People & Places
Durban to the Dolphin Coast
Caroline Mayer, a Durban resident, went on a tour of the Dolphin Coast to revisit the tourist trail
There's nothing like sitting through a bumpy car ride for almost an hour to make you realise you shouldn't have eaten 'boerewors' (a spicy South African sausage) for breakfast. I'm on the bus because I'm heading up the Dolphin Coast, also known as the North Coast, to Ballito further up the Kwazulu-Natal province coastline from my home in Durban.
Even though I've lived in Durban for about seven years, and was originally born in Johannesburg, I'd never done the touristy things everyone who comes to South Africa raves on about. But, a few weeks after returning from a trip to Australia, I decided to take a weekend roadtrip to Ballito, a resort town that I remember as being full of nice, if busy, beaches and children hacking away at mussels on the side of rocks and people bent double looking for oysters in the warm sea.
I have to admit to being one of these fisherwoman hopefuls, as I was unable to resist buying a licence for a few rand from the Natal Sharks Board to go scavenging for them. It reminded me of a holiday I had in Cornwall, and there are quite a few paralleles between Ballito and the little fishing town in the South-West of England, right down to the surfers on tame waves and that family atmosphere of a seaside town.
My plans to leave Ballito that day to venture further up the Dolphin coast soon fell by the wayside as I was tempted by the smells of seafood wafting from seafront restaurants. The crayfish at Mariners restaurant more than made up for my empty haul from oyster hunting. I would definitely recommend any seafood dish served there!
Before I left, several of my friends recommended the game reserves north of Ballito, but I had to get going if I was going to drive up to Salt Rock before I returned to the warm sea. After the drive, I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with Salt Rock town. I remembered it as a small simple town with a few bars and restaurants where you could chill out and sunbake, but still not feel like you were in a holiday town. It has changed in six years, yet now it's far more commercial than I expected. The beaches have lifeguards and it's still not that busy compared to other places, but it had none of the charm I decided to come up here to sample once more.
There were quite a lot of hotels and tourist complexes, and a few people I chatted with were getting ready to go scuba diving and dolphin spotting. If I hadn't already had good memories of Salt Rock, I think I would have enjoyed staying there much more. But that's what happens: places change around you and you start to feel like you are discovering your own country all over again. The drive back was against the twighlight Sunday evening, and the best way to see any seascape. After three days I could still smell the salty water, my trainers were full of coarse Ballito sand and as I drove along the N2 highway I was exhausted from doing pretty much nothing at all. As I saw Durban coming into view I realised there were all the signs that I really was a tourist in my own country. But however much fun the weekend had been, I was glad to be back home.
Dolphin coast
Places to see, things to do:
The start of what is considered the Dolphin Coast, or North Coast, begins at Tongaat, just a 20-minute journey from Durban city centre. Zimbali lies slightly further up the coast, and has an 18-hole golf course set in a relatively unspoilt natural environment. If you prefer rambles and nature walks to golf, Zinkwazi Beach is nestled between a beach and a natural lagoon. There are also plenty of watersports on offer.
Stanger has important significance in Zulu history, and has a memorial to a past Zulu king who was assassinated here. The sugar cane fields can also be visited in a stark reminder of the slave past in the region.
Ballito and Salt Rock are both tourist resorts, they have a surf atmosphere and are generally laid-back. Towards the end of the stretch of coastline, Shaka's Rock, Sheffield Beach and Blythedale Beach are all smaller, out of the way, areas, although Blythdale Beach does have a holiday resort and is popular with wildlife observers.
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