Paulpietersburg lies at the base of the eDumbe Mountains in north of KwaZulu-Natal in central Zululand. It is only about three and a half hour’s drive from Johannesburg and Durban and is on the Rainbow Route which starts in Mpumalanga and ends in Mtunzini on the Zululand coast after passing through Vryheid, Paulpietersburg, Piet Retief and Melmoth.
The town in well known for the quality of its water and the nine hot springs which bubble out of the ground at the Natal Spa. It is also recognized as one of the healthiest places in which to live because of the climate and the water. A bottling plant has been established to exploit the natural springs.
The area played a significant role in the Anglo-Zulu Wars and the Anglo-Boer Wars and is on the Battlefields Route. In fact, the town is named after the Boer president, Paul Kruger and the Voortrekker hero, Pieter Joubert. The Ntombe battlefield, on the north bank of the Ntombe River, a tributary of the Phongola River, is where Captain Moriarty, some 60 troops and a number of camp attendants were overrun and killed by Zulu Impi during the Anglo-Zulu War. An attraction is Fort Clery built in 1879 in Lüneburg, part of Paulpietersburg.
There is a definite German flavor to the area because of the Lutheran missionaries who settled there in the 19th century. The oldest German school in KwaZulu-Natal was established in Lüneburg. German tourists are fascinated to find such a distinct German character in a remote town in Zululand.
There is much to do in the area apart from enjoying the hot springs – paragliding from the 1536m high eDumbe Mountain, fly-fishing in the nearby Pongola River, horse trailing and visiting the Wagendrift Game Park and the Pongola Bush Reserve.
More information on Zululand.
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