Mtunzini is a small coastal town situated along the N2 National Route, just off the R102 Regional Route in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The town lies on the banks of the Umlalazi River, close to its mouth on the Indian Ocean.
Mtunzini is located almost exactly halfway along the entire KwaZulu-Natal coastline, approximately 136 km north-east of Durban.
The town’s name, Mtunzini, is a Zulu word meaning “a place in the shade”.
Mtunzini falls within the uMlalazi Local Municipality, which is part of the King Cetshwayo District Municipality.
History
Following the breakup of the Zulu Kingdom after the Anglo-Zulu War, Sir Garnet Wolseley created 13 ‘kinglets’ – with two strategically located as buffer zones between Port Natal and Zululand. One of these kinglets was John Dunn, who used Mtunzini as his capital.
In 1948, 9 km² of dune forests, lakes, and lagoon at Mtunzini were proclaimed a nature reserve known as the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. This area falls under the protection of the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (previously known as Natal Parks Board).
The Umlalazi Lagoon is a popular tourist attraction for watersports enthusiasts and fishermen alike. Recreational and commercial ski-boat fishermen also launch their boats in the lagoon to head for the Indian Ocean via the mouth of the Umlalazi River.
In 2002, Mtunzini became a landing point for the South Africa Far East (SAFE) state of the art Optical fiber Submarine communications cable, linking Melkbosstrand to the West with Saint Paul (Réunion), Baie Jacotet (Mauritius), Cochin (India), and Penang (Malaysia).
In 2009, Mtunzini became a landing point for the SEACOM cable, and in 2010, Mtunzini became the landing point for the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) cable.
