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62-520: Ikhupe Pass , Is situated in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa , on the National road N11 between Ladysmith and Newcastle . This KwaZulu-Natal location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal ( / k w ɑː ˌ z uː l uː n ə ˈ t ɑː l / , also referred to as KZN ; nicknamed "the garden province")

124-819: A diamond-cutting works, various heavy engineering concerns, the Natal Portland Cement (NPC) slagment cement factory, and the Newcastle Cogeneration Plant (old Ingagane Power Station). This was recommissioned as Africa's first gas-fired power station by Independent Power Southern Africa (IPSA), and it supplies the Karbochem Plant with electricity. The textile industry is a major employer in the Newcastle area, with over 100 factories belonging to ethnic Taiwanese and Chinese industrialists. Maize, livestock and dairy farmers operate on

186-470: A major upheaval in KwaZulu-Natal's political landscape. The African National Congress (ANC), which had won a majority in the province in every election since 2004 , saw its vote collapse by nearly two-thirds, down to 17% and in third place. In contrast, uMkhonto we Sizwe , a new party led by former President Jacob Zuma , became the province's largest party, winning 45% of the vote, primarily among

248-589: A minimum of 21 °C (70 °F), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23 °C (73 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (52 °F). The temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter. Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on

310-438: A number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, plate tectonics movements, and erosion by water and glaciers. Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity . The Columbia Plateau in the north-western United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava. The underlining mechanism in forming plateaus from upwelling starts when magma rises from

372-537: A range of flora and fauna. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory species and are designated as Ramsar sites . South Africa signed the 1971 Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats and numerous species. The former Eastern Cape enclave of

434-553: A river was already there, though not necessarily on exactly the same course. Then, subterranean geological forces caused the land in that part of North America to gradually rise by about a centimeter per year for millions of years. An unusual balance occurred: the river that would become the Colorado River was able to erode into the crust of the Earth at a nearly equal rate to the uplift of the plateau. Now, millions of years later,

496-481: Is Durban , which is also the largest port city in sub-saharan Africa. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, after Gauteng . Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites : the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park . These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s,

558-413: Is 28, an increase of 6 years from 2011. In the 2022 census, 84.8% of the population described themselves as Black African , 9.3% as Indian/Asian , 4.1% as White , and 1.5% as Coloured . A large majority of Black African people in the province are Zulu . KwaZulu-Natal has the largest Indian population in South Africa, with a majority of all Indian South Africans living in the province. A majority of

620-590: Is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu ) and Natal Province . It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean . It shares borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique , Eswatini and Lesotho . Its capital is Pietermaritzburg , and its largest city

682-532: Is a Zulu-style grass hut. The motto is Masisukume Sakhe , Zulu for "Let us stand up and build". KwaZulu-Natal's provincial government sits in Pietermaritzburg . The foundation stone of the new legislative building was laid on 21 June 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee . The building was completed two years later. On 25 April 1889, the Governor of Natal, Sir Arthur Havelock , opened

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744-622: Is divided into three main flat regions: the Bogotá savanna , the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá , and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso . The parallel Sierra of Andes delimit one of the world highest plateaux: the Altiplano , (Spanish for "high plain"), Andean Plateau or Bolivian Plateau. It lies in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. The bulk of

806-549: Is given in parentheses: In 2012, the Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal, in many municipalities. This amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust. The coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs. The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern Florida in

868-452: Is increasingly important to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal. The area's rich biodiversity and efforts at conservation have been recognised. Tourists have come to see the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park , declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites . These two major parks and that of Ndumo have wetlands of international importance listed as Ramsar sites for conservation. Prominent civil society organisations based in

930-566: Is preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish , sharks , dolphins and seabirds . Usually, the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Scientists have been unable to answer many questions surrounding this exceptional seasonal event. The interior of the province consists largely of rolling hills from the Valley of a Thousand Hills to the Midlands . Their beauty has inspired literature. Alan Paton , in

992-710: Is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area. Another example is the Highveld which is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above approximately 1,500 metres, but below 2,100 metres, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions. It is home to some of the largest South African urban agglomerations . In Egypt are the Giza Plateau and Galala Mountain , which

1054-545: Is the Scottish Highlands . Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment. The highest African plateau is the Ethiopian Highlands which cover the central part of Ethiopia. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1,500 metres (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4,550 metres (14,928 ft). It

1116-638: Is the eastern most province in the country. The lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province, while the central Natal Midlands consists of an undulating hilly plateau rising toward the west. Two mountainous areas, the western Drakensberg Mountains and northern Lebombo Mountains form, respectively, a solid basalt wall rising over 3,000 m (9,800 ft) beside Lesotho border and low parallel ranges of ancient granite running southward from Eswatini. The area's largest river,

