Durban – watch dolphins perform

An ambitious combination of giant aquarium, water park and dining complex, Ushaka Marine World is undoubtedly Durban’s key tourist attraction. The aquarium part is arguably done best. It’s housed inside a giant (supposedly wrecked) ship. You go in through the door, down into the hold and are soon confronted with marauding sharks.

Dolphins doing the dance at Durban’s Ushaka Marine World

The shipwreck theme sometimes goes a little too far – it can be quite dark down there and for viewing purposes, more clear glass would be a better idea than portholes for people to squeeze around. But the information is good, and the range of creatures is really impressive – everything from stingrays to stonefish can be found.

The real stars, however, are the dolphins. The dolphin show takes place in a special stadium at least twice a day. The show’s premise – how dolphins helped the great Zulu king, Shaka, get over the death of his mother – is ludicrous. But it doesn’t matter when Gambit and family are in action. They perform back flips, walk across the water, wave to the audience and even indulge in a spot of headbanging. They’re exceptionally cute – and fully deserve all the fish they keeping getting fed as they show off.

Be a big kid on the waterslides

The other key aspect of Ushaka Marine World is Wet ‘n’ Wild. Billing itself as “the ultimate freshwater entertainment centre,” it’s a collection of pools, water slides and artificial rivers to float around in on top of inflatable rings.

As you may have guessed, this isn’t the most sophisticated thing you can do in South Africa, but unleash the big kid in you and it’s tremendously enjoyable. The pools are big, but a disappointment. They can get quite full and they’re barely deep enough to paddle in, let alone swim in.

But the slides are great. Some twist and turn, giving you a washing machine effect; others allow you to race down against friends and family over the bumps. Some are more child-friendly and an easier ride for the more timid, but The Drop Zone is most certainly not in this category. It’s 18.5 meters (61ft) high and you shoot down at an angle of 45 degrees. It’s fast, and the feeling of colliding with the water at the bottom can be quite, um, tenderising. Viator’s Ushaka Marine World tour allows full entrance to all the main areas at Ushaka.

Relax in Durban’s Botanic Gardens

Durban’s city centre can best be described as ‘gritty’, while its strip of beaches along the sea front isn’t quite as relaxing and idyllic as it may seem – it’s very built-up. But Durban’s Botanic Gardens offer a lovely respite of calm.

They’re the oldest botanic gardens in Africa, having first opened in 1849 and the staff have done a good job of making a walk through as educational as possible. Trees – such as the odd-looking Cannon Ball Tree from the Amazon Basin – are labelled with brief explanations about backgrounds.

Meanwhile there are special displays organised into sections. These include Alien Alley, which identifies non-native invader plants which cause trouble for the local eco-system, and an area which explains how African people have traditionally used indigenous plants and trees.

But even if you’re not wanting to turn a stroll in the gardens into a learning experience, the ferns, flowers, lake and baobab trees make for a refreshing escape. The chance to spend half-an-hour or so exploring the Botanic Gardens is included Viator’s Durban Sightseeing Tour.

Go East in the Victoria Street Market

A large part of Durban’s unique character comes from its large Indian population. Indian workers were brought over during the colonial era when the local Zulu people refused to work in the sugar cane fields – they regarded it as woman’s work.

Spices on display at Victoria Market. Note the ‘mother-in-law exterminator’!

The Indians were brought over as indentured labour and then refused to go back. As the population grew, so did the clamour for rights and a young lawyer called Mohandas Gandhi went into bat for them. Gandhi first worked on his principles of passive resistance in Durban.

Today, almost 20% of Durban’s population is of Indian extraction, and that can be seen in the city’s cuisine. The favourite local dish is a bunny chow – half a loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with curry. Indian stalls also dominate the Victoria Street Market in Central Durban. Stallholders sell elaborate floral garlands, fragrances and – more importantly – a huge array of curry powders. These include a ‘mother-in-law hellfire’ powder.

It’s worth visiting just for the colours in the giant bowls. The Victoria Street Market is also covered in Viator’s Durban sightseeing tour, along with plenty of history from a knowledgeable guide.

Explore Durban’s new stadium from all angles

Durban’s shiny new Moses Mabhida Stadium has been built especially for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and it’s a spectacular achievement. With a 56,000 capacity (70,000 for the World Cup when temporary seating is added) and a spectacular design, the Moses Mabhida has been constructed to be more than just a stadium.

Integral to this is the Y-shaped arch that curves above the stadium – it is designed to mimic the South African flag and represent two nations becoming one. Up the main branch of the Y goes the Skycar – essentially a railway carriage that goes all the way to the top. Passengers are welcome. For the more active, there is the Adventure Walk. This takes visitors of up 550 steps to the central viewing area way above the stadium, safely clipped on all the way.

Inside Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium, ready for the 2010 World Cup!

The last – and most adventurous – option is the bungee swing. This was still being constructed when I visited, but it seems as though adrenalin junkies will be able to swing across the stadium from an 80m-high platform connecting two of the arch’s branches.

The ‘professional’ stadium tour is also worth doing – it goes into the commentators’ booths, the presidential suite and the ultra-luxurious players’ changing rooms.

