Shelly Beach, South Africa

The opening of Shelly Centre in 1985 placed Shelly Beach as a prime shopping destination on the KZN South Coast[4] followed by the recent developments of South Africa's electricity utility, Southcoast Mall in 2005,[5] Shelly Beach Business Park in 2007,[6] the Shelly Beach Day Hospital (now a 24-hour hospital) in August 2010[7] and the reopening of McDonald's in Shelly Beach in 2021 since the 1990s. Today Shelly Beach has become the gateway to shopping in the Lower South Coast, host to two largest malls in the region, namely Shelly Centre and Southcoast Mall.

While Shelly Beach is a largely residential town, it does however feature a distinct commercial area with a number of car dealerships and local businesses situated along the major main road, Marine Drive.

Shelly Beach is served by three shopping centres: Shelly Centre, situated in the town centre is the largest shopping centre on the South Coast. Southcoast Mall, situated on the western outskirts is the second largest shopping centre on the South Coast. Shelly Boulevard, a smaller shopping centre is situated in the town centre (adjacent to Shelly Centre).[8][9]

Shelly Beach is host to two beaches along its coastline, namely Shelly Beach and Windsor on Sea Beach.

The name "Shelly Beach" refers to the many shells on the beaches in which there are. Here, the finest miniature pink lady shells can be found among many other varieties.

Shelly Beach boasts numerous popular diving and snorkelling sites, where the most spectacular varieties of tropical fish, sharks, corals as well as mystical underwater caves can be discovered. These popular sites include Potato Reef, The Caves, Deep Salmon, Arena Reef, Bo Boyi Reef, and Adda Reef.[10]

Shelly Beach is served by the Shelly Beach Hospital, a private hospital located adjacent to Southcoast Mall and was established on August 2010 as Shelly Beach Day Hospital by its current owner, Shelly Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd.[11]

The Shelly Beach Clinic is the only public health clinic in Shelly Beach, operating as a municipal clinic under the Ugu District Municipality. For public hospitals, residents of Shelly Beach normally use the Port Shepstone Regional Hospital in Port Shepstone.[12]

The R61 is a toll freeway connecting Port Shepstone to the north with Port Edward to the south that by-passes Shelly Beach with a tolled interchange at Izotsha Road (Izotsha Ramp Toll Plaza is located on southbound ramps), while the R620 is the untolled alternative route to the R61 connecting Port Shepstone with Margate that passes through Shelly Beach as Marine Drive. Of importance is also Izotsha Road connecting Shelly Beach with Izotsha and Paddock to the north-west.