The Southern Explorer

KZN South Coast

Find your paradise on the KZN South Coast.

The region's official tourism route guide. Nine routes, endless ways to explore.

Browse routesThe directory
Route 1Paradise BeginsRoute 2Uncover TraditionsRoute 3Adventurer's ParadiseRoute 4A Sea to Sky ParadiseRoute 5Paradise Day & NightRoute 6A Perfect Piece of ParadiseRoute 7Paradise on the GreensRoute 8A Pristine ParadiseRoute 9An Endless Paradise

Start with a route

View all routes
Route 1 · Paradise Begins
Illovo Beach to Sezela
Route 2 · Uncover Traditions
Bazley to Port Shepstone
Route 3 · Adventurer's Paradise
Marburg · Oribi · Ingeli
Explorer Passport

Collect the coast.

Scan member businesses as you explore, collect stamps and unlock rewards along the way.

See what to collect

Discover this season

All stories
Active
Adventure on the KZN South Coast

Gorge swings, shark dives, trail runs and championship golf. The South Coast is built for the outdoors.

Beaches
Blue Flag beaches of the KZN South Coast

The South Coast carries one of South Africa’s densest clusters of Blue Flag beaches. Here is where to find them.

Winter
The Sardine Run: the greatest shoal on earth

Each winter, millions of sardines move up the KZN South Coast, trailed by dolphins, sharks, whales and birds. Here is how to see it.

Featured places

View all
Africarve
Shop · Port Edward
Airtrack Aviation
Do & See · Margate
Beaver Creek Coffee
Eat & Drink · Port Edward
Blue Marlin Hotel
Stay · Scottburgh

What’s on

View all
What’s on this month
Whale season, markets and sundowner sessions along the coast.

    Discover destinations

    All towns
    Scottburgh
    A classic family beach town with a lagoon, tidal pool and easy N2 access.
    Pennington
    A quiet clifftop village known for its conservancy and Umdoni Park's coastal forest.
    Umzumbe
    Long-standing Blue Flag beaches and laid-back surf-town charm.
    Uvongo
    A dramatic river-mouth beach and lagoon backed by a nature reserve.

    Heritage

    The South Coast's original explorer

    For more than two decades, the Southern Explorer has been the official route guide to the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. It began as a printed map and magazine that locals and visitors have trusted since 2002, the founding name in South Coast tourism and the first to map the region's beaches, towns and hidden gems into a single guide.

    Managed by a member-owned association and reissued edition after edition, it remains the region's recognised route guide. Everything you find here, every route, every member and every story, continues that 20-plus year tradition of helping people discover the coast.

    Our story
    Stay in the loop

    Let us inspire you.

    The best of the South Coast, new places, events and seasonal picks, straight to your inbox.