It is located in the northern part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between Eswatini and the coast.

The bird routes and coral reefs off the coast are major tourist attractions.

Now the name of this traditional region is being revived for the Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets, one of the ecoregions of South Africa, as well as for the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot.

[3] The South African section of Maputaland was also previously known as Tongaland after the Tonga people who live there.

It is still occasionally found in scientific works though,[4] as well as in the naming of species, such as the Tongaland cannibal snail (Natalina wesseliana).