Winter sunshine in Durban

Nothing better than a public holiday to get up early and have some fun in the city. 10km cycle along the Durban beachfront followed by breakfast was the way to go. It's the same time of year as the 2010 World Cup Football in Durban and the weather again is absolutely stunning. Beach weather, suntanning and the perfect time to be outdoors.

Beautiful Durban View

Although I keep a separate blog and record of my time as a pilot, this family and activities blog Durban View would not be complete without some of the magnificent photos I have been able to take of the view of Durban from the sky. Here are a few I took this weekend. You can see more on my aviation blog Do Eagles Dare.

My City Council Ward Fynnland (1988 - 1996) took in this portion of the Bluff from the harbour to Beacon Road and included Kingsrest and Marlborough Park to the left of the Bluff before the harbour in this photo

The military base still occupies the end of the Bluff 

I did a night flight on Friday and the sparkling lights of Durban were incredible. The huge bank of light to the left upper side of the photo is the night horseracing event at Greyville Racecourse, and the upper middle the lights of Kings Park Rugby Stadium where the Sharks were beating the Lions (26-23)

Kate riding elephants in Nepal

I've ridden a camel but not an elephant so my daughter is getting ahead on some things as she tries out this one in Nepal. However I don;t think Indian elephants look as nice as African ones so I will have to visit Addo Elephant Park or somewhere locally to try this. And as long as the keepers look after their elephants and don't mistreat them. Nothing worse than poor abused animals.

Kate and her mates in Nepal

It's a kid leading this elephant while the others "horse around" on the back

Kate says she got a splashing

Meanwhile I got some airtime today and took these gorgeous pics of our Durban coastline from my plane, a Sling ZDL. More pics on my aviation blog: Do Eagles Dare

Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium shortly after take-off from Virginia Airport

Durban City centre and the Harbour

Durban video

Here's an excellent YouTube video on National Geograpic about our city.. the first settlers and discoverers, to modern day cultural mix.

Durban Beachfront 

Watch and come swim with the sharks..

Giraffe is the game parks a 45 min drive from Durban

Rhino near Durban - under threat

Durban City Hall - an almost exact replica of the Belfast City Hall in Northern Ireland

Durban Sky

Waking up this morning at 5.50am presented a beautiful Durban sky with night lights which gradually changed as the sun peeped further up. Each few minutes presented a different vista. And now its time to get up and ready for work...

Our Durban Stadium at 5.50am

Durban sky at 6.05 am

The morning sun at 6.30am this morning

Durban Rocks!

And just in case you thought I was showing bias in favour of any overseas city, here's a lovely pic of Durban beachfront.. and a link to my favourite Facebook group on Durban.

 There are few cities in the world that have what I am looking for and Durban definitely rates right up there.. perhaps one of the more compelling reasons I haven't wondered off in the world. The beach and ocean.. I don't think I could ever live in a city without one. The next best reason to live or visit is the relaxed lifestyle and absence of any real traffic. Just a day-visit to Johannesburg puts me clean off.. I have better things to do with my life than sit in traffic. In Durban you can criss-cross the city in 10 minutes.. beat that!

Best sunrises

There is something glorious living near the sea.. just to see the magnificent sunrises over the Indian Ocean as well as incredible moon rises at full moon.

Sunrise captured from my bedroom

 

Mark back for holiday

Mark returns from Stellenbosch for a few days during his winter vac, then jets off to Seattle and Vancouver for his winter/their summer vacation where he will meet up with a friend from South Africa now living in Canada.

Durban beachfront best!

Kate-Lynn welcomes Mark home at King Shaka Airport

Princess of the Peg-board

Billy's burgers are best!

I can get this thing moving

The Indian Ocean.. warm and inviting

A new day dawns in Durban

This is my bedroom view of Durban.. managed to catch the moon too. Awesome!

Beautiful Durban

April/May are really just stunning months to visit Durban. We have incredible weather, hot, but not humid and with cooler evenings. Always my favourite time. Here's a stunning sunrise I captured from my bedroom sliding door... isn't this the best way to start the day? Also, the moon has been super close to the earth and we have seen a bigger, brighter full moon the last few days... just rising up out of the sea before our eyes.

Into the Blue Sky

Durban's blue skies yesterday was an opportunity to get a clear photo of our World Cup Football Stadium from the air, while on a breakfast flight to Pietermaritzburg before work.

Good Friday holidays

It' s a welcome break for the Easter public holidays... and the beachfront in Durban is glorious... hot autumn sun, beautiful sand and yummy cocktails on the Moyo Pier at uShaka.

