Pietermaritzburg - Capital of the Zulu Kingdom

A Tourism KZN Newsletter

A Tourism KZN Newsletter Welcome to The Kingdom of the Zulu - a newsletter produced by Tourism KwaZulu Natal.

Written by Niki Moore

Bulletin no 1

Hello there and welcome to the first tourism bulletin of 2002. If you are not familiar with this newsletter, here is a short introduction:

This newsletter was first launched in 2001 as a forum for tourism news from Zululand and Maputaland. It was so popular (yes, really) that it has been expanded to include the whole province. It is now a new venture that has been launched under the auspices of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal as an information service for tourism role-players. Therefore please expect a fortnightly low-down of the goings-on in KwaZulu Natal.

In order to be even-handed, the newsletter will be divided into ten sections, each one featuring a section of the province. As far as the content is concerned - anything goes, as long as it will be of interest to visitors, potential visitors and all people connected with tourism. Because it is distributed widely by e-mail, it will be bang up to date and as current as the Internet can possibly make it.

You are welcome to contact me directly if you have any news you want featured (oh, and there is no charge: this is really, genuinely a free lunch) and you are even more welcome to forward this newsletter to anyone who you think might be avid for information about South Africa's Most Interesting Province...

Right, and we're off.

1. The South Coast still beckons:

The most hectic part of the tourism season is over now that the up- country holiday hordes are going home, but the weather is still beautiful on the Hibiscus Coast. And the South Coast has something unique - a magical stretch of highway (the R102) that winds along the coast and reveals tantalising bits of scenery. The North Coast might be majestic and vast, but the South Coast is comfortable and quaint. There are seaside villages, cosy coves, little rivers and lagoons and water-falls, hills and valleys. The road is a good day-trip through places that have entered tourist legend, like the Teahouse of the Blue Lagoon, the Golf Course Hotel, the Ferry Inn, etc. A query at their tourism office will also turn up some places that already offer out-of-season rates. Speak to Hibiscus Coast tourism officer Vicky Erasmus at 039 - 312-2322 or at margate@venturenet.co.za

2. Eshowe goes cheep:

A quick flip through 'Newman's Birds of Southern Africa' will reveal that an enormous number of our feathered friends are quite at home in Zululand and Maputaland - to the extent that the town of Eshowe has gathered all the local twitchers together to form a Zululand branch of BirdLife South Africa. Eshowe is also the nesting spot for the Zululand Birding Route - and the bird-fanciers of the town are hard at work developing their avi- tourist industry which by all accounts is huge world-wide. Recently, they launched the aerial boardwalk in the Dlinza Forest, trained up 12 guides from the local community and began work on an ambitious tourist mall at the Nonqayi Museum to supplement birding activities. For more information, contact Eshowe's information officer Jane Chennels at 035 - 474-5491 or info@eshowe.com

3. Maputaland at the far north end of KZN is still one of those places that has a best-kept-secret tag, but not for long. The new tourism office on the N2 highway on the turn-off to Mkuze is hoping to change Maputaland's Cinderella status. There are already some impressive destinations, like Sibaya Lake Lodge, White Elephant Lodge, Tembe Elephant Park, Mkuze Falls Game Lodge, etc. With the completion of the brand new road from Hluhluwe to Kosi Bay that cuts through the heart of this region, the area will become even more accessible. Tourism officer Precious Fakude at 035 - 573- 1439 or maputaland@uthungulu.co.za will be able to give you more information.

4. New Midlands Meander Brochures (For overseas readers, the Midlands Meander is an arts-and-crafts tourism route inland from Pietermaritzburg.):

The Midlands Meander now has 142 members - an unprecedented number of artists, crafters, purveyors and provisioners. With so much to see, visitors were hastening through the Meander at such a pace that it was in danger of becoming the Midlands Mad Dash. To slow things down, public relations officer Anita Wong has announced that the Meander has been re-organised into four distinct sections in order to encourage people to look at one section at a time. Route 1 is the Hilton area, Route 2 is the Lion's river region, Route 3 is Fort Nottingham and environs, and Route 4 is the Rosetta route. New brochures to this effect have just been printed, and can be obtained from Anita at info@midlandsmeander.co.za or 033 - 330- 8195.

