Durban, South Africa

Durban, is our second to last stop before we disembark in Cape Town. We’ll  sail overnight from Durban and arrive in Cape Town the next day at around 3pm. We spend one night onboard ship in Cape Town before going to our condo for 5 days. We will spend Christmas in CT.

Durban is the third largest city in South Africa. It’s famous as the busiest port in SA and is also a major center of tourism because of the city’s warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The population is almost 3.5 million, making Durban the biggest city on the east coast of the African continent. 

Highlights of Durban include its “Golden Mile”, a string of beaches protected from sharks by nets and patrolled by life guards during the day. It is prime surfing territory along with swimming and bodysurfing. The promenade stretches along the Durban waterfront and is home to numerous restaurants, pubs, hotels, shops and the world class uShaka Marine World aquarium. 

Since our stay in Durban was only from 11a.m. to 3p.m., we chose to take the shuttle bus to uShaka World and see the aquarium and the Penguin Encounter and to walk along the promenade by the beach. While at uShaka World, a group of Zulu tribesmen put on a dancing show. It was very entertaining with lots of strenuous movements that included  flips and jumps. The drumbeats kept the dancers energized and the spectators enthused. It was a fun happenstance moment that is always a delight to come upon in a foreign country. This is Zulu country and King Shaka was the head of the tribe back in the day. Maybe you remember reading about the great Zulu warriors and their war with the Brits.

 Cool-looking rockfish

Captivating pattern. Don't ya just love Mother Nature and all of her beautiful creatures?

The uShaka World aquarium was fantastic. We were captivated by the many many species of the marine world. As Bob and I have been traveling on the Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean we’ve wondered what creatures lurk beneath that humans probably don’t even know exist. The undersea critters we saw at the aquarium were dazzling and colorful. The aquarium was housed inside a unique setting--- the bottom of an old huge ship, the Ghost Ship. We had a great day at uShaka World. Afterwards, we walked along the promenade at the beach and had fun watching the swimmers getting swamped by the enormous waves. The weather was perfect, warm but with a nice wind and no humidity. 

I loved the color of this fish.

Recycled old ship--- now an aquarium