Durban, South Africa’s subtropical Indian Ocean port and resort city, is eccentric. Unexpected and curious. And weirdly wondrous. It’s a city that can thwack the senses with its sounds and smells and its art and music. Drop a seed and it likely will grow and one day, a sudden sighting of a spectacular flowering shrub or tree will stop you in your tracks. From the culinary to the cultural, Durban is likely to pique your senses and your interests.
I was born in Durbs-by-the-sea, as it is known to those of us who grew up on the beaches and have worn flip-flops more than any other footwear. I went to college here: the University of KwaZulu-Natal, easy to spot from many parts of the city given its lofty ridge location and imposing Art Deco-influenced Memorial Tower Building, built to commemorate students who died in World War
I’ve also worked in the newsrooms of many newspapers here, although I spent 20-plus years in the California Bay Area. I returned to Durbs a couple of years before the pandemic. I live the city every day, write about it regularly and can unequivocally say it is my favorite South African city.
I think of it as a “lifestyle city.” By this I mean that things worth doing and worth seeing are accessible. Read my full article on South Africa’s Durban in Silversea here.
