- KwaZulu-Natal
- Margate
- Ramsgate
Ramsgate, Margate, KwaZulu-Natal
- Information
- Commerces & Services (2)
Ramsgate has a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere with its own conservancy programme promoting indigenous fauna and flora. It is a quaint small village on the mouth of the Ibilanhlolo river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast about 4 km south of Margate, with all the amenities of other larger centres but with a lovelier ambience and is surrounded by natural vegetation. At the mouth of the river there is a lagoon set amid wild banana palms. The beach is only one of four on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast to have been awarded the coveted Blue Flag status.
The annual sardine run between June and July attracts large numbers of dolphins, whales, and bird life. On your doorstep there are world class golf courses, nature reserves, a casino, crocodile farm, whale watching, boat trips, fishing, horse riding, quad biking, scuba diving etc. Boat launches can be seen daily from ski boat bay.
Ramsgate offers you a relaxing experience on the edge of the Indian Ocean with the option of some hectic nightlife only a few kms away.
With its warm ocean and wonderfully warm subtropical climate all year, the area is conducive not only for tourism but also for cultivating subtropical crops such as bananas and sugarcane, which provide an appealing backdrop to the golden sands of the beaches and the azure waters of the Indian Ocean below.
History
The name of Ramsgate was given by a surveyor to the coastal farm at the mouth of the river known as Bilanhlolo ('the marvellous boiler') because its pools, through some action of the current, bubble as though on the verge of boiling. Europeans sometimes call the river 'Big Billy' from its African name.
In 1922 the only person living here was a romantic character called Paul Buck, a painter and violin maker who called the place 'blue lagoon' and built himself a house on the banks of the river.