For Sunday lunch, I’d booked us a table at the famous ‘Cargo Hold’ restaurant at UShaka Marine World (Durban’s top tourist attraction). UShaka is a combination of the 5th largest aquarium in the world (allegedly) and a Water park – Wet’n’ Wild. (Liz, if you are reading this, you are going to be so gutted that we didn’t go last year when you see the photos!). There’s also an array of shops and restaurants, all along the beach front. The Ocean was quite rough and seemed fairly grubby with crisp packets and other debris floating around next to the body-boarders and sea kayakers.
The Cargo Hold is famous because it’s set in an old ship wreck and the décor is complete with barnacles on the metal beams. The centrepiece is an enormous tank filled with fish and 5 lovely big sharks who swim round and round and round, eyeing up the diners who are attempting to order whilst snapping the marine creatures on their cameras and mobile phones. It took us a while to choose from the extensive menu, Dad was rather distracted by the sharks who were swimming close to his left ear every few seconds baring their many rows of nasty-looking teeth.
However, the food was good, and the setting unique and it made for a pleasant lunch.
Durban is not the safest place and the centre of the city is fairly scruffy so I gave Mum and Dad a brief tour by car. We chose to bypass the seafront, formerly known as ‘The Golden Mile’, it’s now rapidly gaining a reputation as ‘Muggers’ Mile’. There’ll be plenty of time for beaches up North in St Lucia next week.
As you drive around Durban, the now shabby buildings build up a picture of how glorious Durban must have been in its colonial heyday. Unfortunately the buildings have been left to fall apart. Although there is some renovation underway, the transformation will take a long time and parts of the city will stay unsafe for many years to come, which is a shame as it could be so nice.
