Beautiful KwaZulu Natal

Beautiful beaches hug the Indian Ocean, historic battlefield sites dot the countryside and rugged mountain tops frame the bright blue African sky.

I’ve visited KZN 5 times in total, twice to the North Coast and three times to the South Coast.

North of Durban, I’ve spent time in both St Lucia and Kosi Bay (on the Mozambique border), both are peaceful locations with stunning beaches and great wildlife encounters:

St Lucia is a lovely little town and is the hub to the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park. There’s a variety of good restaurants in town – I was treated to a crocodile steak (surprisingly, it tasted just like chicken!) and some great fish & chip shops! Activities here are mainly centred around the water – I went on my first deep sea fishing trip here and didn’t do too badly if I say so myself! The long golden beach is just breathtaking, and rather unusual in that you must first go round the lagoon, cross over wooden walkways through the dense tropical vegetation, with giant crocs & hippos in sight! Be sure to visit Cape Vidal Nature Reserve – go early as the number of visitors allowed in each day is limited – you’ll be treated to sightings of rhino, zebra, giraffe and plenty of buck as you drive through. End up at the most amazing tropical beach, remember to pack a snorkel!

Kosi Bay is located just a mile from the Mozambique border, on the very North East coast of South Africa. I spent just over a week here camping with my daughter and extended family and it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in South Africa. We stayed at a lovely, rustic campsite just outside the entrance to Kosi Bay Nature Reserve – there are a number of campsites and lodges in the area, some only accessible by 4x4 – but the best part is the Nature Reserve itself. Drive through coastal forest until you reach the shores of Lake Nhlange where you set up camp for the day. Make sure to bring plenty of food & drinks and a gazebo for shade as there are no facilities here, it is completely untouched. The area is well known for its fantastic snorkelling and excellent fishing but also for the amazing wildlife. In the summer months, turtles come ashore to nest on the reserves beaches, whilst in the winter humpback whales can be seen on their migration towards Mozambique’s warm waters where they go to calve.

A short drive away is Tembe Elephant Park, a 300km2 reserve, the ancestral home of the Tembe tribe who own and co-manage both the Park and the Tembe Elephant Lodge. Apart from its magnificent elephants (including some of the biggest living tuskers), Tembe is home to the Big Five, as well as more than 340 bird species and a host of other animals and plants. Its unique sand forest, swamp and savannah eco-system is a timeless world of hot silence and white sand, a refuge from the busy modern world. You can pop in for the day and self-drive or there is a lodge on site which offers guided safari drives.

I’ve also visited much of the coast south of Durban and have stayed in San Lameer, Uvongo (just outside Margate) and Hibberdene. There are endless beaches on this stretch of coast and you can enjoy a typical beach holiday with an African flare. Great food, particular fresh fish & curries! It’s preferable to stay in one of the quieter towns/villages along the coast as the beaches around Durban and in the bigger towns do get very busy, particularly over Christmas & New Year. For those of you who are adrenaline junkies, you must visit Lake Eland & The Oribi Gorge – extreme ziplining (which my daughter loved, but I must admit terrified me!!) and bungee jumps! Not for the faint hearted.

Those looking for 5* luxury, The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga is to die for!

We’ve driven through the Drakensburg Mountains on many occasions, often on our way from the Free State, and always packed a breakfast picnic to enjoy whilst watching the sunrise over the mountains. For those interested in hiking there are some superb trails.

For history buffs there’s a significant number of historical battle sites to explore, including the two most famous: Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. Set amongst the beautiful rolling countryside of Northern and Central KwaZulu Natal, these battles shaped the history of both South Africa and Britain.