The whole world in Durban
Tom Scotney visits Durban, the gateway to the paradise of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
They say the British weather was the greatest colonising force in history – a quarter of the map painted pink by people looking to get away from the drizzle.
So why is it so impressive to be standing here on the balcony watching the rain come down?
Perhaps it’s because this is South Africa – so it’s not just raining. Nothing happens by halves here, so instead of the classic British drizzle, it’s a full-on lightning storm, with devastatingly loud thunder, and electric bolts hammering down on the valley beyond the huts that make up our resort.
Of course, earlier that day it was blazing sunshine while we went looking for big game in a sprawling safari park.
They call South Africa the whole world inside one country and they’re not far wrong – in terms of scenery, food and things to do.
Add in the (usually) great weather, and it’s not really surprising that SA has become one of the top tourist destinations on the continent. But all of this will be overshadowed this year by probably the biggest influx of travellers the country has ever seen for the 2010 World Cup. For two months the eyes of the world will be on South Africa for the first time the tournament has ever been held in the continent. So what better year to start thinking of a trip to the country?
Durban, on the east coast, is quickly becoming a must-do part of the tourist trail. As well as a heavily industrial city, including the largest port in Africa, it is also the gateway for tourists visiting the Kwa-Zulu Natal region.
The city is gearing up for the World Cup – the imposing new Moses Mabhida stadium was built to host the tournament and is supposedly modelled on a shark’s mouth – and this has come along with a massive infrastructure investment to support the expected tourism boom.
KZN, as the region is known locally, runs up the east coast of the country, from the temperate cape zone in the south up to the semi-tropical regions bordering Mozambique and Lesotho. The region takes in endless swathes of sugar field, mountains, grassland and long sandy beaches.
We’re staying in the Oyster Box – a recently-refurbished fixture in the Umhlanga Rocks district of the city. Everything about the Oyster Box just screams colonial decadence, with a fair bit of 1920s glamour thrown in.
The ballrooms are a local dancing fixture at the weekends.
The postcard-classic red-and-white-striped lighthouse stands by the pool and the terrace of the hotel, which looks straight out onto the Indian Ocean. At night, the horizon is marked by the lights of the tankers queuing to get into the harbour.
As a mark of the calibre of the hotel, it’s played host to a cast of famous faces, not least Aggers and the commentary team when the England cricket team visited South Africa for the last test series.
But best of all is the massive Indian buffet on offer in the restaurant. Perhaps the classiest all-you-can eat ticket around, the superb cooking at the hotel is an example of the huge influence of Indian immigrants on the area.
KZN is justifiably know for its beaches, with long combing waves rolling all the way across the Indian Ocean before hitting the sandy shores.
During the day you can see the big rollers hitting the rocky beach outside the hotel. The waves can get pretty impressive at times – there’s nothing between here and Indonesia after all.
But there’s plenty more going on in the lush interior.
Away from the coastline, the landscape is largely dominated by massive fields of sugar cane.
One of the top draws of KZN – for the more history-conscious Brits anyway – is the presence of the battlefields of the Boer War and earlier. Names like Spion Kop and Ladysmith have stuck in our national memory, as a legacy of the beginning of the end of empire, and a cruel invasion and counter-insurgency. Not much survives to see in terms of the battles themselves, but the sites are worth a visit as a sobering reminder of some of the darker parts of imperial history.
Going further back in time, there’s the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, made famous by Michael Caine, Stanley Baker and the rest in the perennial film favourite Zulu.
The film started with Caine hunting a leopard in the wilderness around the station, and while the British army might have long gone, the big game of the plains in South Africa is still one of the biggest draws to the country.
The big game hunters had what they called the ‘big five’, the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot. Of course these days it’s not really PC to pack your elephant gun when you’re off on holiday, but the list is still the same – elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.
The goal of any intrepid safari-goer is to bag a sight of all five, and your chances are better than usual at the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi park nearest to Durban. The park (pronounced ‘shloo-shloo-way’ or thereabouts) covers about a quarter of a million acres of hills, grassland and rivers and is packed to the rafters with the best of the country’s wildlife.
Not that you’d necessarily know it without the expert guides. The safari animals are cunning beasties, and it can be quite a shock when you’re pointed out the rhino right next to the car that you had thought was a big rock, or the herd of buffalo you’d somehow missed.
For the safaris we’re based in the Zimbali Lodge, farther up the coast from Durban. It’s a massive complex of rental homes, golf courses and hotel lodges set in the middle of a forest, with a private nature trail area leading off down through the valley to the wide beach.
To get around you can rumble through the jungle on golf buggies that make it feel like something from Jurassic Park, or strap on your walking boots and plunge into a jungle that at times is so thick you can hardly believe you’re in the middle of a hotel complex.
There’s a golf course in there somewhere, plus acres of houses, the central restaurant, bar and pool area, and of course plenty of spaces to enjoy a quiet drink while taking in the scenery.
Or just stand and watch the rain.
* Travel Facts
* Emirates (0844 800 2777 / www.emirates.com/uk) offers return Economy Class flights from Birmingham to Durban via Dubai from £571 per person.
* Emirates Tours (0844 800 1400/ www.emiratestours.co.uk) offers four nights in Durban from £1,375 per person.
* Based on two people staying two nights in a Classic Room at The Oyster Box (www.oysterboxhotel.com) and two nights in a Resort Room at the Fairmont Zimbali Lodge (www.fairmont.com/zimbalilodge) on a bed and breakfast basis. It includes return Economy Class flights with Emirates from Birmingham to Durban via Dubai, meet and greet on arrival, plus private car transfers from Durban Airport and between hotels. Valid for travel from November 1 to December 9, 2009.
* 2010 World Cup packages with Emirates Tours (0844 800 1400 / www.emiratestours.co.uk/fifa) start from £2,454 per person, including flights with Emirates to Durban, Cape Town or Johannesburg, five nights accommodation, airport and stadium transfers and a ticket to an England match in the group stages.
