Let’s Do Durban!

Durban’s boast is that it’s “the warmest place to be” and given its location astride the temperate Indian Ocean as well as its friendly mix of creeds and cultures, the brag is one that is pleasantly proven.

While Cape Town is known as South Africa’s premier beach destination, Durban is KwaZulu-Natal’s unsung seaside hero where locals rise with the sun to run, skateboard, cycle or simply stroll along the city’s spacious beachfront promenade if not making the most of the warm water and sandy beaches along the hotel-fringed Golden Mile.

Home of the Durban July horse race, the Durban International Film Festival and Africa’s Travel Indaba, South Africa’s third largest city is a must-visit destination for its unique South African flavour.

To savour that flavour, one can begin with a bite of bunny chow, Durban’s unofficial national dish. The delicious delicacy is made from a quarter of hollowed-out bread loaf and filled with a hearty heap of curry.

A scrumptious offering courtesy of Durban’s large Indian population who first arrived from India, then under British colonial rule, as indentured labourers and free people from the late 1800s, the bunny chow speaks to the diversity of Durban, as does a mouthwatering plate of shisa nyama, another must-eat.

Translated from Zulu, shisa nyama means ‘burnt meat’, but the juicy braai cuts are anything but. In Durban, shisa nyama has been elevated to an art and visitors can indulge in this South African staple while enjoying drinks, getting your car washed or even between shopping for proudly South African clothing, beauty and accessory items at spots like Max’s Lifestyle Village.

Combining kasi culture with an upscale lounge experience in Umlazi, a township south-west of Durban, Max’s is shisa nyama done bougie and regularly alongside guest DJs and events.

Speaking of nightlife, Durban doesn’t disappoint. From the splash of restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs on Florida Road in Morningside to the allures of the Victoria Embankment, Durbs has something for everyone, including a culinary scene as glamorous as The Oyster Box and as easy as dinner right in your hotel at the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani’s Vigour & Verve (so much love for the lamb shank).

For luxury shoppers, the newly built Oceans Mall in Umhlanga has your Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Burberry, Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Lacoste and Jimmy Choo.

If activities are more your thing, besides taking to the ocean to snorkel, surf or alternately swim at the Rachel Finlayson public pool, uShaka Marine World is a treat for aquarium and waterpark enthusiasts, Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World offers cinemas, retail therapy and restaurants, while the picturesque Giba Gorge has got you covered for mountain biking, picnicking, horse-riding and hiking to waterfalls.

With its photogenic mash-up of Art Deco influences, Hindu temples, old colonial buildings and Muslim mosques alongside its amazingly active beaches, Durban is also worth a languid photo walk during which friendly locals, determined hawkers, helpful lifeguards and whimsical sandcastle makers are sure to be generous with a smile.

That’s the city at a glance and no doubt less than all it has to offer.

The invitation in a phrase is: “Let’s do Durban!”

– martha@namibian.com.na ; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com