Hibberdene

Hibberdene is a small coastal town on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in South Africa, approximately 23 km (14 mi) north-east of Port Shepstone and 90 km (56 mi) south-west of Durban and halfway between coastal towns of Scottburgh and Margate.

Hibberdene is situated on a coastal hillside between the uMhlungwa River to the north and the uMzimayi River to the south, both of which drain into the Indian Ocean. The town was named after C. Maxwell-Hibberd, the former postmaster-general of Natal.

Municipal administration
Previously an independent municipality and part of the defunct Hibiscus Coast Local Municipality, Hibberdene now forms part of the Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality and the larger Ugu District Municipality.

Municipal re-demarcation
As the 2024 national government elections near, there have recently been several demarcation proposals made by the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) to relocate Ward 13 of the Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality which includes Hibberdene and its neighbouring settlements of Woodgrange-on-Sea, Umzumbe (Umzumbe Village), Fairview/Fairview Mission and eNtaba to the adjoining Umzumbe Local Municipality.

However, Umzumbe Village and Fairview would still remain part of Ray Nkonyeni. It has also been highlighted that the relocation of most of Ward 13 to Umzumbe Municipality is in a bid to stimulate economic activity in the Greater Umzumbe area, a rural municipality plagued with administrative mismanagement, high levels of unemployment and little economic and social development. The reason for the relocation is also attributed to the fact that Hibberdene serves as the nearest urban service centre to the Greater Umzumbe area. A final decision on the demarcation proposals is yet to made regarding the relocation of Hibberdene to the Umzumbe Municipality.

Demographics
The 2011 census divided the main area of Hibberdene into seven “sub places”: Hibberdene proper (pop. 790), the coastal areas of Catalina (pop. 455) to the north, Woodgrange-on-Sea (pop. 292) to the immediate south, Umzumbe (pop. 366) to the far south and the inland rural areas of Fairview (pop. 1,606) and Fairview Mission (pop. 527) to the west.

Retail
Hibberdene serves as a shopping centre for the small settlements and countryside surrounding it such as Mthwalume and Mathulini. The town centre of Hibberdene located adjacent the R102 road includes a shopping centre, Hibberdene Village Mall, as well as a PicknPay store and a number of other retailers, hardware stores and local businesses.

Tourism
Similarly to most towns along the South Coast, Hibberdene mostly depends on tourism for its small-scale economy. Situated at the gateway to the Hibiscus Coast, Hibberdene is popularly known as an affordable holiday destination and for its beaches. Hibberdene has five popular beaches, four of which are netted and thus are safe for swimming. Hibberdene's beaches are popular because of the warm Indian Ocean flowing across its shoreline, making diving, snorkelling and scuba diving very pleasant. Two of its beaches, Hibberdene Beach and Umzumbe Beach are accredited with the international Blue Flag beach status.

Transport
The N2 is a toll freeway bypassing Hibberdene from Durban in the north to Port Shepstone in the south. The R102 is the main road through Hibberdene, passing through from Pennington in the north to Umzumbe in the south and provides access to the N2 at exit 72. The R102 between Hibberdene and Port Shepstone is commonly used by motorists wishing to avoid tolling on the N2 in Port Shepstone.

A twice daily shuttle bus stops in Hibberdene connecting the town with Margate, Port Shepstone, Durban and King Shaka International Airport.