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Umkomaas, also known by its official name eMkhomazi, is a small coastal town on the subtropical South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was formed when a harbour was built in 1861 to export sugar. The town rests beside the mouth of the navigable uMkhomazi River, also known as the Mkhomazi or Umkomaas. With the successful dredging of Durban harbour's sandbar and arrival of the railway, like Port Shepstone, the harbour fell into disuse, but the village came to life. It is administered as eMkhomazi Area, together with the nearby areas of Craigieburn, Clansthal, Ilfracombe, Crowder, Amahlongwa and Hull Valley Slide 1 (durban.gov.za) as part Ward 99 in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
On 1 October 2010, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture gazette the list of approved name changes which included the eMkhomazi town and uMkhomazi river. However, no changes have been made on road signs in the area regarding the spelling and many residents and businesses of area still spell the town with its original spelling of “Umkomaas”.
The turning point for the South Coast, including Umkomaas, was in 1857 when the Legislative Council decided to promote development by opening up Crown land grants. This led to a flurry of interest, and by 1859, there were 93 colonists in the coastal area between the uMkhomazi and Ifafa rivers. The success of sugar plantations, especially John McKenzie’s Craigie Burn estate, contributed significantly to the area’s development.
It was established as settlement around 1861 when a harbor was constructed to facilitate the export of sugar. In Umkomaas, the entry of the ship Natalie was seen as a breakthrough for travel and transportation, as it brought access to Durban within a few hours, saving significant costs per ton of cargo. After inspecting the river mouth in 1872, the Surveyor-General, Dr P.C. Sutherland noted that until the settlement at Umkomaas grew in size, there was no urgency to expend further resources on developing the river mouth. Leading way to the slow disuse of the harbour and eventual abandonment once the dredging of Durban Harbour was successful.Natalia No 45 Article Umkomaas.pdf
The South African Navy mine countermeasures vessel SAS Umkomaas is named in honour of the river and village.
Occasionally, raft races, canoeing, and other sporting events are held on the river. The river is a popular white-water rafting destination. During the winter dry season, the river mouth often silts up, but after heavy rains it carries large amounts of brown sediment into the Indian Ocean. Some of this sedimentation is due to anthropogenic (human-made) pressures on the local ecosystem. These pressures include soil erosion caused by over-grazing, intensive cultivation, sewage disposal, informal farming and settlements, timber plantations, and the removal of sand or topsoil from the river's basin.
The uMkhomazi river valley is mentioned in an early chapter of Alan Paton's 1948 novel Cry, the Beloved Country. Probably derived from the Zulu word uMkhamazi, the name relates to the sighting of a whale in the river estuary at some point in history. The river's tributaries include the Madoba, Mkhomazana, Mtungwane, Nhlatimbe and Nhlavini.
The river's basin covers about 4,315 km2, annual discharge is approximately 1 x 106 m3 and sediment load is an estimated 900 000 tons per year. Some parts of the river basin are vulnerable to flooding due to the steep topography and weather systems, such as intense thunderstorms and cut-off lows. This is exacerbated by land degradation and impervious urban areas. Some floods have resulted in loss of life, destruction of properties where development has encroached on floodplains in densely populated areas, and damage to roads and bridges.Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa. 2004. Internal Strategic Perspective: Mvoti to Mzimkulu Water Management Area : Prepared by Tlou and Matji (Pty) Ltd, WRP (Pty) Ltd, and DMM cc on behalf of the Directorate: National Water Resource Planning (East). DWAF Report No. P WMA 11/000/00/0304.
There are also locations nearby, which form part of the village, such as Craigieburn, Roseneath, Clansthal, Ilfracombe and Magabeni.
Saiccor has for some time been a controversial plant. It was purchased by international pulp and paper giant Sappi in 1988, and while it continues to provide jobs for about 1200 workers, and a livelihood for their dependents, concerns were raised as early as the 1990s over Saiccor's adverse effect on asthmatic children at the nearby Umkomaas Drift School. In 1999 Saiccor paid for the relocation of the school.
Additionally, a large amount of effluent is pumped out to sea, and major extensions of this effluent pipe were carried out in 1987 and 1999, though Saiccor maintained for many years that the effluent was largely harmless. A well-known act was when Saiccor chief executive was challenged to drink a glass of effluent at a company function.
Saiccor is today the world's largest producer of chemical cellulose, and employs about 1200 people directly and about 20 000 indirectly, its pulp being used largely for products such as viscose, acetate and cellophane. In 2012 the company said almost half its staff came from Umkomaas, Magabeni, Craigieburn, Roseneath and Widenham.
The manufacture of over 1 billion components annually for the packaging industry and furniture assembly are also carried out in the area. Additional infrastructure includes the roads and railways built by and for Saiccor's operations, together with a stretch of Spoornet-owned coastal track, on which Saiccor to this day maintains and operates classic steam engines.
There are some eucalyptus and wattle plantations on higher inland ground in the general area, many of which were established for Saiccor. But most of the farming done around Umkomaas is for sugar cane and these fields are a noticeable landscape feature.
Umkomaas is renowned for the superb diving opportunities created by the Aliwal Shoal, a volcanic reef about 5 kilometres offshore. Ragged-tooth sharks, rock cod, and a number of other species can be found in the shoal.
Diving-related tourism has grown dramatically in the past decade, although the Shoal features two especially fine shipwrecks, the Nebo and the Produce, that long predate the Shoal's current surge in popularity. The Aliwal Shoal was formed about 80 000 years ago. Diving and accommodation information is available in the village and online.
To add to Umkomaas and activities is a newly established airfield called "Umkomaas Airfield" just outside of Umkomaas where microlight and aeroplane joyrides and training take place.
Other wildlife in the area includes snakes, most of them non-venomous species including the red-lipped herald and the Boaedon capensis. However, black mamba have also been found in the area. Monkeys here are less common than in Scottburgh, but birds are abundant, including the hadeda ibis. Small wild cats like the genet and civet have been reported on rare occasions. Nile crocodiles found near Freeland Park and the lower Amahlongwa, 8 kilometres south, are not present in Umkomaas. Duiker abound and can be seen in Empisini. The larger bushbuck has also been seen in local bush.
A major spectacle occurring most years is the Sardine Run, the annual courtship migration (contingent on climatic conditions) of from South Africa's southern coast to the warmer waters of KwaZulu-Natal. It usually occurs in July and has featured on Jeff Corwin's show on Animal Planet. The sardine attract many predatory fish, seabirds, and sharks, on a scale rarely seen anywhere else.
Umkomaas was one of the coastal villages affected by the high winds and freak waves generated by the storms of late March 2007. Beachfront areas and the complex formerly known as 'The Whaler' were some parts of the village damaged in the storm.
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