Greytown.co.za

LOCATION

Greytown is situated in Umvoti County 1 103m above sea level.  It is 155 km from Durban, 75 km from Pietermaritzburg, 450 km from Johannesburg and about 95 km from Stanger.

CLIMATE

Greytown is in the mistbelt of the KZN Midlands. Summers are warm with the temperatures generally in the upper 20s C to early 30s sometimes going into the upper 30s. Winter mornings and evenings are cold with frost from time to time with temperatures warming up nicely by midday. Snow is a very rare occurrence in town but light falls are experienced in the outlying hills every 2 or 3 years.

SCENIC DRIVES

Greytown is the hub of many interesting scenic drives, which vary from rolling sugar cane fields to timber plantations of pine, wattle, gum and poplar, while a little further north of the town aloes and euphorbia are clustered on the hillsides overlooking winding roads to the Muden Valley or to Dundee.  En route Bushman paintings can be explored on the rocky hillsides.  An Isivivane (cairn of stones), the original map and placed by early Zulu travellers for good luck, can be seen on the right as one drops into Weenen. 

• The First Migration was from the Old World to the New World when Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492;
• The Second Migration was from the East to the Wild West.
• The Third was the move to the cities to seek their fortunes.
• the Fourth Migration was to the suburbs.
• people are now moving to the small towns in the Fifth Migration.

• We had the Old World to the New.
• We had the Great Trek from South to North.
• The discovery of gold and diamonds sent us to the cities.
• The hustle and bustle and crime have chased us from the city centres to the suburbs.
• The suburbs are no longer the quiet havens they used to be. 
• The Fifth Migration to the small towns has started! Don't be left behind, rather lead the pack and take advantage before prices rise!

• it's easy! You're 2 minutes drive (or 5 minutes walk) from everything!
• it's safe! - fewer people means fewer places for criminals to hide
• it's friendly!
• it's cheap!
• it's healthy!
• it all adds up to a better quality of life!

• it has all the essential services - good schools, good hospitals, a number of doctors, all the major banks, a couple of supermarkets, Arcadia Old Age Home
• it has a strong infrastructure - the town's finances have remained strong over the last 10 years
• it has plenty of leisure activities to offer - golf, bowls, tennis, rugby, hockey, birding, squash
• it is central - 1 hour to Pietermaritzburg, 1 hour 45 mins to Durban, 1 hour 10 mins to the North Coast, 1 hour 30 mins to the 'Berg, 5 hours to Johannesburg
• it is cheap to establish yourself - house prices are reasonable at the moment giving you an opportunity to get yourself a better house without having to find extra cash
• and it's just got to be the prettiest town you ever did see!

But why let us do the talking? This is what Leon De Kok had to say in his column in Martin Spring's Personal Finance* newsletter on a feature on the best retirement destinations in the KZN Midlands:-

"(For rural towns) our recommendations are Howick, Greytown, Winterton, Underberg and Himeville, Eshowe and Kokstad.

All these towns fall into the so called "tranquil" category, but in effect the social life can be pretty hectic. Most have clubs of varying kinds and excellent outdoor facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, bowling greens and golf courses. If you are more adventurous, you can go mountaineering, hiking or trout fishing.

There is generally a low population turnover, which says a lot about their stability.

Prices of free-standing houses range between R150,000 and R450,000, but you can do extremely well on R200,000. We saw one magnificent house in Greytown, bought for R450,000 but which would fetch around a million in Durban or Johannesburg"

POPULATION

It has a population of 7500 comprising Black, Indian, White and Coloured people.  Enhlalakahle Township has 5800 people.

EDUCATION

There are 5 primary schools, 3 high schools with a further 2 in Enhlalahahle Township.  Wembley College is a private school from Grade 1 to Matric and was one of the first schools in South Africa to offer a Cambridge qualification. There are also several pre-primary schools in town.  A modern Theodore Menne Library serves the community.  An excellent cross cultural Museum is visited by numerous school children as well as the public.

DESCRIPTION

Greytown was established in 1854 and named after Sir George Grey, Governor of the Cape 1854 - 1861.  It was a transitional town of Dutch and Colonial origin.  It boasts a wealth of Victorian architecture.  As one wanders through town one may come across Zulu women in colourful traditional clothing, complete with mud bee-hive hairstyles.  These women may have come to town from Keate's Drift of Tugela Ferry in the Tugela basin.  They intermingle with people in western style dress and Indian women who may be wearing colourful saris or punjabis.