1178-572: Is the home of more than 70 million people. The Western Plateau , part of the Australian Shield , is an ancient craton covering much of the continent's southwest, an area of some 700,000 square kilometres. It has an average elevation between 305 and 460 metres. The North Island Volcanic Plateau is an area of high land occupying much of the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes,

1240-895: The Deccan Plateau (≈1,900,000 km (730,000 sq mi), elevation 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft)). A large plateau in North America is the Colorado Plateau , which covers about 337,000 km (130,000 sq mi) in Colorado , Arizona , New Mexico , and Utah . In northern Arizona and southern Utah the Colorado Plateau is bisected by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon . This came to be over 10 million years ago,

1302-586: The Deccan Plateau in India and the Meseta Central on the Iberian Peninsula . Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. An example

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1364-488: The Star of Bethlehem , due to Vasco da Gama naming the region "Natalia", a reference to the birth of Christ, on Christmas Day in 1497. The strelitzia flower on the shield symbolizes the province's beauty. The assegai and knobkierrie behind the shield represent protection and peace. The base of the crown element is a type of headdress traditionally worn by Zulu elders, that represents wisdom and maturity. The element itself

1426-553: The Tugela , flows west to east across the center of the province. The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines; steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest . The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland . The province contains rich areas of biodiversity of

1488-408: The mantle , causing the ground to swell upward. In this way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted to form a plateau. For plateaus formed by extrusion, the rock is built up from lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust. Tectonic plateaus are formed by tectonic plate movements which cause uplift, and are normally of a considerable size, and a fairly uniform altitude. Examples are

1550-567: The " Roof of the World ", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates . The Tibetan Plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km (970,000 sq mi), at about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau is sufficiently high to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards

1612-688: The Altiplano lies within Bolivian and Peruvian territory while its southern parts lie in Chile. The Altiplano plateau hosts several cities like Puno, Oruro, El Alto and La Paz the administrative seat of Bolivia. Northeastern Altiplano is more humid than the Southwestern, the latter of which hosts several salares , or salt flats, due to its aridity. At the Bolivia-Peru border lies Lake Titicaca ,

1674-764: The British mainly to work in the sugar plantations on the coast. The colony acquired Zululand (the area north of the Tugela River) after the Zulu War of 1879. The lands north of the Buffalo River were added in 1902. Boer forces entered the area during the South African War (1899 to 1902) – also known as the second Boer War  – and laid siege to Ladysmith . They failed to build on their initial advantage and for three months

1736-741: The Legislative Council buildings have both been protected as provincial landmarks . They formed a colonial Parliament of two houses: a Council of 11 nominated members and an Assembly of 37 elected members. The Natal Parliament was disbanded in 1910 when the Union of South Africa was formed, and the Assembly became the meeting place of the Natal Provincial Council. The council was disbanded in 1986. The Provincial Legislature consists of 80 members. The 2024 election saw

1798-530: The Legislative Council since 1889. Further extensions to the parliamentary building were made. The building was unoccupied until 1902, when it was used without being officially opened, due to the country's being engulfed in the Anglo-Boer war . The war forced the Legislative Assembly to move the venue of its sittings, as its chamber was used as a military hospital. The Legislative Assembly and

1860-721: The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) above sea level , and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) above sea level. At its deepest, the Colorado River is about 1,830 m (6,000 ft) below the level of the North Rim. Another high-altitude plateau in North America is the Mexican Plateau . With an area of 601,882 km (232,388 sq mi) and average height of 1,825 metres, it

1922-611: The Portuguese word for Christmas, Natal . The Nguni branch of the Bantu occupied this area from the early 1300s The first European settlers, mostly British, established Port Natal , a trading post. They made almost no attempt to develop the interior, whose inhabitants had been decimated by the Zulu king, Shaka . The Afrikaner Voortrekkers entered the area via the Drakensberg passes in 1837. These Afrikaners defeated

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1984-501: The South Coast, while Ballito , uMhlanga , Zimbali and Salt Rock are North Coast resort towns. Beaches of world-class quality are to be found along virtually every part of South Africa's eastern seaboard, with some of the least-developed gems found in the far southern and far northern ends of the province. Marina Beach (and its adjoining resort San Lameer) was recognised in 2002 as a Blue Flag beach . Some visitors come for

2046-482: The United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer. As one moves further north up the coast towards the border of Mozambique, the climate becomes almost purely tropical. North of Durban is locally referred to as " The North Coast ", while south is " The South Coast ". The Kwazulu-Natal Tourist board includes towns such as Margate , Port Shepstone , Scottburgh and Port Edward in its definition of

