Mpenjati Naturist Beach

Mpenjati is a stretch of beach on KwaZulu-Natal's lower South Coast, about 20 km south of Margate, at the mouth of the Mpenjati River lagoon between the village of Trafalgar to the north and Palm Beach to the south. The lagoon and its banks form the 66-hectare Mpenjati Nature Reserve, managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, with coastal forest, grassland, marsh and estuary, and the shore lies within the Trafalgar Marine Protected Area. Naturists have used the beach north of the lagoon mouth for more than 20 years. In October 2014 the then Hibiscus Coast municipality approved an application by the South African National Naturists Association and the KwaZulu-Natal naturist association to make part of the beach north of the lagoon, near Trafalgar's Blue Flag beach, the country's first official nude beach, subject to provincial and Ezemvelo approval for signs and toilets. After protests by a coalition of religious and traditional leaders, the Public Protector set the decision aside in November 2017 on procedural grounds. The beach is still used by naturists, but it has no official status. The shore is wide golden sand with Indian Ocean surf; the reserve's picnic sites on both lagoon banks have braai areas, toilets and a playground.