Umhlali ( Zulu: ''eMhlali'') is a village on the

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, an urban area and major division in the parish of Saint John * North Coast, Barbuda, an administrative district of Barbuda Australia * New South Wa ...

of the

KwaZulu-Natal province 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 ...

, just inland from

Salt Rock Salt Rock is a small coastal village just north of Ballito and Shaka's Rock situated along the Dolphin Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is a favorite holiday destination for many local South Africans. It is approximately located 52 k ...

and approximately 50 km north-west 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 ...

. The name of the village, "Umhlali" derives from the Zulu name of the Monkey Orange tree - a small semi-deciduous tree that is predominant along the banks of the uMhlali River, north of the village.

History

The village of Umhlali, was established by British and Scottish Byrne settlers in 1850 and was originally Fort William, as it was the site of a fort. It was later renamed Umhlali which is the Zulu name for the Monkey Orange tree, which grew plentifully along the banks of the uMhlali River but it was also locally referred to it as the “place of waiting” because settlers and locals would have to wait on the banks before crossing the river on a northward journey. At that time, the nearby coastal town of

Ballito Ballito is an affluent coastal town located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Ballito is about north of Durban and 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of KwaDukuza. It forms part of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, and iLembe District Municipality. ...

was a small coastal village consisting of a few beach shacks whilst Umhlali was the hub of the farming community with the heart of the village being the bustling main road (the current R102 route) consisting of a bank, post office, supermarket, hairdresser, car dealership, farmers’ co-op and the Lali Hotel. Until the new retail developments launched in Ballito, Umhlali was initially one of the only places in the Dolphin Coast locally to buy groceries, collect post, do banking, fill up with petrol and go to school. A significant landmark in Umhlali, Umhlali Preparatory School, which opened its doors on 11 February 1918, still exists alongside the R102 main road and is still a highly esteemed and popular school on the Dolphin Coast today.

Today

Today Umhlali still remains a quaint farming village, mostly supported by the surrounding sugarcane farms and industry and has remained largely unaffected by the rapid urban growth in the nearby Ballito/Shaka’s Rock/Salt Rock area. Umhlali consists of a post office, petrol station, Coastal Farmer's Co-Op, a small lifestyle centre named Sugar Village, small cafes and restaurants, automotive services and agricultural stores amongst other facilities.

Geography

Located in the hilly countryside, Umhlali lies just south of the uMhlali River after which it is named after. The village is positioned approximately 3 km south of

Shakaskraal Shakaskraal is a town in the iLembe District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, situated approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi) south-west of KwaDukuza and 53 kilometres (33 mi) north-east of Durban. The town is dominate ...

(north of the uMhlali River), 3 km west of the coastal village of

and 9 km north-west of the coastal town of

. Umhlali also forms part of the Dolphin Coast which incorporates Ballito, Shaka’s Rock, Salt Rock, Tinley Manor, Zinkwazi Beach and Shakaskraal.

Infrastructure

Rail

The main

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

route between

in the south-east (via

oThongathi oThongathi, previously and still commonly known as Tongaat, is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about north of Durban and south of KwaDukuza. It now forms part of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, or the Greater Durban area. The area ...

) and

KwaDukuza KwaDukuza, previously known as Stanger, is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates towns such as Stanger, Ballito and Shakaskraal), but the Zulu people in the area called ...

in the north-east (via

), known as the North Coast Line, has a station in the village, namely the Umhlali railway station.

Roads

Umhlali lies at the junction of the R102 and Salt Rock Road. The R102 bisects the village in a north–south direction, connecting

with

, while Salt Rock Road connects Umhlali with

to the east and provides access to the

N2 highway N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

which runs north–south from

References

{{iLembe District Municipality Populated places in the KwaDukuza Local Municipality