Durban, South Africa

Arrived in Durban this morning, a new city for us. Since we had an excursion booked for the afternoon, we decided to head out on our own in the morning. Durban is a city of around four million on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Because we had an emphatic safety warning announcement on board in the morning we asked our South African friends on board what we should do and they suggested we walk on the waterfront Promenade.

We went to get a taxi outside the terminal to take us to the promenade and the driver didn’t want to take us! He said it wasn’t safe for us to walk there. We said he could drive us there and we’d make a judgment call once we saw the area and determine whether we’d get out or not. He relented and said he’d take us to the casino area, the only spot he’d be willing to leave us. We did see many unhoused people along the way there but there were lots of families out walking given it’s Easter Sunday so we told him to pick us up at the same spot 90 minutes later. He was there to pick us up as agreed and confessed that he shadowed us in his car!

In the afternoon, we headed to a spot about 90 minutes away that is known as the Mandela Capture Site where he was arrested on August 5, 1962 while pretending to be a chauffeur. He subsequently spent 27 years in prison. The site has been developed into a wonderful museum with a spectacular monument. When the monument is viewed from the right angle, the poles take the shape of Mandela’s face. So worth visiting. We then went to the largest waterfall in the region.Read more