Durban - With the festive season in full swing, there is no arguing that Durban is the country’s “fun city” with an estimated 1 million visitors enjoying the city’s attractions during the holidays.
Locals and holidaymakers made the most of Durban’s Golden Mile, jostling for swimming space in designated areas or playing games on the beaches.
Lifeguards were hard pressed to ensure order, but seemed in control. In fact, a team of lifeguards joined in the fun and had bathers doing rhythmic hand claps, twists and turns.
Phindile Mahlangu and her little children were among those enjoying themselves.
“Durban is our fun city, we visit here every Christmas,” said Mahlangu, from Secunda, Mpumalanga.
Other visitors preferred to cruise the promenade, checking out the sights, sounds and the crafts on display in makeshift curio stalls.
And there was something for the partygoers too. The hugely popular Aqua Fest proved to be a blast for those who rocked up at the festival’s enclosure on New Beach.
Away from the Golden Mile, Petra Luna shared her own brand of festive cheer.
More than a hundred destitute children, abused women and homeless people appreciated the free food and gifts she and volunteers handed out at the shelter she operates on Pickering Street.
“We feed destitute and hungry people here every day, but today we’re having our annual Christmas party.
“We’ve been doing it for the past 11 years,” the kind-hearted Luna said.
Hundreds of Shembe followers congregated on a grassy patch near the Workshop.
Dressed in their traditional white garb, the followers were engaged in intense worship, oblivious of the hustle and bustle around them.
MERVYN NAIDOO, Sunday Tribune