Angus Begg discovers cultural high points and first-rate cuisine in KwaZulu-Natal

06.00: With the sun rising dead ahead on the horizon, Durban’s favourite start to the day is a brisk walk or run along the city’s beachfront boardwalk, known as the Golden Mile. Attractions include surfers catching the early swells and the numerous art-deco buildings – most of them hotels – lining the promenade. It is said that downtown Johannesburg has the highest number of art-deco buildings in the southern hemisphere, but Durban must run it close.

08.00: Treat yourself to breakfast along trendy and historic Florida Road. The tree-lined pavements, and cottages and houses of Victorian design, provide a beautiful suburban setting. Take your pick from the numerous cafés, restaurants and boutiques. Breakfast at Spiga d’Oro is a must, and not only for a rare, real cappuccino.

10.00: Victoria Street market provides an exciting interlude. Indians first arrived on these shores as indentured labour for imperial Britain’s early railway projects and sugar-cane farms, and they in particular have shaped this province. Keep your possessions close as you wander this buzzing world of cloth, brass, curios and spices; and browse the 170 stalls selling goods from India, Taiwan and China.

11.30: It may be a little bit twee, but a rickshaw ride along marine parade, being pulled by a strapping Zulu in traditional gear, will provide you with an interesting photo and him with a little cash. If that is too touristy for your tastes, then the botanical gardens are beautiful; the oldest in the country.

12.00: Lunch at Havana Grill, Suncoast Casino. This is one of the top 10 restaurants in South Africa. The large modern complex in which the restaurant is located may also be home to a casino, but you need not hear or see it. The restaurant has a Che Guevara and Fidel Castro theme, a young professional clientele and looks out to sea. The steaks – aged by the restaurant itself – are a highlight, as is almost everything else on the menu. There is also a superb wine cellar.

13.30: Walk across the path to the best beach in Durban for a little breather and some post-prandial relaxation. The establishment has a private and secure beach that allows you to leave your bag on the sand while you take a dip in the waves, confident that it will not vanish. Unfortunately, bathers have to be on their guard at Durban’s public beaches; petty theft by day and occasionally violent crime by night are the result of the province’s rural unemployed and poor moving to Durban in search of a better life.

14.30: Aquarium Ushaka. Finished only a few years ago, this is one of the top five aquaria in the world, housed in the shell of an early 20th-century steamer. You really need an entire afternoon to do it justice.

16.00: The BAT Centre is an art development and community centre within a small harbour off the Victoria Embankment, dedicated to nurturing and promoting the music, visual arts, dance and craft of KwaZulu-Natal. It is usually relatively free of tourists and is somewhere you can see artists making the products you buy. It also has a great bar where the tug-boats are moored.

17.30: South Africa is a world leader when it comes to creating shopping malls, so you might prefer to spend the cocktail hour in Durban’s ode to consumerism, among the stores and eateries. Gateway Mall, in the suburb of Umhlanga, boasts eight cinemas, the world’s highest indoor climbing rock and a 4×4 track.

19.00: Cocktails at Revolving Roma.
As the name suggests, this is a revolving restaurant and bar atop a building on the city’s beachfront near the Golden Mile.

21.00: Back to the Aquarium Ushaka for the dinner of a lifetime at Cargo Hold, below decks on that old steamer. Enjoy seared sesame-crusted tuna while ragged-tooth sharks eyeball you and your plate through the aquarium windows. The wild oysters – as opposed to cultivated – are both tasty and gigantic.

24.00: Bean Bag Bohemia in Florida Road. This is a funky, acid-jazz chill-spot frequented by the in crowd. The food is good – should you be hungry again.

Tourism KwaZulu-Natal: www.durban.kzn.org.za Southern Sun Hotels: www.southernsun.com Ushaka Marine World: www.ushakamarineworld.co.za