Richards Bay

Richards Bay is a port city on the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast, built around what is described as the deepest natural harbour in Africa and one of the world’s big coal export terminals. It was only proclaimed a town in 1969, and it feels like it: industry first, holidays second. Travellers mostly use it as a place to fly into and sleep on the way to the parks and wetlands of Zululand, though it has a beach, lakes and a couple of small reserves of its own.

Getting there

Durban is the nearest major city, about three hours south by road. Airlink flies between Richards Bay Airport and Johannesburg’s O. R. Tambo, which is a handy way into this part of Zululand without the drive up from Durban.

When to go

Summers are warm and wet, with average highs around 29°C, and winters are mild, with highs around 23°C. Rainfall is high, over 1,200 mm a year, but outdoor activities carry on all year.

What to do

Alkantstrand is the main beach, with a viewing platform where you can look out for whales and humpback dolphins. The town as a whole draws kitesurfers, thanks to a reliable north-easterly wind.

Enseleni Nature Reserve is small, 293 hectares, and sits roughly halfway between Empangeni and Richards Bay. You can walk its trails and expect zebra, wildebeest and reedbuck. Birders do better at the Richards Bay Game Reserve, a mix of tidal flats and swamp forest with the Thulazihleka hide, where about 300 species have been logged. Mzingazi Golf Estate is squeezed between the ocean and Lake Mzingazi, and golf in town comes with unusual hazards: hippos and crocodiles are among the locals on the course.

The bigger draws are a drive away. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park (called the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park until 2007), South Africa’s first natural World Heritage Site, runs 280 km up the coast from Mapelane, just south of the St Lucia estuary, to the Mozambique border. Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, proclaimed in 1895, has the Big Five. Umlalazi Nature Reserve at Mtunzini, about 30 minutes’ drive away, is known for its palmnut vultures and raphia palms.

Good to know

This is a working port town, so think of it as a base rather than the destination. The city sits in the uMhlathuze municipality, which also covers Empangeni, eSikhaleni and several smaller towns, and the airport is run privately rather than by the national airports company.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikipedia (Richards Bay Airport), SA-Venues (Richards Bay), City of uMhlathuze, Wikipedia (iSimangaliso Wetland Park).