The Suburb of Tokai took its name from Tokaj, a range of Hills in Hungary. It was built in the late 1940's due to the urgent need for housing for South African soldiers, returning from World War II.

A 'Tokai' is the ancient Malabaris's ( who originated from the State of Kerala) word for the tail of a peacock. (The name represents the importance of the Malabar region where, rumour has it, the British spotted a peacock for the first time. Hence the nickname of 'Blue'.)
Tokai is alongside the M3 Blue Route highway, within easy reach of the City and the Coastal Road running towards to Cape Point. It only takes a mere 23 minutes via this M3 Highway, (21 Kilometers) to get there. This drive is very scenic as you pass: Tokai Forest; Pollsmoor Prison; University of Cape Town and see much of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town. Tokai is a suburb in the Constantia valley, surrounded by majestic Mountains, South of the Cape Town City. It’s best known for the Forest that carpets the slopes of the Constantiaberg Mountain at the Western end, of the suburb.

The forest is a hive of activity on most days ,with walkers enjoying the peace and quiet, hikers climbing the trails and mountain bikers attempting the tracks graded from novice to expert. The lovely arboretum was established in 1886. and planted with trees from around the World to find the best trees for repairing ships. Horse riding is popular in these parts. Baboon troops are common in the area. The Cape Dutch style Manor House was built in 1796 is a National Monument and currently occupied by the Table Mountain National Park admin offices.

'Nquthu' is an isiZulu name meaning: "the back of the head", also spelt 'Nqutu'. The Battle of Isandlwana was the first engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War, on 22 January 1879. Umzinyathi District has a total area of 8 079 square Kilometres and is located; in the North of KwaZulu-Natal. The District lies between the main N3 corridor between Durban and Gauteng and the Coastal Corridor, running along the East coast. Umzinyathi is one of the 11 District Municipalities, of KwaZulu-Natal Province. The seat of Umzinyathi is Dundee. The majority of its 456 452 people speak Zulu (2001 Census). Umzinyathi District includes some of the poorest and most underdeveloped, Rural Areas of KwaZulu-Natal. (The most notable being the Msinga and Nquthu Municipalities.) The Population of this Region numbers about 456 454 people. Of the population, 93% are Rural and 7% are Urban. The more developed urban areas include: Dundee and Greytown.

In Nquthu and Msinga there is a dominance of the three peri-urban Settlements of Tugela Ferry, Pomeroy and Keates Drift. The Population densities of these three Areas are higher than those of the rest of the Area. The District has 17 Tribal Authorities. Endumeni is the only B Municipality that does not have any Tribal Land. The majority of the land (60%) is under the control of the Ingonyama Trust and situated mainly in Nquthu and Msinga.

Rorke's Drift, situated 46 km South East of Dundee; on the Battlefields Route. Is the site of one of the most famous battles of the Anglo-Zulu War!
In 1847, an Irishman named; Jim Rorke, bought some Land alongside a Fjord, in the Buffalo River. This was the boundary between what Britain controlled the Natal Province and the Zulu Kingdom- (a State which was founded by King Shaka Zulu). Just up from the Fjord, Rorke built a typical frontier home, comprising of two long single-storey stone Buildings with thatched roofs. These original Buildings at Rorke’s Drift were destroyed after the Anglo Zulu War. A Museum stands there today, modest though it is. Fascinating artifacts are presented, which record of the events of the War where; 140 British 'Redcoats' fought off an attack from about 4,000 Zulu warriors!

From here, he hunted and traded with the locals, both the white settlers and native Zulus. He became a popular figure. colonists would buy from his stores or take a drink in his simple café. With the Zulus he would trade blankets, beads, gin, and the occasional illegal rifle, usually bartering them, for cattle. To the Zulus. His trading centre became; 'kwaJim'- (Jim’s Place) but to the settlers, it was known simply as Rorke’s Drift.

Jim Rorke died in the mid-1870s; Otto de Witt, a Swedish missionary acquired the property in what was now becoming a tense border Region. It was from the adjacent fjord that British forces, under Lord Chelmsford, launched their invasion of Zululand on 11 January 1879.

The Trading Post became a temporary Field Hospital and was itself the site of a battle on the late afternoon and evening of 22 January. A few hours earlier, Zulu warriors had massacred 1,400 British and native troops, at nearby Isandlwana.

The original inhabitants of the region around Komatipoort were the Bushmen. Their paintings they have been discovered under rock ledges, that date back from a hundred to a thousands of Years ago. The Town of Komatipoort came into being in 1887. The name of the Town is derived from the Swazi named ‘Komati’ River, meaning literally ‘river of cows or hippos’ and the Afrikaans term 'poort’; meaning Valley.

Komati Power Station is situated in Mpumalanga halfway between Middelburg and Bethel, and when it was completed, it had a capacity of more than twice of any existing power station in South Africa at the time. Planning of this station commenced in June 1957. Its ultimate capacity was to be 1 000 kW produced by five generators (No’s 1 to 5) of 1000,000 kW each and four generators (No’s 6 to 9) of 125,000 kW each. Each generator has its own boiler. The first generator went to into service at the end of 1961, and the last machine was commissioned early in 1966. After six decades of producing electricity from coal, Eskom shut down South Africa’s oldest coal power station, the Komati power station. (FURTHER READING- for more info.) The power utility, Eskom said in a statement: "the facility will be transformed into a wind and solar energy production site. After serving South Africa since 1961, the coal-fired Komati power station has today reached the end of its operating life and has been shut down from midday!”