Spirit of Zululand brings together culture, community, and tourism in KZN - IOL

Ghost Mountain Inn staff dressed in traditional attire, from left, waitress Noxolo Ngubane, food and beverage manager Onka Mamome, and reservations, Anele Cele.

Traditional song and dance echoed through Mkuze’s Ghost Mountain Inn as guests came together for the annual Spirit of Zululand celebration.

Organised through a public-private partnership between the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism & Film and the inn, the event honoured more than 40 local maidens who took part in Umkhosi Womhlanga (the Reed Dance) — combining cultural heritage with career guidance, youth development, and regional tourism promotion.

The family-owned inn has been open since 1962 and welcomes a diverse mix of international, national, and domestic guests.

KZN Tourism & Film public relations and communications head Pinky Radebe said they collaborated with the inn to celebrate the Spirit of Zululand, the more than 40 maidens, and the region’s hospitality. 

She said October to March brings a seasonal influx of international visitors from France, Britain, and beyond to KZN.

Partnering with South African Tourism and other stakeholders, the authority actively positions the region as a warm-weather must-see, must-visit for cultural experiences and world-class safaris.

Young maidens celebrate their participation in Umkhosi Womhlanga during the Spirit of Zululand weekend.

“What is important is to celebrate our film stories, our heritage, as well as the number of people who come to this region during this time,” Radebe said, adding that KZN is more than just the coast and its heritage, food, history and stories resonate deeply in this region. 

Radebe explained that tourism works concurrently, and they have trade partners, working with people who approach them. 

“Working with them, we advanced the programme to include international tourists, people that are visiting the hotel, to actually come and celebrate the girls,” Radebe said. 

“We saw an opportunity to educate the maidens on things to do in tourism, careers to do in tourism and film; hence you see speakers that are coming from the acting fraternity or acting space, and, of course, the tourism sector.” 

Traditional song and dance formed part of the Spirit of Zululand celebrations in Mkuze.

Ghost Mountain Inn general manager Beu Mtetwa explained that the Spirit of Zululand started in 2025 to celebrate culture, heritage, and maidens in Mkuze. 

She said the collaboration includes the local police, the municipality, and the community.

“We got in touch with KZN Tourism. They were also here last year, and they thought it was something that no other hotel in KwaZulu-Natal has done; it was something original and unique, and very close to the community, very close to the people of KwaZulu-Natal and Mkuze, because we pride ourselves on the community that we live in,” Mtetwa said. 

Ghost Mountain Inn hosted a weekend celebrating local culture, and regional tourism.

Maiden Abigal Ntuli, 17, in Grade 12, said she joined Umkhosi Womhlanga to honour her virginity, a journey she has been on for three years. 

“I loved how girls my age conduct themselves and that virginity is a beautiful, honourable path full of deep life lessons,” Ntuli said. “At the Reed Dance, we are taught good behaviour and morals, to respect our culture and traditions, and to take pride in our virginity.” 

She plans to finish school, study radiography at university and return a maiden, to help her community. 

More than 40 maidens were honoured during the Spirit of Zululand weekend at Ghost Mountain Inn in Mkuze.

Air stewardess Giselle Louw, who attended the weekend events, said she works in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is proudly South African. The Richards Bay resident said she flies to different countries, but always ends up coming home, especially to Zululand. 

She said her weekend was filled with game viewing, eating traditional food, experiencing the local culture, and dancing. 

Maidens who participated in Umkhosi Womhlanga were recognised during the annual Spirit of Zululand weekend.

International visitor Myriam Boulet said KZN is very different to what they experience in France. 

“The culture is different. Here, we see these young women who are proud of themselves, wearing beautiful colours. It’s joyful and musical. It’s truly vibrant, and I really enjoyed the moment,” Boulet said.