Like Gabarone, Durban was a destination that I was curious to visit. I had already been to Cape Town and Johannesburg, so South Africa’s third-largest city seemed like the logical next destination. I made it a two-week reconnaissance trip, always curious and excited to scout a new destination.
My apartment was in a convenient location on Florida Street – a hip restaurant lined with bars and restaurants. In the same building on the ground floor was a biltong store where I got in the habit of eating 400 grams of freshly-cut biltong each day after my gym session. And what a gym I found there in Durban — Cambell’s Gym. Replete with bodybuilding posters from the 1980s, and equipment from the 1950s, as well as large, very strong men, Campbell’s Gym, became my favorite place to spend my time in Durban.
I never really made it to Durban’s beaches. I visited once in order to eat lunch, but I preferred taking my camera and wandering around different neighborhoods I found myself in, stopping to have a coffee, seeing a monkey in a tree — that sort of tourism. A highlight from my time in Durban was the annual Bonsai show hosted by The Bonsai Society of Durban. I spent two hours taking photos of the plants and people gathered to showcase the art of their hobby. You can see my favorite trees from the show here.
I found Durban a comfortable and very livable city – I would be happy to return for longer having successfully gotten a feel for its personality.
