Durban has a population of over 1 million people. Vasco Da Gama was the first white man to land here, (1497). He named the harbor Rio de Natal, (Christmas River).
This city is on the Indian Ocean. We were here in January, so it wasn’t as hot as it would have been in the summer. It still was very humid, and my curly hair, frizzed, and I looked like a Zulu!
Our first stop was Durban. We arrived in Durban, and it took us about ten minutes to arrive at The Hilton Hotel.
The Hilton is a beautiful hotel. When we arrived, the tour company’s representative had already checked us in.
Our luggage was in our room when we arrived. The room was air conditioned.
From our balcony we could see the Indian Ocean. Our room had twin beds, that had orange and black woven bed spreads. These matched the drapes. The walls and carpet were an apricot color.
The backboards of the bed, desk, tables and night tables were made of wood.
There was a TV set, mini bar, a desk, with a telephone on it. The closet was large, (but it didn’t have a safe in it).
The bathroom had a tub and separate shower. There was a toilet and sink. The sink was in a wood cabinet, that had a few drawers.
Next to the sink was a basket of amenities. On the wall was a hair drier.
We had breakfast in the Lobby Lounge. When we came back at night before we went to bed.
What We Did
During the day we had to take a tour of every hotel in the city. These tours included the conference rooms and kitchens. When we were touring a hotel, during a mean time, they hosted the lunch or dinner for us.
We vistied the Termok Lodge, the Protea Hotels, (both the Edward and Kruger Gate), the Tropicans, Westville, Orion, Beach and the Zibali Lodge.
On day the tour company, (West Can Tours), took us to see the KwaZulu Natal Park. This is where the Zulu’s live. Natal is considered their own territory. They are ruled by a King.
They gave us a half a day to shop. We had the Victoria Street Market was the best place to shop, so we went there first. My husband collects pipes and I saw one with a clay bowl, and a long hand beaded stem. I save Giraffes, so I bought a brass one. I bought an African beaded basket, to hold what I bought.
The first night we were there the Hilton management hosted a buffet dinner, in their night club. After dinner there was a short version of the musical Fiddler On The Roof.
One night we went to the Suncoast Casino, and I won a few rand.
The last night we just walked along the waterfront to the end of the pier. We saw that there was a small theme park, the City Hall, the older homes, the train station and the Elephant House, (the oldest home in Durban).
Thank you for reading my review.
©LL2004