2108-517: The White population is of British descent , making it one of only two provinces (along with the Eastern Cape ) where Whites of British descent outnumber Afrikaners . In the 2022 census, 81.8% of the population reported their first language as Zulu , 14.4% as English , 3.1% as Xhosa , and 1.0% as Afrikaans . KwaZulu-Natal is the only province in which native Zulu-speakers form a majority of

2170-439: The Zulu monarch is considered the monarch of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The King's constitutional powers are limited. This makes KwaZulu-Natal, uniquely among South African provinces, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. As of the 2022 census , KwaZulu-Natal had a population of 12,423,907, an increase of 21.0% from the prior census in 2011 . It is the second-most populous of South Africa's nine provinces. The median age

2232-593: The Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838 and thereafter established the Republic of Natal. Thus, the territory was once part of a short-lived Boer republic between 1839 and 1843 until its annexation by Britain. Many Afrikaner inhabitants left for the interior after the annexation and were replaced by immigrants, mainly from Britain. From 1860 onwards, increasing numbers of Indians, mainly Tamils , were brought in by

2294-489: The annual late autumn or early winter phenomenon on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of the " sardine run ". Referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northward along the Eastern Cape coastline toward KwaZulu-Natal. They follow a route close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres; it

2356-415: The first Legislative Council session in the new building. This was the former site of St Mary's Church, built in the 1860s. The congregation built a new church in 1884 at the corner of Burger Street and Commercial Road. The old building was demolished in 1887 to provide space for the legislative complex. When governance was granted to Natal in 1893, the new Legislative Assembly took over the chamber used by

2418-808: The first non-white and the first person from outside Europe and the Americas to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1960); Pixley ka Isaka Seme , the founder of the African National Congress (ANC) and South Africa's first black lawyer; John Langalibalele Dube , the ANC's founding president; Harry Gwala , ANC member and anti-apartheid activist; Mac Maharaj , Grammy award-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo , Grammy award-winning DJ Black Coffee , ANC member, anti-apartheid activist and Little Rivonia Trial defendant ; Mangosuthu Buthelezi ,

2480-455: The first to include a portion of road that is made of partial plastic, the equivalent of nearly 40,000 recycled milk cartons. KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82 °F) with

2542-463: The forlorn crying of the titihoya , one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu , on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and Griqualand East . On Christmas Day 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama saw the coast of Natal and named the site after

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2604-555: The founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP); Anton Lembede , the founding president of the ANC Youth League ; Jacob Zuma , the former President of South Africa ; Bhambatha , a 19th-century Zulu chief who became an anti-apartheid icon; and Shaka Zulu . At around 92,100 km (35,600 sq mi) in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas and

2666-674: The gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon , the Indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana . Tepuis can be considered minute plateaus and tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Neblina , Autana , Auyan and Mount Roraima . They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian quartz arenite sandstone that rise abruptly from

2728-520: The highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, supporting many sugar cane farms around Pongola. KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho: Domestically, it borders the following provinces: The KwaZulu-Natal Province is divided into one metropolitan municipality and ten district municipalities . The district municipalities are in turn divided into 44 local municipalities . The local seat of each district municipality

2790-492: The jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyán-tepui is the source of Angel Falls , the world's tallest waterfall . The Colombian capital city of Bogota sits on an Andean plateau known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense roughly the size of Switzerland. Averaging a height of 2,600 m (8,500 ft) above sea level, this northern Andean plateau is situated in the country's eastern range and

2852-515: The line between the opposing forces followed the course of the Tugela River . In 1910, the colony became a province of the Union of South Africa and in 1961 of the Republic of South Africa. When the homeland of KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal, which had existed between 1910 and 1994,

2914-601: The most notable of which is the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō . The plateau stretches approximately 100 km east to west and 130 km north to south. The majority of the plateau is more than 600 metres above sea level. A tepui ( / ˈ t ɛ p w i / ), or tepuy ( Spanish: [teˈpuj] ), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana . The word tepui means "house of

2976-536: The north, Newcastle is the province's industrial powerhouse, with Mittal Steel South Africa (previously ISPAT/ISCOR) and the Karbochem synthetic rubber plant dominating the economy. In 2002, Newcastle became the largest producer of chrome chemicals in Africa with the completion of a chrome-chemical plant, a joint-venture project between Karbochem and German manufacturing giant Bayer. Other large operations include

3038-584: The northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom . The southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Republic before the British took over control in 1843, renaming it as the Colony of Natal in 1843. The Zulu Kingdom remained independent until 1879. KwaZulu-Natal is the birthplace of many notable figures in South Africa's history, such as Albert Luthuli ,

3100-479: The novel Cry, the Beloved Country , wrote: There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles (11 km) into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear

