Shelly Beach, KwaZulu-Natal

Shelly Beach is a coastal town in Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is located between halfway Uvongo and Port Shepstone.

Shelly Beach
Shelly Beach Show map of KwaZulu-Natal Shelly Beach Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 30.798°S 30.410°E / -30.798; 30.410
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	Ugu
Municipality	Ray Nkonyeni
Main Place	Margate
Area [1]
• Total	5.37 km^2 (2.07 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	2,577
• Density	480/km^2 (1,200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	29.3%
• Coloured	1.9%
• Indian/Asian	8.5%
• White	60.1%
• Other	0.2%
First languages (2011) [1]
• English	51.8%
• Afrikaans	21.8%
• Zulu	17.0%
• Xhosa	6.0%
• Other	3.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	4265
PO box	4265

Shelly Beach forms part of the Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality which includes towns between Hibberdene, Port Edward and Izingolweni. It is one of the fastest developing commercial and residential towns on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.

Geography

Shelly Beach is bordered by the Mhlanga River in the south, the Zotsha River in the north and the R61 highway in the west. The Mhlanga River acts as the boundary between Shelly Beach and St Michael's on Sea whilst the Zotsha River acts as the boundary between Shelly Beach and Oslo Beach, a suburb of Port Shepstone.

Retail

Shopping Centres

Shelly Beach is known as the "shopping gateway" to the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast as it includes the two largest shopping centres in the region, Shelly Centre and South Coast Mall.[2]

Car Dealerships

Not only is Shelly Beach is also a hub for car delearships and includes car delearships such as Nissan, Datsun, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Toyota, Haval, Mercedes Benz, Isuzu and BMW.[3][4][5][6][7]

Regional Offices

Shelly Beach is home to Eskom's regional offices which is located on Corniston Road.[8]

Tourism

Beaches

Shelly Beach has a long white beach on one side and a rocky beach on the other side extending to St Michaels Beach. The rocky beach is great for walking and pottering around with kids. There are numerous rock pools to be found that have all the creatures that you find in small sea water aquariums. [9]

The name "Shelly Beach" gives an indication that there are many shells on the beaches in which there are. Here, the finest miniature pink lady shells can be found hidden among the many varieties. [10]

Snorkeling & Diving

Shelly Beach is a popular ski boat launching site is a favourite for fishing, dolphin and whale watching excursions and divers who head to the world-renowned scuba diving reef destination, Protea Banks. [11]

Shelly Beach boasts numerous popular diving and snorkelling sites where the most spectacular varieties of tropical fish, sharks, corals as well as mystical underwater caves can be discovered. These popular sites include Potato Reef, The Caves, Deep Salmon, Arena Reef, Bo Boyi Reef and Adda Reef. [12]

Roads

The R620 runs through the town and connects to Port Shepstone in the north and Uvongo and Margate in the south. The R61 highway runs west of the town with exit 39 connecting to the Izotsha Road. The Izotsha Road then connects to Shelly Beach in the east and Izotsha in the west.

Media

Local newspapers in Shelly Beach include the South Coast Herald and South Coast Fever which also serve the whole KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.[13][14]

The Ugu Youth Radio is a youth radio which is based in Port Shepstone and caters to the needs of the Zulu-speaking community. Other radios which serve Shelly Beach and surroundings include East Coast Radio, Gagasi FM, Vuma FM and Ukhozi FM which are based in the city of Durban.

Hospitals

Shelly Beach has one hospital, Shelly Beach Hospital which is a private hospital opposite South Coast Mall. This is a new hospital which was completed in 2019.[15]

References

1. "Sub Place Shelly Beach". Census 2011.
2. "Shelly Beach Shopping". KwaZulu Natal South Coast. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
3. "Isuzu Bates Shelly Beach". autoadvisor.co.za. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
4. "Nissan | Datsun | Renault | UD Trucks | FAW | Eicher". Thompson Motors. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
5. "Company: Mercedes-Benz Union Motors South Coast Shelly Beach". www.nmi.mercedes-benz.co.za. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
6. "BMW Shelly Beach". www.bmw.co.za. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
7. "Contact us | Halfway Toyota Shelly Beach". www.halfwaysc.co.za. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
8. "KwaZulu Natal". www.eskom.co.za. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
9. "Shelly Beach Self Catering Southcoast Holiday Accommodation". Van Heerden Letting. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
10. "Shelly Beach". www.sa-venues.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
11. "Shelly Beach Self Catering Southcoast Holiday Accommodation". Van Heerden Letting. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
12. "Shelly Beach". www.sa-venues.com. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
13. "South Coast Herald - South Coast Directory". www.southcoastdirectory.co.za. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
14. "South Coast Fever - Contact Us". News24. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
15. "Shelly Beach Hospital to open soon". South Coast Herald. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2020-06-16.