BOTANICAL SURVEY OF NATAL AND 

 ZULULAND. 



A RECONNAISANCE TRIP THROUGH NORTH-EASTERN 

 ZULULAND. 



By R. D. AITKEN, M.Sc., and G. W. GALE, B.Sc. 



I. OUTLINE OF ITINERARY. 



A JOURNEY was undertaken by us from Sornkele, the terminus of the 

 North Coast railway line, to the Ingwavuma District, the most 

 northerly in Zululand. The distance covered was approximately 100 

 miles north from Somkele. The means of transport was the only one 

 possible in a country unoccupied by white settlers, viz., a wagon 

 and a span of sixteen donkeys. Progress by this means is extremely 

 slow; and more so since the road we followed is not a Government 

 road, consequently receiving no attention from road-parties, and runs 

 for a considerable distance through heavy sandy soil. Add to these 

 circumstances the fact that fodder is unobtainable, and that in 

 consequence considerable time has to be allowed each day for grazing 

 -which in mid-winter and along the road is hard to get and poor in 

 quality and it will scarcely be surprising that a day's journey rarely 

 exceeds twelve miles. 



Commencing on the evening of 30th June from Somkele, we 

 followed the " lower road " (as it is known locally) to Ntondweni Store 

 and Mission Station, 12 miles distant. Eight miles farther on the 

 Hluhluwe River was crossed, beyond which the road branches, one 

 branch running in a north-westerly direction and traversing the hilly 

 country east of Hlabisa Magistracy until it joins the main Govern- 

 ment road from Somkele to Nongoma, 12 miles north of the Hlabisa 

 Magistracy. The other branch, which we followed, runs more or less 

 parallel with the coast at some distance (about 17 miles) inland. It 

 crosses the Mzinene River about 16 miles north of the Hluhluwe, after 

 running parallel to its right bank for some distance, the Munywane 

 River (which marks the boundary between the TJbombo and Hlabisa 

 Districts) 4 miles further on, the Mkuzi River 12 miles north of this, 

 below its confluence with the Umsunduzi River, and finally the 

 Mseleni River, which is 72 miles from Somkele. From here the road 

 pursues a northward course, but after crossing the Mseleni (which 

 we reached on 7th July) we left the road and trekked some 3 miles 

 eastwards till we reached the Mseleni Mission Station, the first 

 civilized dwelling seen since leaving Ntondweni, 60 miles to the south. 

 The missionary in charge (Mr. 0. E. Witt) entertained us most 

 hospitably, and provided us with pack-donkeys and a guide, which 

 enabled us in a day to travel some 25 miles to the north-east. Here, 

 at Emalangeni, which is just south of Kosi Lake and near the sea. we 