3162-428: The outskirts of the city. Coal is mined in the Newcastle area. Offshore mining of heavy mineral sands including minerals with a concentration of significant economic importance at several locations, such as rutile , ilmenite and zircon are threatening the marine ecology of KwaZulu-Natal's coast, including the Tugela Banks. The fishing economy of the prawn and nurse fisheries are also threatened. Ecology tourism

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3224-436: The population. The province also has the second-highest proportion of English speakers of South Africa's nine provinces (after the Western Cape ). According to the 2022 census , 74.9% of the population described themselves as Christians , the lowest proportion among South Africa's nine provinces. Substantial minorities of the population practice Traditional African religions , Hinduism , and Islam . KwaZulu-Natal has

3286-622: The province of KwaZulu-Natal include: Abahlali baseMjondolo (shackdwellers') movement, the Diakonia Council of Churches, the Right2Know campaign, and the Unemployed People's Movement. There are various game reserves found in the province; one notable example is Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park , where the southern white rhinoceros was saved from extinction. In many of these larger reserves, large animals ranging from several antelope species to elephant , Cape buffalo and hippopotamus can be found. Predators include lions , leopards , and Cape wild dogs . Plateau Plateaus can be formed by

3348-459: The province's ethnic Zulu majority. After the election, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which previously had been the province's official opposition party, formed a coalition government with the ANC, the Democratic Alliance (DA), and the National Freedom Party . As part of the coalition agreement, the IFP's Thami Ntuli became premier , making him the first IFP member to hold the position in twenty years. Inkatha Freedom Party's Thami Ntuli

3410-425: The regions joined to create KwaZulu-Natal. Besides its importance as a symbol of the Zulu monarchy, the lion is also featured in the state emblems of the India and the United Kingdom which together represent the three largest people groups in KwaZulu-Natal and also represents the unity between them. The zig-zag stripe represents the Drakensberg , which is green in summer, but snowcapped in winter. The star represents

3472-645: The second largest regional economy in the country after Gauteng . Durban is a rapidly growing urban area and is by most measures the busiest port in Africa. A good railway network links the city to other areas of Southern Africa. Sugar refining is Durban's main industry. Sheep, cattle, dairy, citrus fruits, corn , sorghum , cotton, bananas, and pineapples are also raised. There is an embryonic KwaZulu-Natal wine industry. Other industries, located mainly in and around Durban, include textile, clothing, chemicals , rubber, fertiliser , paper, vehicle assembly and food-processing plants, tanneries, and oil refineries. To

3534-692: The south. The Deosai Plains in Pakistan are situated at an average elevation of 4,114 meters (13,497 ft) above sea level. They are considered to be the second highest plateaus in the world. Other major plateaus in Asia are: Najd on the Arabian Peninsula , elevation 762 to 1,525 m (2,500 to 5,003 ft), Armenian Highlands (≈400,000 km (150,000 sq mi), elevation 900–2,100 metres (3,000–6,900 ft)), Iranian Plateau (≈3,700,000 km (1,400,000 sq mi), elevation 300–1,500 metres (980–4,920 ft)), Anatolian Plateau , Mongolian Plateau (≈2,600,000 km (1,000,000 sq mi), elevation 1,000–1,500 metres (3,300–4,900 ft)), and

3596-416: The surrounding coastline through enormous glaciers . The polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation measurements of ice thickness have shown that large areas are below sea level . But, as the ice melts, the land beneath will rebound through isostasy and ultimately rise above sea level. The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau , sometimes metaphorically described as

3658-501: The town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa . The amendment also made other changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene ( 30°34′35″S 30°34′35″E  /  30.57639°S 30.57639°E  / -30.57639; 30.57639 ) to northeast Lesotho . The province became

3720-432: Was officially inaugurated as the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal on 18 June 2024. KwaZulu-Natal is the home to the Zulu monarch , currently King Misuzulu Zulu kaZwelithini. As of 2015 , the King of the Zulu Nation is provided a stipend of 54 million South African rands by the provincial government. He is also the chairman of the Ingonyama Trust , which controls 32% of the area of the province. Under provincial legislation

3782-467: Was once called Gallayat Plateaus, rising 3,300 ft above sea level. Another very large plateau is the icy Antarctic Plateau , which is sometimes referred to as the Polar Plateau or King Haakon VII Plateau, home to the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station , which covers most of East Antarctica where there are no known mountains but rather 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high of superficial ice and which spreads very slowly toward

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3844-483: Was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy; the majority population speak Zulu . It is the only province in South Africa that has the name of its dominant ethnic group as part of its name. As with Eastern Cape , most White South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal are of British descent and less than a quarter of whites in the province are of Boer/Afrikaner descent. The lion and wildebeest supporters are symbols of, respectively, KwaZulu and Natal,

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