By Samkelo Biyela
At first, the ocean seems clear and still, almost as if nothing happens on it to the point that you’d believe that there’s no life under these waters. It actually is magnificent in Port Edward and in the belief that nothing happens here – some got off the boat to take a dip despite the gloomy weather
Spring starts with Tourism Month in South Africa, but we’ve been dealing with a September that hasn’t provided us with great weather. Despite this, the coast in KwaZulu-Natal is always great to explore especially as we race towards warmer weathers. While many often just end in Durban, the province’s coastline stretches for 580 km that start on the Mozambican border and end on the Eastern Cape border.
The south coast is a great option for those looking for quiet escapes by the ocean. Visitors to towns like Port Edward can go on ocean safaris. “Now going into summer – there will be a lot of dolphins, a lot of fishing activities,” explains Nathan Pienaar from Offshore Adventures.
As our water journey proceeds, we see a few fins. It’s the dolphins that we came to Port Edward for. They seem too shy to reveal themselves fully, but just show the fins and the part of the body that they are attached to. There are many dolphins and it is a sight to behold!
We are also told that those who are looking for adventure sport come here as well. “There’s also an area called The Gorge which is very beautiful. It’s also where you find water skating activities,” says KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority CEO, Sibusiso Gumbi.
City slickers often feel out of touch with how rural communities live. This is where they can spend time with local families as part of their getaways as well. “We are a family friendly destination. Agri-tourism is one of our products where people can go to our rural communities to experience how they grow their vegetables and experience what also comes out of those gardens as well,” says Ugu South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise CEO, Phelisa Mangcu.
In one of the detours from the ocean, tourists can end up at Mac Banana – it’s a banana farm that is popular with kids as they can go on guided walks here and even experience drinks and foods made out of banana.
This is a great place to put your phone on silent, bring the family and get away from the big city buzz.
