfing event at Durban during winter (previously known as the "Gunston 500").

Football (soccer)

The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) currently features the following teams from the province:

AmaZulu, Golden Arrows and Royal AM (Durban)

Thanda Royal Zulu (Richards Bay)

Maritzburg United (Pietermaritzburg)

Rugby union

United Rugby Championship

The Sharks

Currie Cup

Sharks

Cricket

SuperSport Series

Dolphins (successor to the KwaZulu-Natal cricket team)

Basketball

Kwazulu Marlins

Netball

Kingdom Stars

Kingdom Queens