Location

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• Location of KwaZulu-Natal

  
  

  KwaZulu-Natal is located on the Indian Ocean seaboard and is one of South Africa's nine provinces. Occupying about 93,450 square kilometres - equivalent to 7.7% of the total land area of the country, KwaZulu-Natal occupies the third smallest land area in the country.
  
  Part of the east coast of Africa, it stretches from Port Edward in the south to the Swaziland and Mozambique borders to the north.

• Topography

  
  The province can be assigned together with three geographic zones: a lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast, rolling plains in the central region and a mountainous area in the far north. The wetlands and lakes around Isimangaliso are a unique attraction and the Drakensberg range (South Africa's highest mountains, occupying about 7% of the province) which extends for 200km along the western boundary, reaching heights of more than 3500 metres. Three large rivers have their source in these mountains.

• Vegetation

  
  Since this is the best-watered province, KwaZulu-Natal is perennially green. Vegetation tends to be lush along the coastal strip, with enormous coastal forests found on some of the world's highest sand dunes along the northern part of the coastline. A huge number of brightly coloured plant species exist, and sugarcane covered fields predominate in the north. Varied and dense coastal forests and bush, as well as lala and wild banana palms occur in great profusion along the South Coast. The variety extends from tropical and subtropical types at the coast, through rolling grasslands, to tundra types in the high Drakensberg.

• Air Travel and Time Zones

  Distance to other South African Cities by Air is as follows:

  By Air
  ..	548	..	..	..	..	379	661	..	461	911	Bloemfontein (FS)
  ..	648	..	..	..	820	1 272	348	863	1 250	Cape Town (WC)	998
  ..	674	..	..	497	..	501	926	451	Durban (KZN)	1 660	667
  ..	231	..	..	..	..	766	..	East London (EC)	667	1 042	575
  ..	300	..	..	..	..	1 040	George (WC)	630	1 240	436	764
  ..	909	285	443	280	453	Johannesburg (GP)	1 168	992	598	1 405	417
  ..	..	..	..		Kimberlly (NC)	467	734	750	842	960	175
  ..	..	..	..	Nelspruit (MP)	832	358	1 509	1 214	689	1 779	771
  ..	..	..	Pietermaritzburg (KZN)	675	748	503	1 173	594	77	1 544	578
  ..	..	Pietersburg (LP)	811	320	805	331	1 499	1 323	929	1 736	748
  ..	Port Eliza-beth (EC)	1 393	854	1 373	752	1 062	330	300	927	756	635
  Pretoria (GP)	1 120	273	561	342	532	58	1 226	1 050	656	1 463	475
  By Road
  Source: Automobile Association of South Africa, South African Airways

  Standard South African time is two hours ahead of GMT, one hour ahead of Central European Winter Time, 10 hours behind New Zealand Winter Time, and eight hours behind Eastern Australian Winter Time.