Beachside Durban’s highlights include climbing a World Cup stadium, a gripping historic museum and curry served inside a loaf of bread.
Why visit Durban
For South Africans, Durban tends to be seen as the central hub for hundreds of kilometres of Indian Ocean beaches either side. This is South Africa’s winter sun central.
Durban is the country’s third largest city, and one with a few interesting twists once you get to know it. The large Indian population plays a sizable part in this – and it’s probably the best integrated of South Africa’s main cities.
Durban’s best museum
KwaMuhle provides an extraordinary jolt for those who thought racist policies came in with apartheid. This history museum shows how the “Durban System”, implemented in the early 20th century, forced black workers to have passes to enter the city centre, separated housing on a racial basis, and funded it all by making sure black South Africans could only drink in state-linked beer halls.
Durban’s culinary favourite – bunny chow
The Indian with a twist flavour of Durban is best summed up with bunny chow – an improvised dish that has become a local point of pride. Basically, a loaf of bread gets hollowed out, and curry gets ladled inside. And this works surprisingly well as the bread soaks up the curt sauce. Oriental inside the Workshop Mall is one of many places to try it.
Go on a shark cruise
The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board offers a rather unusual boat trip, unspeakably early in the morning. It’s a chance to watch the sun rise over the miles of beaches and check out the city landmarks from the sea, but it’s also a working visit to inspect the shark netting designed to keep swimmers safe. You’ll learn plenty about sharks on the way, and a two hour trip costs 350 rand.
Climb the Moses Mabhida Stadium
The Moses Mabhida Stadium – built for the 2010 World Cup – still hosts football matches and concerts, but it has been turned into an extremely weird adventure playground. On the milder side, this means the Adventure Walk – climbing up the stadium’s 106 metre-high arch. On the more nerve-shredding side, that means the Big Rush Big Swing, where you swing from that arch on a bungy rope, across the stadium in a 220 metre arc.
Durban hotel recommendation
The most impressive hotels are a few km up the coast in Umhlanga, and the Oyster Box is an absolute treat of a place. Pith-helmeted staff, a pool terrace next to the lighthouse, a fairly legendary curry buffet and astonishingly kitted-out, masterblasting showers. It’s all detail and atmospherics – whether sepia photos of century-old cricket teams or a highly lingerable cocktail bar of dark woods and bright red leather.
Get out of the centre, and into the gardens
The city centre is, to put it politely, gritty. But the Botanic Gardens – full of sculptures, waddling ducks and pelicans balancing precariously on branches – provides delightful respite.
