Durban Safaris and Tours

19/11/2024

Just uploaded and published my guide to Durban for Cruise Ship Passengers. Check it out, and feel free to share.

My Durban Guide for Cruise Ship Passengers

12/11/2024

I spent a few days exploring the battlefields of Rorkes Drift, iSandlwana and Fugitives Drift. Went from sunshine to heavy rain, a hailstorm, mist and finally back to sunshine, all in a day!

Had a great time though with guests that were enjoying a bucket-list trip at the age of 72!

24/10/2024

Today I was lucky that it was a day off, kinda. My guests didn't need me today so I was free to relax a bit. So, I decided to head to False Bay about 10k's from the town of Hluhluwe.

I haven't visited False Bay in ages and figured it's time to go back. I headed to the local supermarket, bought some bananas, apples and biltong for lunch, packed walking shoes, forgot the camera and sunscreen and off I went.

What an awesome day! False Bay has pretty much nothing there. You can't swim because of crocodiles and hippo, you have to watch out for hyena that apparently chew your belongings if you are not careful, and there are leopard.

I got there a bit late in the morning and at myself up to relax before walking the Ingwe Trail. Almost immediately I was robbed of the bananas by two vervet monkeys working together.

I went for the trail walk which was awesome. Loads of flying ants about which meant birds, lizards, squirrels, crabs, mongoose, you name it, they were out snacking on the ants. Loads of Nyala, bush buck and duiker around as well. No croc or hippo stopped which I'm happy about drive I was walking.

Really nice day out before heading into Hluhluwe Imfolozi tomorrow :)

03/10/2024

A lovely day spent on the battlefields of Rorkes Drift and iSandlwana.

I have to say, these images do not do justice to just how dramatic the views were yesterday. I am a terrible mobile phone photographer; if I were a little more skilled, I may have been able to catch how ominous iSandlwana felt under the broken cloud cover.

Rorkes Drift has unfortunately received a bit of a battering the last few weeks. High winds have ripped off a portion of the shop's roof and knocked over a tree that stood next to the cattle kraal that provided much needed relief from the hot summer sun.

Isandlwana hasn't been spared either, some of the cairns seem to have been messed about with, though this is not the weather's fault but most likely the work of children with a bit of mischief in mind (or tourists who should know better).

Anyways, it was a great day on tour :)

27/09/2024

Yesterday's tour was good fun, and one I think I'll definitely offer to more visitors.

Started off with an hour's cruise out of Durban harbour and along the coastline; inspite of the wind inside the harbour, the ocean side was lovely and calm apparently (I didn't go but my guests loved it).

Next we headed to Durban botanical gardens for a tour there; Vishnu, the tour guide at the gardens is without any doubt at all, the best damn guide in Durban - seriously, if you headed to Durban, do yourself a favour and visit the gardens and book a tour with Vishnu, you will not regret it all!!

Finally we headed to uShaka for a spot of lunch and then the aquarium. In between all the sites I did the usual city centre, the markets etc. It's a fun but very busy day out in the city of Durban but definitely worth it.

***www.durbansafarisandtours.com***

26/09/2024

On today's tour I decided to check out the Marine museum while my guests were enjoying their harbour cruise. I love boats and ships and have to say I was disappointed with the condition of the museum piece. I remember years ago exploring the minesweeper only to discover it half sunk. Still, it was good fun to explore :)

25/09/2024

What a difference over the last few days here in Durban. Yesterday's city tour was done under overcast conditions with a little chill in the air, today my guests are soaking up the sun under blue skies!

Durban is looking fantastic these days with cleaning crews doing an amazing job of cleaning up after yesterday's Heritage Day celebrations. I'm guessing everyone is back at work since the city is very subdued this morning.

On the itinerary for my guests today is;

- a surf lesson,
- a harbour cruise,
- a walk through the Zulu and Indian markets,
- tour of botanical gardens,
- a bunny chow lunch,
- exploring the aquarium at uShaka and
- tour of the historic city centre.

So a lot going on today!!

www.durbansafarisandtours.com

19/09/2024

Really enjoyed today's tour to iSandlwana and Rorkes Drift. Left Durban nice and early at 6am and we were on the field of battle by 10am'ish.

20/08/2024

A very hot day out in the battlefields of Rorkes Drift and iSandlwana today.

I had a very interesting conversation on Sunday with one of my Australian guests. He was telling me that he was selected in the lottery to serve in Vietnam and his unit, while on their way to Vietnam, were shown the film "Zulu" over and over again.

This he said, was to reinforce the training they received that when under fire from an enemy with superior numbers, they should remain calm and collected and focus on the job at hand.

He told me that the first time his unit made contact with the enemy and received fire, all he could think about was the defenders of Rorkes Drift and how they got through it all, this he said kept him calm and focussed.

Quite a remarkable story I thought.

10/08/2024

Durban Safaris and Tours. Exploring the wildlife, the culture & the battlefields of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal | Top Rated Tour Agency | 14 years experience.

