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North
Coast
The
North Coast hillsides are covered in sugar cane fields,
with excellent beaches and cultural tourism.
Umhlanga
Rocks
Umhlanga
Rocks is an upmarket holiday resort with luxury hotels,
shopping centers and many restaurants. All year skiboating,
with boats available for hire from the Cabana Beach Hotel.
The
Natal Sharks Board offers educational presentations at
their premises, focusing on the main-eating predators:
Zambezi, tiger, great white and ragged-tooth sharks. .
Dolphin
Coast
The
region from the Umdloti River to the Tugela is known as
the Dolphin Coast, as Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins
can be seen here all year round. The larger humpback dolphins
are also present throughout the year, but as they are
very shy, they are rarely seen. Common dolphins follow
the sardine run northwards in winter. Both bottlenose
and common dolphins are extremely playful, swimming alongside
humans, and following boats.
Richard's
Bay
Richards
Bay is shipping port, with a rapidly growing industrial
sector. Transport from Richard's Bay airport to some hotels
and game reserves can be arranged through the establishments
concerned.
Stanger
Shaka,
the Zulu king, had an important military outpost at Stanger,
and this is where he met his death at the hands of assassins.
He was buried the following day, upright in a grain pit.
The site is commemorated by a monument in Couper Street,
the main entrance to Stanger. Memorabilia from the early
days of the sugar cane industry can be seen in the Natal
North Coast Museum in Glendow Mill Street. The bustling,
colourful Indian market has an atmosphere all of its own.
Sodwana
Bay National Park
Sodwana
Bay National Park Coral reef attracts scuba divers all
year round and powerboaters arrive in summer for some
of the best marlin fishing in the world. Barracuda and
kingfish are also caught in summer, while winter is the
time for shad and stumpnose. A dune forest dotted with
cycads is alive with small mammals.
St.
Lucia Game Reserve
St
Lucia Lake is recognised Internationally as a heritage
site. The reserve contains some of the highest forested
dunes in the world, as well as swamp and sand forest,
palm veld and various woodland vegetarian types. St Lucia
is a fisherman's paradise, with excellent bird life. Wildlife
includes black rhino, suni, pangolin and red duiker, marine
turtles, breeding populations of pink-backed pelicans,
Caspian terns, flamingos, and the largest crocodile, hippo
and reedbuck populations in South Africa.
