Mkuze, also named Mkhuze or uMkhuze is a small town in Northern

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is located approximately 350 km from the city of

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

. It is along the N2 road en route to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

; between the Mkuze River and Intaba Yemikhovu (Ghost Mountain). Mkuze is some distance from other small towns such as Hluhluwe (50 km),

Nongoma Nongoma is a town in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the seat of the Nongoma Local Municipality. It is situated 300 km north of Durban and 56 km from Ulundi; it is surrounded by the Ngome Forest. It is a busy market tow ...

(76 km), Pongola (65 km), and

Jozini Jozini is a settlement in Umkhanyakude District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Jozini is a small town on the main route to Mozambique, and it is close to the Jozini or Pongolapoort Dam. Lake Jozini, as the dam is ca ...

(25 km). Mkuze is the seat of

Umkhanyakude District Municipality The uMkhanyakude District Municipality () is the northernmost of the 11 districts of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Its seat is Mkuze. It is a very rural district, the largest town being Mtubatuba in the south, with Hluhluwe, Mkuze ...

Population and culture

About 50,000 people reside in the small town of Mkuze. As part of the KwaZulu-Natal province, the two official languages of Mkuze (which means "Chorus master" in

isiZulu Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciatio ...

) are Zulu and English.

Mkuze (uMkhuze) Game Reserve

Mkuze Game Reserve has a large variety of natural habitats: from the eastern slopes of the

Lebombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, Rivombo Mountains (), 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 ...

along its eastern boundary, to broad stretches of

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s and a variety of woodlands and riverine forest. A rare type of sand forest also occurs in the reserve. It is renowned among ornithologists, with more than 420 different bird species on record. The Mkuze River curves along the Mkuze Game Reserve's northern and eastern borders with a stretch of fig forest along its banks. Fish eagles swoop over the pans, snatching prey spotted from their perches in the fever trees.

Ghost Mountain

Mkuze is overlooked by Ghost Mountain, previously a historic battle field. This mountain is said to be the tombs of the previous Chiefs of the mountain and, according to legend, it has been the scene of a number of bloody fights. It is said that Intaba Yemikhovu is where the King Dingaan was killed by the King

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona (–24 September 1828), also known as Shaka (the) Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reform ...

's son Mhlophekazi who was known as Mbophe's son, even though it is believed he died near Tugela river. With its dramatic silhouette, in the shape of an old woman or witch head, it is not difficult to understand why the mountain is said to be haunted and to be the theatre of paranormal activities.

Economy

Mkuze is a farming community with concentrated

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

crops as well as isolated forest plantations. In the 1980s cotton farming was a source of employment to villages around the town. With cotton processing firms ceasing to operate, some of these farms have been converted to cattle farming. The Mkuze Game Reserve, Ghost Mountain Inn, and Engen Service Station (with a Wimpy) are the flagships of Mkuze.Mduduzi Myeni, deputy principal of Ezimbidleni Primary Mkuze is on the freight railway line which runs from

. Its airfield is approximated to be 2.5 km long. Mkuze Taxi Association provides transportation to Johannesburg, Durban, Empangeni and many other destinations. Villagers commute mainly by vans (or bakkies) to and from town. There are several game parks such as the Thanda Private Game Reserve, Nsubane Pongola Transfrontier Conservation Area and the Phinda Resource Reserve close to Mkuze. Visitors to Mkuze can also find accommodation at Banghoek, Msunduze, Baobab (Bayala) and Inyala Game Lodge.

Communities

There are not many townhouses or other accommodation available in Mkuze. Communities that Mkuze supports includes villages at Ubombo, Enkukhwini, Tshaneni, Mhlekazi, Enhlohlela, Ezimbidleni (of which the furthest is approximately 35 km), as well as the surrounding farms. Umlingo Village is a low cost housing development in town. The most popular senior secondary schools around the town includes Mmemezi High (Mhlekazi), Mdolomba (Ezimbidleni), Mangwazana (Ubombo), Madlaka High (Tshaneni), Sandlasenkosi (Tshaneni) and Mthwazi High which is in town. Popular primary schools includes Tshaneni (Tshaneni), Sambulo (Tshaneni), Ezimbidleni (Ezimbidleni), Mhlekazi (Mhlekazi), Bhekimkhonto (Mhlekazi South of Mpungamlilo), Velakukhanya (Ezimbidleni West or Ehlanzeni), and Mkuze Primary School is the only multi-racial school in town. The Mkuze Country Club provides examination facilities for long distance education institutions such as the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

(Unisa).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mkuze, Kwazulu-Natal Populated places in the Jozini Local Municipality