worldcup2010

Durban

Moses Mabhida Stadium

Where's the game on?

The newly-built Moses Mabhida Stadium will host one of the semi-finals as well as a number of group games.

The ground takes its design inspiration from the South African flag. The two legs of the arch on the southern side of the stadium come together to form a single footing on the northern side, symbolising the new unity of a once-divided country.

The 70,000-seater has been specifically designed as a multi-purpose venue and an amphitheatre complete with a cable car which ascends to a viewing platform at the top of the expansive 350m arch, a staggering 106m above the pitch. From this vantage point, visitors can experience spectacular panoramic views of the nearby shoreline and the city.

The stadium, built on the site of the old Kings Park Stadium, is located in the heart of the Kings Park Sporting Precinct and the entire area features additional sporting arenas and facilities as well as a pedestrian walkway linking the stadium complex to the beach.

And the rest of the city?

Durban beachfront

Durban is both busy industrial port and laid-back surferville. The warm waters of the Indian Ocean, coupled with an uninterrupted swell and current washing down its coast, make it an ideal spot to catch a wave or two but the waters are also infested with great white sharks so anyone hoping for a board meeting would be well-advised to listen to the locals as the nets are not always that reliable.

There is all manner of unique history there. The modern city of Durban dates from 1824, when a party of 25 men under British Lieutenant FG Farewell arrived from the Cape Colony and established a settlement on the northern shore of the Bay of Natal, near today's Farewell Square. Accompanying Farewell was an adventurer named Henry Francis Fynn, who helped the Zulu King Shaka recover from a stab wound he suffered in battle. As a token of Shaka's gratitude, he granted Fynn a "25-mile strip of coast a hundred miles in depth".

Fierce conflict with the Zulu population led to the evacuation of Durban, and eventually the Afrikaners accepted British annexation in 1844 under military pressure. A British governor was appointed to the region and many settlers emigrated from Europe and the Cape Colony. The British established a sugar cane industry in the 1860s. Farm owners had a difficult time attracting Zulu labourers to work on their plantations, so the British brought thousands of indentured labourers from India on five-year contracts. As a result of the importation of Indian labourers, Durban became the largest Asian community in South Africa and as such, is famed for its curries.

Durban is characterised by a mild sub-tropical climate with warm wet summers and mild moist-to-dry winters, which are frost-free. However, due to large altitude variations, some western suburbs get very cold in the winter. By and large though, it is beach weather most of the year.

The city itself sprawls over some sharp hills - there is no coastal plain to speak of - and is fragmented similarly to Johannesburg and Pretoria. There certainly isn't too much in the way of architecture, Durban is a place to kick back, hit the beaches and relax.

While you're there...

The Drakensberg

One of the largest aquariums in the world, the uShaka Marine World, is in Durban. Otherwise, leave the city well alone and head off into the surrounds.

The Drakensberg mountain range is a wonderful retreat from city life and is about an hour-and-a-half's drive out of the city on the N3 to Johannesburg before the turn-offs which take you down the roads to all sorts of hideaways. Wrap up warm though - that can get freezing in winter.

North and south of Durban are some far smaller and friendlier tourist resorts, particularly to the south and the Port Shepstone area. The beaches there have to be seen to be believed.

There are also many game reserves and nature parks up the coast, of which St. Lucia is possibly the pick of the bunch, as well as any number of former Anglo-Zulu battlefields.

A cold one and some sustenance?

Durban airport

Rampant crime and industrial spread have made the centre of town a poor place to be, so most people head up the coast to Umhlanga for a party which is well worth having. Be very careful though; taxis are not all that safe and police are more intolerant of drink-driving there than anywhere else in SA.

On matchdays, you could do far worse than just hang around the gound. There's always a stage with a rock concert, always tents serving the cold stuff and always a few chaps hanging around thoughtfully sizzling some sausages for your solids requirement.

Otherwise, Joe Kool's in town is an excellent place for pre- and post-match fun. You'd have to get there early though. There is also a casino and mall fairly close by.

Florida Road in Morningside also offers a few bars and restaurants, many with live music but with a much more chilled outlook on everything.

Finally, you should absolutely not leave Durban without eating a local curry. There is a huge Indian population there and the influence on the cuisine is both omnipresent and delicious.

You'd have to get there first, mind

Durban International Airport is the main airport serving the city of Durban and is 10 miles south of the city centre. It serves mostly domestic destinations and the only international flights are to/from Mauritius and Swaziland. All other international flights will enter the country through either Cape Town or Johannesburg.

There are daily Shosholoza Meyl inter-city trains to Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg, with a weekly service to Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Cape Town. You can also get to Port Elizabeth or East London by changing trains in Bloemfontein.

Durban lies on the N2 road which heads south around the coast all the way to Cape Town, 1900km later! The N2 heads north as well, while the N3 heads inland through the Drakensberg ot Johannesburg.