Mtunzini

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Mtunzini
Mtunzini (South Africa)
Mtunzini
Mtunzini
Coordinates 28 ° 57 ′  S , 31 ° 45 ′  E Coordinates: 28 ° 57 ′  S , 31 ° 45 ′  E
Basic data
Country South Africa

province

KwaZulu-Natal
District King Cetshwayo
ISO 3166-2 ZA-KZN
local community uMlalazi
height 95 m
Residents 2199 (2011)

Mtunzini is a coastal city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal . It is located in the uMlalazi parish in the King Cetshwayo district . The name is an isiZulu word and means "place in the shade". In 2011 the city had 2,199 inhabitants.

geography

Mtunzini is roughly in the middle of the KwaZulu-Natal coastline and is about 140 kilometers north of Durban at an altitude of 95 meters above sea level.

The average rainfall in Mtunzini is 1067 millimeters. Most of the precipitation falls in summer (October to March). The lowest amount of precipitation occurs in July with 35 millimeters. Most of the precipitation falls in February (136 millimeters). The average maximum temperature in Mtunzini varies from 22.9 ° C in July to 28 ° C in January. The coldest month is July. Here the average minimum nighttime temperatures are 11 ° C.

history

After the collapse of the Zulu kingdom after the Zulu War , Sir Garnet Wolseley established 13 small kingdoms, two of which were strategically located as a buffer between Port Natal and the Zululand . One of the petty kings was John Dunn, who used Mtunzini as his main town.

Industry

To the southwest of the village, bordering the Umlalazi Nature Reserve , there is an open pit mine run by the US company Tronox , where heavy minerals, mainly zircon , rutile and other minerals , are extracted from the dune sands in the Fairbreeze Mine . The mining products are transported to Empangeni , where mainly titanium dioxide and pig iron are produced in a smelting plant .

tourism

The Umlalazi Lagoon during twilight

In 1948, nine square kilometers of dune forests, lakes and lagoons near Mtunzini were declared a nature reserve - the Umlalazi Nature Reserve . The organization Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (formerly: Natal Parks Board ) is responsible for the park management. The Umlalazi Lagoon is a tourist attraction for water sports enthusiasts and anglers.

Mtunzini is popular with bird watchers. The city is one of the few places where the palm vulture can be found, the rarest bird of prey in South Africa. The birds feed on the fruits of the raffia palm tree ( Raphia australis ) , which carries only once in twenty years fruits before she dies. At the Rafia Palm Monument there is a lush palm vegetation through which an elevated path for walkers leads.

Beach at Mtunzini

Mtunzini has beaches, a 9-hole golf course in the Mtunizini Country Club , the Tradewinds Hotel , many private bed and breakfasts as well as several campsites and holiday homes. The beach is not protected from sharks as it is close to a breeding area - including the bull shark . Nevertheless, Mtunzini is one of the better surfing locations on the North Coast due to the waves among surfers .

Submarine cables

In 2002, a shore connection for the SAFE cable system was set up in Mtunzini . SAFE is an ultra-modern glass fiber - submarine , which Melkbosstrand in the province of Western Cape with Saint-Paul ( Reunion ), Baie Jacotet ( Mauritius ), Kochi ( India ) and Penang ( Malaysia ) connects. In 2009 Mtunzini got a connection to SEACOM and in 2010 the city was connected to EASSy .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 17, 2013
  2. ↑ Mtunzini, South Africa Page ( English ) Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. . Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  3. ↑ Mtunzini climate ( English ) SA Explorer . Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  4. ↑ Tronox: KZN Sands Fair Breeze mine . at www.tronox.com (English)