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Durban was a seaside resort that was visited more frequently than any other. It was also where the family lived for the first five years of my life. It is a subtropical city with warm and balmy weather most of the time. Holidays can be spent there at any time of the year. It has a long three-mile stretch of beach with soft sand, and a warm Indian Ocean. There are many hotels along the long beach front. It is a melting pot of cultural diversity, with noticeable Asian, African and European influences and there are a wide array of entertainment interests and options.
The first picture above is of the view from the holiday flats visited in 1988. The next three pictures were taken at the seafront which was given an extensive face-lift in the 1980's. There are swimming pools for children, a craft village, in addition to pedestrian malls and other sightseeing attractions.
The first picture above is of the Sea World complex with some of the beach hotels in the background; the next of dolphins performing at the Dolphinarium. A rickshaw photo taken in 1995. A ride on one of these is a quite a riot and a lot of fun. In the last photo, a wonderful craft market south of Durban.
There are many places both south and north of Durban that have wonderful beaches. These pictures were taken south of Durban at Margate where once again the swimming was wonderful and activities varied.
The remaining pictures were taken on a trip north from Durban to the game reserves in northern KwaZulu-Natal. In the first picture the Durban skyline can be seen in the distance. On the way we stopped off at a tourist display of Zulu dancing with a typical beehive hut in the background. There are many crystal clear streams and rivers that are apparently well-stocked with fish.
Continuing north on the way to the wildlife reserves of Hluhluwe, Umfolozi and Mkuze, one enters an area of rolling hills that lie between the Drakensberg mountains and the sea.
The above photos were taken in the Hluhluwe and Umfulozi game reserves. These reserves are famous for the preservation of the white rhino species.
Further shots from the Hluhluwe and Umfulozi game reserves as well as Mkuze, in both the panel above and the one below. A large number of Nyala were seen. Some of these shots were taken from hides, where one could get out of the car and walk to viewing areas. Further north, possibly somewhere in Mkuze, there was a large wooded area with hundreds of beautiful butterflies.
The third picture in the above panel is of an indigenous cycad. The Cycad species has survived at least 200 million years of the earth's history.
Pictures taken at a beach near St. Lucia. There are reputedly many walking trails throughout KwaZulu-Natal. However, the visit to the game reserves and St. Lucia was reasonably brief and there was just time to do a quick tour by car. |
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KwaZulu-Natal
The Nguni-speaking people lived in a broad band of land strectching from the Fish River in the Eastern Cape province northward to the Kosi Bay area near the border of KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique. During the migration of the Nguni prior to at least the early 1500's, they moved south via the headwaters of the Zambezi, to the northernmost part of the Limpopo, splitting into two separate parts to eventually settle in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. The Nguni were then spread throughout the area between the Fish River and Kosi Bay, in many village settlements, each with their own chief. They cultivated grains such as millet, maize (corn), sorghum, pumpkin and kept cattle, which became an important symbol of wealth. The Nguni languages are unique for the "clicking" sounds, resulting from the intermarriage of the Nguni people with Khoisan-speaking people. The Khoisan languages are characterized by click sounds. The Nguni way of life changed dramatically in the 19th and 20th centuries - first by Shaka, the Zulu king, who through wars and resettlement, absorbed neighbouring people into the Zulu nation. Those who were not defeated, fled and conquered other peoples to create new tribes further north. Some of these were the Gaza in southern Mozaimbique and the Ndebele in Zimbabwe. The second, more far-reaching impact was the expanding settlement of Europeans into the country. Thereafter, the traditional way of life of these people was slowly and in many instances, irrecoverably changed and disrupted by the European industrial and economic society. Beehive
Huts Cycads The
plants sometimes resemble ferns and other times palms. They all have pineapple-like
cones that grow at the top of the stem. The cones determine the sex, and
they are thus are members of the "nonflowering seed" plants
of the primitive gymnospem family. They are pollinated by insects. |
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Kingdom
of the Zulu Durban
"Where the fun never sets" Durban
Experience Durban
Metro Hluhluwe
Game reserve Ezemvelo
KZN Wildlife South
African Languages: Zulu Zulu
Greeting on the NASA Voyager |
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