Pongola (also known in
Zulu as uPhongolo) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
on the north bank of the
Phongolo River, in a fertile valley on the
N2, near the
Lubombo Mountains
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...
, in the valleys of
Zululand, easily accessible to the Swaziland border posts. It was part of the
Transvaal panhandle between the Phongolo (
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
) and
Swaziland (now Eswatini) until 1994, when it was transferred to KwaZulu-Natal.
It is a unique and tranquil subtropical environment. It has more than 50 km
2 of
sugarcane and
subtropical fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
plantations surrounding it. During the
Depression years of the 1930s, drastic
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
systems were started in Pongola for sugar cane farms. The town thrived as a result of the canal system and a
sugar mill that was built. Today it is part of the
uPhongolo Local Municipality
uPhongolo Local Municipality, is a local municipality in the northern area of Zululand, in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2007, the uPhongolo Municipality contained 154 rural shops, 124 schools, 27 hotels, resorts or conference ...
.
Pongolapoort Dam and Pongola Game Reserve is to the east. It is the only dam in South Africa where you can catch African tigerfish (family Alestidæ).
The uPhongolo Local Municipality is one of five local municipalities located within the area of the Zululand District Municipality. The municipality is governed by the ANC Council consisting of 22 Councillors and an executive committee and Hon. Cllr Winile Nhlabathi is the Mayor. The administrative functions are performed by the Municipal Manager and a team of managers. Among other schools, there are Pongola Akademie, Dingukwazi Senior Secondary School and Langa High School. Dingukwazi High Currently led by principal Dr S.G Msane and Bambanani led by Principal Mr M. Ntshangase are leading schools in Pongola in terms of enrolment so as Matric pass rates.
Pongola is surrounded by hunting lodges and several have even the Big Five. Some farms specialize in biltong hunting and others concentrate on trophy hunting.
Richard Antoine Rouillard, born in the Phoenix district of Mauritius in 1873, was the driving force behind the agricultural and economic prosperity of the Louwsburg and Magut districts. The pioneering spirit which opened up the interior of South Africa came in a variety of guises.
Pongola is home to Tugam Game Farm, uPhongolo's oldest game reserve.
References
External links
Pongola TourismPongola Game ReserveStatistics at Stats SA
Populated places in the uPhongolo Local Municipality
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