Durban

Durban (68 images)
The third largest city in South Africa, Durban made its fortune as a sugar producer. Because of the need for workers for the so called white gold industry many indentured workers from India were imported and today the city has the largest Indian population outside of India.

Durban is the center of domestic tourism since it is located at the center of the "Holiday Coast," a strip of resort areas that fill with South Africans at holiday times. It is also close to Zululand and many game reserves which is why we stopped there for one night.

We stayed at what Frommer's calls "The Grand Dame of Durban," the Edward Hotel on the Golden Mile. The rooms were lovely, large and well appointed, but someone in the office erred with the rooms and couple were placed in rooms with two twin beds while pairs of two women or two men were put into rooms with one double bed. It took at least an hour to straighten out the mess, and when everything was resolved I ended up with my own private room.

In front of our hotel was a beautiful arrangement of pools with round balls and walking paths through the water. Located on the Indian Ocean, the area could be seen from a lookout that we visited on our way from the airport.

Since we wouldn't be spending more than a night in the city, our guide gave us a quick tour of the city and the Indian area.

We stopped at a lookout spot called North Point Village for a sunset view of the city skyline.

Durban was an old city, and its buildings reflected that. It was the place in South Africa that I liked least yet it attracts 50,000 foreign visitors a year. Perhaps if we had more time to really see the city, I would have enjoyed it more, but alas, it was just a quick one night stop.

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Welcome Sign at the Airport