5. Drakensberg:

A river runs through it at the Dragon's Rest caravan and campsite - a 100ha farm at the foot of the Drakensberg 10kms from Underberg. The river is called the Umzimkulu, and it is the hub of quite a few of the wetter activities like swimming, canoeing, rapid-riding and tubing. Kelvin Strachan runs tours from the Dragon's Rest, which sounds ideal for the family holiday. There is horse-riding, trout- fishing, fly-fishing, 4x4 safaris, day trips to Lesotho, the Duck and Do-Little animal farm at Underberg. The Dragon's Rest is the Ritz of camp-sites and enjoys personal attention from hosts Graeme and Julia Strachan. There is still time for a last-gasp break before the year starts in earnest. Contact Kelvin at 072 - 149-8665 or Graeme and Julia at 033-701-2909 or dragons@futurenet.co.za

6. While in the berg area, check out a rather unique experience. A chappie called Greg McBey does a raptor display with birds that he has either rescued and attempted to rehabilitate or raised by hand. He runs a place called Falcon Ridge in the Cathkin Valley near Giant's Castle, where he keeps his birds. Weather permitting, the birds do a flying and hunting display for visitors and he passes on his encyclopedic knowledge of raptors. The shows cost R20 for adults and R10 for children. Speak to Greg on 082 - 774-6398. He lives on the farm with no electricity or other modern amenities, so e-mail is a bit problematic. However, you can also get hold of Caroline Physick at Bushman's River Tourism at 036 - 352-6253 or brta@futurest.co.za

6. Ladysmith 'the other battlefield' tours

Most people think that Ladysmith in northern KZN is the place where the famous siege took place during the Boer War and not much has happened since. They're only partly right. Ladysmith has quite an alternative history that is just as fascinating as the more mainstream one. An enterprising young man called Sandile Khumalo runs Ezakheni Tours, which shows the other battlefield of Ladysmith, when Inkatha and the ANC hammered each other in the notorious political wars in the eighties and nineties. He also does another tour called the 'Black Mambazo Beat'. According to tourism officer Fifi Meyer, it is a wonderfully uplifting township story that goes to the places where Joseph Shabalala of the world-famous singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo was born, raised, went to school, started singing with friends - and created South African music history. Recent English visitors have said it was the highlight to their trip to South Africa. If you do go, be sure to ask Sandile to give you lunch - he dishes up the best platter of shisanyama and chakalaka (baked meat and relish) that you will ever get. Sandile can be reached at 082 - 978-9550 and Fifi at 082 - 806-4377 or info@ladysmith.co.za

7. Durban:

The Beach Hotel on Durban's beachfront opened in 1954 (probably roundabout the time they put up Durban's first ever nightlight, the ever-tilting Coke bottle). She is in the middle of her latest face- lift and is celebrating her new look with a special offer. Up till February 28th, the weekday rate is R169 pppn sharing, bed & breakfast and the weekend rate is R158 pppn sharing, bed & breakfast. Contact Sharon Naidoo at 031 - 337-4222 or beach@goodersons.co.za

9. Isandlwana:

This weekend sees the 123rd anniversary of the battle of Isandlwana and a re-enactment of the battle has been organised by the KwaCulture drama group with the Die-Hards (a group of local military enthusiasts) from Dundee. With all the information that's available on the battle one can expect the re-enactment to be fairly authentic apart from the aftermath when the corpses will stand up and go off to have a beer with their former foes. For details on the re-enactment, contact Gerry Pooe at 031 - 304-4583. Also this Saturday is the Isandlwana half-marathon - a fun run from the battlefield of Isandlwana to Rorke's Drift and back again along the path followed by the fugitives from the battle. A tremendous spirit prevails at this event, not least because there is a notable lack of blood-thirsty warriors in hot pursuit. Co-ordinator for the event is Benny Olivier of the Biggarsberg Harriers who can be reached at 034 - 393-2770 or 072 - 218-9204.

And finally -

Tarzan comes to the Hibiscus coast! Hard to believe, perhaps, but Tarzan was recently seen swinging through the jungle just south of Margate with Jane in hot pursuit. But you can put away your shotgun, Henry, they were here to make a movie - the one which has recently been shown on pay-channel M-Net. The location for the shoot was The Country Lodge at Southbroom, and the Lodge is a favourite venue for film-makers. Several advertisements have been filmed at the Lodge - according to general manager Andrew MacIntosh, it is because the Lodge has 50 hectares of pristine sub-tropical forest and astounding views of the Indian Ocean. So even though you feel as if you're in the deepest jungle, a 5-star cocktail is only a minute away. The treehouse that was used in the movie as Tarzan's home has been turned into a restaurant - with stairs for those who are too full after dinner to swing from the vines. The place is famous for its food and has won several awards for luxury and service - and a conversation with Andrew is as entertaining as any comedy. For more information, get in touch with Andrew at destsafr@iafrica.com or 039 - 316- 8380.

This newsletter was produced under the auspices of the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Authority in order to promote The Kingdom of the Zulu.

Wozani! Our Kingdom Calls!

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