#1 – Visit Soweto

South Africa’s most famous township has undergone a remarkable shift from turmoil to tourism. Things still aren’t perfect here – there is still large-scale unemployment amongst Soweto’s 2+ million residents and the Saturday funeral processions are still a depressingly regular occurrence – but the signs of change are there. Shopping malls and parklands have sprung up, while the increasingly large black middle class is choosing to stay and extend their home (rather than move away).

Soweto’s Hector Pieterson Memorial

My guide for the morning is Ted Taylor, who seems to know everyone that waves at the vehicle. He’s keen to point out the signs of hope and prosperity. There are squalid shacks, but Ted explains that the numbers of such ‘informal settlements’ are reducing every day and the people in them are being given proper, modern housing. He also highlights an entrepreneurial spirit such as street-side, canvas-covered hairdressing salons and the old shipping containers turned into takeaway outlets.

The key point in any Soweto tour, however, is the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum. Pieterson was the 13-year-old boy shot dead by police on the first day of what became to be known as the Soweto Uprising. That date – June 16, 1976 – is seen as a turning point in South African history. The image of a teenager carrying a child’s body out of the carnage went around the world, and international opinion of South Africa’s ‘anti-Coummunist’ government changed. The museum is utterly engrossing. It tells the story of Pieterson, the 18-year-old carrying him in the famous photo and the photographer.

Detail from Soweto’s Hector Pieterson Memorial

More importantly, it tells the story of how a peaceful protest against the introduction of Afrikaans as the teaching language in black schools turned into a bloodbath and chronicles the resistance that followed. A well-done tour of Soweto such as Ted’s is in equal parts educational, moving and inspiring.

You can visit with Viator’s half-day .

#2 – The Apartheid Museum

The second essential part in the South African history lesson comes in the often harrowing but hugely important Apartheid Museum. It traces the nation’s route to racist segregation – which started with the discovery of gold in what is now Johannesburg – and post 1994 – attempts to create an equal society for all.
For those who only known the vague outline of Apartheid South Africa, this museum fills in the details with absorbing clarity.

All the key figures are covered, while the videos of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and FW De Klerk announcing the unbanning of the African National Congress still bring a lump to the throat.

Visit with Viator’s Soweto & Apartheid Museum Tour.

#3 – Hang out in Melville

Most visitors to Johannesburg tend to migrate towards the well-heeled northern suburbs of Sandton and Rosebank. This is where the good hotels are, but the large shopping malls and security-gated properties can make both areas feel rather lifeless. Visitors wanting nightlife, a bit of character and a more multi-cultural vibe should head closer to the city – and specifically to Melville.

This suburb has the best of both worlds. It’s largely safe, but it has an instantly likeable energy. Laid back cocktail bars rub shoulders with book shops and vintage clothing stores, while the range of restaurants spans the globe.

Melville has a youthful character – it’s where lots of university students tend to go out – while a night out is wonderfully affordable. The bars are cool, many of the restaurants and cafés are excellent and there’s none of the snooty factor that pushes prices up in Sandton and Rosebank.

If you want to wash down food from Mozambique with tequilas from an authentic Mexican bar after sitting outside and people-watching, Melville is the place to do it.

#4 – Constitution Hill

When South Africa needed a new Constitutional Court, it could have been built anywhere. But as a symbolic gesture of the triumph of hope of over oppression, it was built on the site of a notorious jail.
The actual fort on what is now Constitution Hill was only used to detain white prisoners, but the attached block, known universally as Number Four, housed many political prisoners.

Among these was one Mohandas Gandhi. He later became famous for his peaceful resistance against the British in India, but most of his ideas on non-cooperation were formed in South Africa. Rebelling against laws that required Indians to show passes when going out of designated areas, Gandhi spent over seven months in Number Four between 1908 and 1913. The former visitor centre has been turned into a thought-provoking exhibition on his life and struggle in South Africa – it essentially sheds light on the great man’s formative years.

The Ghandi exhibit at Constitution Hill

But it’s the conditions that black political prisoners endured that really stick in the memory. Stories are told through eye-witness accounts and quotes from key figures. The stories of inedible meals, frequent beatings, isolation cells and ritual humiliation are horrific.

One thing’s for sure – once you go around Number Four, you understand why the siting of the building that protects the new South Africa’s Bill of Rights is so significant.

#5 – The Origins Centre

Part of the Witwatersrand University in downtown Johannesburg, the Origins Centre delves into the history of humanity. And, more specifically how it came out of Africa. The centre explores fossil evidence of our ancestors living in Southern Africa up to 200,000 years ago, before going on to explore theories of how population strands spread across the road.

A significant portion of the exhibition space is devoted to the San (often known as the Bushmen). The San, who live largely in the northwest of South Africa and the Kalahari desert areas of Botswana, are thought to be the oldest remaining culture on the planet. Their DNA links back further than any other people on the planet.
The San’s spiritual belief and post-hunt ‘trance dance’ are also covered. The use of video throughout the centre is superb, while there are plenty of touch screens which explore the main concepts using child (and big child)-friendly computer games.