Kate-Lynn flies in

My daughter Kate-Lynn flew back in to South Africa last night after a 3-month student exchange in Norway. She has been missing the stunning sunrises over Durban and this morning I was awake to catch it. She had to stay overnight in Johannesburg and we will be meeting her at the airport a little later this morning.



 

South Africa tourism tips



Durban beachfront on the warm east coast of South Africa



The big 5 animals of South Africa

Table Mountain Cape Town

I was asked some advice for a tourist to South Africa, so I thought I would write a blog post and extend it to a wider audience.

Most tourists imagine that they can drive around the country in 2-3 weeks and see it all. This would not be adviseable as South Africa is a big country. If you did want to see parts to the north, south, east and west, you would need to fly to some and drive between other parts as I will recommend. An itinerary also depends on how much time you have and your budget.

TIME OF YEAR

April is the best time of year to visit South Africa. This is because the weather is generally the best... the heat of summer is over and winter is not yet upon us. Peak season would be summer when the schools are on holiday, but I personally prefer it off-peak when the crowds have thinned out and it is not so hot. Durban is best all year as our winters are never less than 15c and no rain. Cape Town is worst in winter as it is cold, windy and rainy.. best for Cape Town would be October/November and March/April. Cape Town is on the Atlantic Ocean so swimming is generally out, whereas Durban is on the warm east coast so August to end of April is good with best swimming/beaches December to March.

AIRLINE ROUTES

Emirates fly to Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg via Dubai, so best would be to fly in to one city and fly back out of another city, travelling between cities by car, train or bus. Most of the other airlines fly in to either Johannesburg or Cape Town, which means a stop in Durban and the east coast means additional flights or travel. I would even avoid Johannesburg completely and fly into Durban and then out of Cape Town home. My favourite Airline to Africa is SAA of course, but their routes are not the best and sometimes the prices are over the top. Check them out and compare.

WHAT TO SEE

Your routing may depend on what you want to see. The Kruger National Park a few hours drive from Johannesburg is probably the best but requires getting to Johannesburg and a few hours drive each way. I personally would avoid that as there are many excellent game parks around South Africa. If you have loads of time you could include the Kruger Park.

So suggestions could be... fly to Johannesburg, hire a car and drive to the Kruger Park. Stay 3 - 4 nights and drive back to Johannesburg to return the car. Fly to Durban and stay for 3 - 5 nights. Fly to Port Elizabeth (2/3rds of the way to Cape Town), hire a car and drive along the coastal Garden route to Cape Town stopping off en-route for 2- 3 nights. Spend 5 nights in Cape Town and fly home direct.

The Drakensberg Amphitheatre



Beach sculptures in Durban



Alternatively fly direct to Durban and stay 3- 4 nights. Drive up to the Hluhluwe Game reserve and stay 3 nights. Drive back to Durban and fly to Port Elizabeth following the same suggestion above ie cut out Jhb and the Kruger park.

As an extension to either route, you could drive to the Amphitheatre in the Drakensburg Mountains which are half-way between Durban and Johannesburg (2 1/2 hours drive), or you could drive from Jhb to Durban intead of flying. Another option is the train from Johannesburg to Durban which I believe is good.

Wine lovers would love Cape Town as the Stellenbosch, Paarl, Franshoek wine routes are within 40 mins drive of the city. I personally love Stellenbosch where my son goes to University at the moment, so I can visit him and drink loads of wine. There must be at least 200 wine farms in a few kilometres radius.

If you have a shorter or longer visit planned and want to come at an odd time of year or have any other queries, feel free to email me at durbanstadiumview@gmail.com and I will try and help out with my recommendations. Enjoy!

Full moon over Durban

Here's a pic of the full moon rising up over the sea, taken from the small garden off my Apartment in Durban. The Moses Mabhida World Cup Football Stadium is in the background.

Prawn Fest in Durban

Enjoying a taste of prawns from 25 participating restaurants at the Prawn Festival in Durban last night are myself, Dave (left), Ian (centre) and Llewellyn.

By the end of the evening we still had food vouchers left after eating more than a dozen prawns each prepared in a variety of ways - the best being the Mozambik restaurant in Ballito. Very yummy.

Jacaranda studies

The rule in Durban is that if the Jacaranda trees are in blossom it is too late to start studying for your final exams at Varsity. So the flowers are blossoming now.. and it's just as well I have long finished Varsity... but every year I remember.