Durban City Facts
Durban city residents are very proud of their city and diverse culture. We have put together some interesting Durban city facts. Durban has an endless amount of fun and interesting facts. Below are just a few facts about Durban city.
Durban city was discovered by Western explores in 1497. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama came across Durban on Christmas day. He named it Rio de Natal. Natal means Christmas in Portuguese. Durban city is known by its full name of Durban KwaZulu-Natal.
The British colonized the Durban area in 1824. The settlement was originally called Port Natal. In 1835 the city was renamed to Durban city (named after the somewhat controversial Cape Colony governor Sir Benjamin D’Urban).
Durban city has the highest population of Indians outside of India. Thankfully they brought along with them their amazing cuisine. A local Durban city favourite is known as a “Bunny Chow”. A loaf of bread is hollowed out and filled with a mutton or bean curry. Mahatma Ghandi, leader of the Indian Independence movement, began his political journey in Durban.
Durban city has the busiest container port in Africa and one of the busiest in the Southern Hemisphere. Durban’s harbour entrance was widened and can now take some of the worlds largest “super ships”
Durban city has the busiest container port in Africa and one of the busiest in the Southern Hemisphere. Durban’s harbour entrance was widened and can now take some of the worlds largest “super ships”.
Durban city is home to The Ushaka Marine World. This is the worlds 5th largest aquarium. Ushaka sits at the end of Durban City’s famous “Golden Mile”. The Golden Mile is a stretch of beach that runs 6 kilometres from Ushaka to The Blue Lagoon.
Durban city was one of the major host cities for the football world cup. Durban hosted a number of games including the semi final. Durban city built a new stadium named Moses Mabhida Stadium( Named after a political freedom fighter). The stadium can seat 70000 people and is widely considered one of the world’s most beautiful stadiums. A Sky Car takes passengers to the top of the stadium arch. At the top one can have an unobstructed 360 degree view of the city. The Big Rush is a swing that is connected 220 meters above the stadium pitch to the arch. It is rated the world’s largest swing by the Guinness Book of Records since 14 May 2011.
Durban city has a number of safari parks within close proximity. From Durban city you can drive to a safari park within 40 minutes and get up close to some of Africa’s wildlife.
Shaka Zulu the famous Zulu king ruled the lands surrounding Durban. Durban’s international airport was named after him, known as King Shaka International Airport. Nearly seven million passengers pass through the airport each year.
Each year Durban is at the centre of one the worlds great animal migrations. “The Sardine Run” as it is known, takes place when these small silver fish gather in their millions and take the journey up the coast, passing Durban along the way. Fishermen cast their nets off boats and from the shore. Boxes full of sardines are sold by the crate load as soon as they are caught. The shoals of fish attract huge numbers of feeding sharks, dolphins, whales and birdlife.
In 2014 CNN rated Durban City “The coolest city in South Africa you’ve never seen”. See the article here
Visit Durban city and take a Durban city tour with DurbanSafaris.com. We offer two Durban city tours. Our first is a Durban City Cultural Tour, the second is our Durban City Day Tour. Take a tour of Durban City with a Durban City local tour guide. Your guide will impart useful and informative information about one of the worlds best coastal cities.