Durban & KZN South Coast

Kwa Zulu Natal - Durban

Known as the ‘garden province’ of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal is a well-watered land of rolling green hills and a magnificent Indian Ocean coastline stretching some 600km (370 miles) from Mozambique in the north to the Mtamvuna River in the south. Much of the region’s northern half is occupied by the historic territory of Zululand; inland, the countryside rises to the foothills and then to the massive heights of the Great Escarpment, here known as the Drakensberg (or as legend has it, ‘dragon mountain’). Durban is the province’s largest city; Pietermaritzburg, in the misty uplands 90km (56 miles) to the west, vies with Ulundi in the heart of Zululand to the north, for provincial capital status. KwaZulu-Natal’s predominantly rural economy is based on the vast sugar-cane plantations along its seaboard; other major commodities include tropical and subtropical fruits (pineapples, bananas), dairy products, timber and maize. Coal is mined in the Newcastle area. Seventy-five per cent of the province’s inhabitants are black, mainly Zulu-speakers. Some 15 per cent of the population are Indian, while white people account for the balance of 10 per cent.

Durban

South Africa’s third largest metropolis, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and foremost seaport (the harbour is Africa’s biggest and busiest and is ranked ninth in the world), Durban began life as the remote trading and white-hunter outpost of Port Natal. Today the city sprawls along the coast to the south, across the Umgeni River in the north, and up and beyond the Berea, a ridge of hills that overlooks the city centre, the beachfront and the bay. Durban and its subtropical surrounds are among the southern hemisphere’s best-known holiday playgrounds, popular for its superb swimming and surfing beaches, its hotels, restaurants and nightspots, its splendid shopping complexes, its excellent museums and galleries, its parks and gardens, its sporting amenities, and its social, business and entertainment calendar, particularly events at the Playhouse complex and the impressive Durban International Convention Centre. But much of the attraction lies along the seafront and harbour, which offers the historic Victoria Embankment, its Maritime Museum, and pleasure cruises from Ocean Terminal. The Golden Mile Durban’s beachfront, known as the Golden Mile, stretches six kilometres (four miles) along the sandy Indian Ocean shoreline and, in addition to the beaches (protected, as are most in and around Durban and the popular resort towns, by anti-shark nets) it offers much to the hedonist: paddling pools, pavilions, piers, amusement parks, colourful markets, and eating places. Apartment blocks and some of the country’s best-known hotels line the beachfront boulevard. Among the strip’s special features are the rickshaws, lightly built carts pulled by Zulu ‘drivers’, both elaborately decked out in beads, furs and streamers. Today the rickshaws survive exclusively as a tourist attraction. A short walk along the beachfront leads to another wildlife experience – the Fitzsimon’s Snake Park on Snell Parade, North Beach. The park contains a fine collection of exotic and indigenous species plus crocodiles, leguaans (iguanas) and terrapins. Open daily, demonstrations are held four times a day in the bustling tourist season; feeding time for the snakes and crocodiles occurs over the weekend. At 1 Bell Street is Durban’s uShaka Marine World, with its bottlenose and dusky dolphins as well as Cape fur seals entertaining throughout the day. One of Durban’s shopping complexes is The Wheel, a lively collection of speciality shops, restaurants, bars and cinemas in Gillespie Street and Point Road, and The Bazaar, which has over 80 stalls offering a wide range of products from leather goods to curios. For those who need a break from the noise and bustle, take a stroll to the Amphitheatre on Marine Parade (opposite the Holiday Inn Garden Court Hotel) – a sunken area of quiet lawns, flowers and fountains, footbridges and gazebos. A colourful flea market is held here every Sunday; traditional dances are performed and exotic dishes served on international theme days. Access to the Golden Mile can be difficult during the holiday season. The area is packed with people and cars; only the lucky find parking spaces. The best ways to get there from the city centre are by taxi, by conventional bus, by ‘mozziecab’ (adapted Suzuki jeep), or by the Tuk-Tuk three-wheelers that travel through the city to points along the beachfront. Or make your way there on foot: much of the strip is within comfortable walking distance of the central area – though not in the sweltering heat of a midsummer’s day (between December and March).

THE DURBAN COAST
The upmarket resort area of uMhlanga Rocks to the north of Durban boasts fine beaches, luxury hotels, holiday homes and apartments, excellent shops, and more than 30 restaurants. It is known for its safe bathing (particularly to the left of the lighthouse), and excellent surfing. The La Lucia residential suburb is one of the region’s most fashionable. The Dolphin Coast, quieter than the south, stretches for 90km (55 miles) just north of uMhlanga up to the Thukela River mouth. You can travel on either the N2, or the more interesting Old North Coast Road (M4). The old road runs a few kilometres inland, following the trade routes once used by the Zulu impis, and now serves the vast plantations and ‘sugar towns’ of the region, of which Tongaat is the ‘capital’.  aManzimtoti is a substantial resort town that offers a wide range of holiday accommodation, restaurants, bars, entertainment, marvellous stretches of sand, a lagoon and tidal pool (boats are available for hire), and angling from rock and beach. The nearby aManzimtoti Bird Sanctuary, Umdoni Road, is worth a visit: waterbirds, including the greenbacked heron, are prominent, and peacocks are plentiful; visitor facilities include bird-watching hides, a short walking trail, and cream teas at weekends. The Ilanda Wilds Nature Reserve is a small but beautiful and richly varied riverine haven for 160 species of bird and 120 of tree and shrub (there are nature trails and picnic spots). Southwards from aManzimtoti the coast is lined with scores of little towns, villages and hamlets, each with its own distinctive charm, most linked by the excellent N2 coastal highway. Prominent among these is Scottburgh, which boasts safe bathing, good fishing and Crocworld, which includes a complex of crocodile pens, a wildlife museum, a snake pit and a Zulu village where traditional dances are performed on Sunday afternoons. Port Shepstone boasts a fine golf course, and lively Margate (the hub of the so-called Hibiscus Coast and focus of annual festivals) offers beaches, a golf course, hotels and self-catering complexes, shops, restaurants and discos. Inland from Port Shepstone is the Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve, a magnificent expanse of rugged hills, deep valleys, emerald grassland and a spectacular canyon, and home of the shy samango monkey; for information, contact the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service. For excitement and glamour, the Wild Coast Sun casino resort offers lively round-the-clock entertainment, and is only one and a half hours from Durban, and easily accessible from the South Coast Road.