Uvongo
Uvongo Beach
Uvongo Show map of KwaZulu-Natal Uvongo Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 30°49′S 30°23′E / 30.817°S 30.383°E / -30.817; 30.383
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	Ugu
Municipality	Ray Nkonyeni
Main Place	Margate
Area [1]
• Total	4.52 km2 (1.75 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	4,288
• Density	950/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	21.6%
• Coloured	2.0%
• Indian/Asian	4.4%
• White	71.8%
• Other	0.3%
First languages (2011) [1]
• English	57.7%
• Afrikaans	25.5%
• Zulu	8.1%
• Xhosa	5.6%
• Other	3.2%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	4270
PO box	4270

Uvongo is a seaside resort town situated along the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast at the mouth of the Vungu River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Situated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Margate, Uvongo is the largest upmarket residential area on the lower South Coast.

Uvongo beach lost its "Blue Flag" title due to storms damaging it in April 2007 but has managed to regain a clean and prestigious beach front. Uvongo still remains the playground of the rich,^{[citation needed]} with multimillion rand properties in the area. Uvongo is one of South Africa's favourite holiday destinations and attracts local and foreign tourists.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

The town is named after the Vungu River,^[2] which is derived from the Zulu word that describes the sound of a waterfall or the wind in a gorge.

Geography

Uvongo is situated along the Lower South Coast, south of the Mhlangeni River. Its neighboring towns are St Michael’s-on-Sea and Shelly Beach to the north and Manaba Beach and Margate to the south.

The main river flowing through Uvongo, the Vungu River, forms a 23 metre high waterfall known as the Uvongo Falls above the river lagoon that flows into a small gorge at the river mouth.^[3]

The Greater Uvongo area consists of three smaller suburbs, namely Uvongo proper, situated inland from the coastline, Uvongo Beach, situated along the coastline north of the Vungu River, and Beacon Rocks, situated along the coastline south of the Vungu River.^[4]

Transport

Roads

The R61 (future N2 Wild Coast Toll Route) is a toll freeway bypassing Uvongo from Port Shepstone in the north to Port Edward in the south. The R620 is the main road through Uvongo, passing through from Shelly Beach in the north to Margate in the south as Marine Drive.

Apart from the two main north–south routes, there are two smaller east–west routes in Uvongo including Seaslopes Road, which provides access to the R61 and Knoxgore Road, which connects Uvongo with Gamalakhe.