Durban Archives - Nicola Ann Art

Apr 02

by Nicola in Beach, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, People, Swimming 0 comments tags: BeanOn Photography, Durban Beach, Prayer, purification

Purification Ritual Durban Beach

My eyes and ears were attracted by the glee two hundred church worshippers clearly experienced on the beach, involved in prayer and baptising ritual. Adorned in white uniforms, blue and green sashes, people were dunked into the waves, held under for a few seconds and came up gasping and chanting in an unrecognisable African language. Some women were veiled, in the background, singing and dancing. Holy staffs with flags dug into the sand around groups of people. In the middle of the action, yellow and white plastic containers were being topped up with sea water and sand, waiting to be taken home after the baptismal and healing ritual. I kept my distance, mesmerised by the simpleness of it all. The joy and rapture each person in the group experienced, from young children enjoying the shoreline and the elderly, the ‘ikhehlas‘ and ‘ugogos‘ relishing the purification ritual.

Apr 02

by Nicola in Beach, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, People, Sunrise, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: BeanOn Photography, Durban, Durban beach front, Early morning, Indian Ocean, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Happy Easter, Durban, South Africa

Happy Easter, Durban! Durban, vibrant and bursting with soul, is always a happy place to be but appears to be even happier during holidays. So many from around the country visit for the warm ocean and still hot sun. Even when the waves aren’t spectacular it’s crowded with surfers. Once again, even in Autumn, Durban is the warmest place to be, thanks to the locals. Most of these snaps were taken with my iPhone.

Scalloped hammerhead shark, the canal side, Durban

Jul 23

Durban is the warmest place to be

Unequivocally, Durban is the warmest place to be – it is practically summer all year round with its sub-tropical climate and laid-back, friendly people. Most mornings (when I am home, of course), at first light, I spend at Durban’s vibrant beachfront: running along the soft, golden beach sand; cycling up to thirty kilometres along the promenade, up and down the piers, around Moses Mabhida Stadium, across the Umgeni River and back again; surfing even in winter, mostly with a spring wetsuit; and recently, my new found addiction, yoga with Lauren from SurfSup Yoga. At dawn this morning I warmed up with an hour’s run along the beach sand before enjoying a soothingly stimulating session of yoga at Snake Park Lawns, on the promenade. Exercising alongside the ocean, while watching the sun rise and sharing it with others that were clearly health conscious, was an experience to behold. A few hours later, mid afternoon, I returned to the beachfront with my camera where I experienced a completely different world compared to the world at dawn. A promenade teeming with people, from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, exultant and savouring everything the beachfront had to offer from rickshaw rides to Zulu dancing, […]

Jan 29

by Nicola in Beach, Durban, Sunrise 2 comments tags: beach, BeanOn Photography, Durban beach front, Early morning, Indian Ocean, KwaZulu-Natal, Moyo Ushaka Pier, North Beach, sea, South Africa, Sunrise, uShaka Beach, uShaka Pier

Habanero-hot welcome back to Durban

What a warm, actually habanero-hot welcome back to Durban. And I’d left London the day after the snow had settled overnight. With Emirates, from London Gatwick to Dubai and then finally Durban, the flight path permitted me to take in kilometre after kilometre of the rich-blue Indian Ocean bubbling below. What a sight after eighteen hours of flying time and three-hours wait in Dubai. Never mind the nine months of being away. It felt as though I was away for much longer but from the moment I stepped off the plane it felt as if I had never left; the epitome of home. I don’t know how but I resisted (resistance is usually futile) snapping the sunrise at uShaka Beach my first morning at home. Well, to be honest the need to catch-up on sleep triumphed and I ventured down to the beachfront for the sunrise the second morning after my arrival. My brain failed me momentarily, but it was 5am after all. I forgot that during the summer months the wall of the harbour mouth blocked the sunrise and it didn’t rise directly in front of the pier. I’ve since discovered the incredible SunCal, informing me that on […]