08/08/2024

I'm so very chuffed, just got my new brochures delivered. They'll soon be heading out to the airport and tourism bureau here in Durban.

27/07/2024

I'm chilling next to the Umzimkulu river near Underberg for the day. I have guests that are busy ascending Sani Pass into Lesotho and thanks to an expired passport, I'm unable to join them.

It is such a beautiful day here in the 'Berg. The sun's out, there's a chill in the breeze, the river is crystal clear and this morning on my way up from Durban, I spotted a Yellow Billed Kite which is a bit unusual this time of year.

I have my book, a thermos of coffee, a muffin and some biltong. I'm ready to read, picnic and nap :)

24/06/2024

After a wonderfully successful 2023/2024 cruise ship season, I've done the work and added 3 new Durban cruise ship shore excursions 🛳⚓️🇿🇦

--> https://www.durbansafarisandtours.com/shore-excursions/

I have taken in all the comments from previous tours and decided that in addition to my standard tours, I'll including a food tasting portion to every tour and I'll be including traditional music to the tours! 🍽🍻🧉 🎼🎤🎹

I will be putting 3 tours that I believe show off the best of Durban, the people and the culture;

OPTION 1: Durban city tour with food tasting and traditional Zulu music
--> https://www.durbansafarisandtours.com/durban-city-shore-excursion/

OPTION 2: Zulu cultural tour with braai (barbecue) and local music
--> https://www.durbansafarisandtours.com/durban-zulu-cultural-shore-excursion/

OPTION 3: Combined wildlife and Zulu culture with food tasting and music
--> https://www.durbansafarisandtours.com/durban-wildlife-and-zulu-cultural-shore-excursion/

These 3 tours are designed to give you the best insight into Durban, the people, the traditions, the food and the local traditional music.

I am also going to limit these shore excursion to 16 people per tour - this ensures you will have the best experience in the Durban :)

To book a spot or find out more information, please visit the website page 👇👇👇
https://www.durbansafarisandtours.com/durban-city-shore-excursion/

Join our Durban City Shore Excursion and discover why Durban is so popular. This tour includes a walking market tour and food tasting. Space Limited!

08/06/2024

Durban gets a bit of an undeserved bed rap out there which is surprising because honestly. it's the best city to be in during summer or winter, was voted as having the friendliest people in South Africa, and has so much to do!

Recently I wrote a blog post about 10 things to do when visiting Durban, I could have easily double that. Here is the post, please share and comment.

03/05/2024

What an astounding month of April! I think that I may have been busier these past few months in 2024 than any time in the past 14 years!

It can be so frustrating at times to be a tour guide, constantly meeting new people from different countries, dealing with unexpected delays, breakdowns, communication issues, sleeping more in lodges, hotels, camps etc than in my own bed, but honestly, I've never had a better job.

South Africa is such a diverse and wonderful country. In spite of all the negativity I read on the news and social media, not once over the years have I felt anything but kindness, warmth, patience and joy from the people I work with, interact with, bump into or deal with, from housekeepers to chefs, from reception staff to coach drivers and so many more.

In a few more days I'll be taking a well earned break to go camping somewhere interesting, but until then, there are a few more tours to go.

www.durbansafarisandtours.com

15/04/2024

Every year, around this time, we get cruise ships from around the world docking at the Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal in Durban. Which means, small independent tour operators like myself, have to beg and plead with MSC to be allowed access to the terminal in order to collect our guests.

Yesterday, the manager of the site, an MSC employee, told us that he didn't want tour guides or operators to collect guests at all, they were a pain.

I'm stunned by this. Small businesses such as mine drive employment. We actively campaign to bring tourists to the city thereby giving the city a much needed financial boost. Our tourists interact with other small businesses thereby spreading the money around, we as much as.possibly counter the negativity spread by cruise ships.

MSC would rather ban independent guides and operators from the cruise terminal, which means guests are forced to utilise outrageously expensive ship tours that do not in any exposed tourists to the amazing people of Durban. Directly from guests, they suck.

And yet MSC continues to just destroy small businesses, they don't care at all as long as profit continues to get racked in. And worse, our local Durban Tourism department and city seems happy with this state of affairs in spite of the potential for small businesses to thrive and improve tourism to Durban.

Disgusted.

us


#

02/04/2024

An amazing day spent in the village of iSithumba in the rolling folds of the Valley of a 1000 Hills. Not only were my guests treated to a walking tour of the village, but they got to enjoy a lovely lunch with the family of our guide, Amimi.

My guests were off a cruise ship; we have had so many cruise ship visitors this season, it's been fantastic! This tour has definitely been a hit among guests, a full vehicle every time.

Durban is so popular with visitors, just a shame it gets such a bad reputation, one that is not deserved at all.

Anyways, if you're looking for a day trip off a cruise ship in Durban, then contact me and I'll put together something for you.

www.durbansafarisandtours.com