The Durban beachfront is a study in contradictions. There are wealthy Durbanites and visiting Jo’bergers sipping cocktails at Moyo, one of Durban’s trendier restaurants. There are men earning a living by sculpting intricate sand sculptures in hopes that visitors will toss them a few coins in exchange for a picture. There are Muslim women, veiled head to toe, strolling the boardwalk. There are muscled lifeguards, diving off the piers. There are surfers competing for waves and small children competing for space in the narrow strip deemed safe for swimming. It’s a bumping place, and we visit often, mostly just to stroll around and watch the scene.
When my friend Liz was here, we went out on an early morning boat ride to watch the shark nets being checked. Up and down South Africa’s coast, shark nets, a few hundred meters offshore, protect the most popular swimming beaches. The nets are checked every morning to make sure no sharks or other animals have gotten caught. The nets were empty, but we got a beautiful view of the harbor and the beachfront and passed through a school of dolphins.
It’s going to be hard to return to the cold in just ten days!
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| My new friends. |
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| They liked me. |
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| Not quite Dunkin' Donuts, but close enough! |
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| Sculpture of Durban's World Cup stadium, Moses Mabhida. |
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| Sugar cane production is one of the area's biggest industries. |
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| Checking the shark nets. |
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