Durban Safaris and Tours

Home
South Africa
Morningside
Durban Safaris and Tours

Durban Safaris and Tours are registered tour guides and operators based in Durban, South Africa. We

05/09/2026

Last week I had an idea to try out the new car up Sani Pass following my colleague Paul who had two of my guests on tour with him. The car leapt up the pass like a mountain goat but going back down was a case of slowly-slowly. But up and down she went like a champ!

Lesotho is quite beautiful this time of year in spite of the drab colours. It's definitely the views that do it, these amazing landscapes across boulder strewn mountains that are never ending. I'm constantly questioning how anyone could live here and at the same time I'm envious that I'm not embracing a life of extreme minimalism and raising goats and sheep.

All around the humble homes are peach trees that are all flowering; the splash of pink against the rich pallets of brown is something to behold, reminded me of Joburg a lot.

The week before thick snow still lay everywhere, but for the most part it's all melted with just a few spots the sun isn't getting too that is still packed with ice. And although the temperature was pretty high, the wind was bitterly cold and it just cut right through you.

As part of the tour we take guests to visit two separate Basotho villages one of which was being visited by 10 or so young ladies from one of the Durban schools. They had hiked from Underberg up Sani and 40km's to the village we were visiting. I could never do that even on my best day so that was really inspiring.

We all stayed at Mantsebo Guesthouse in Mokhotlong and then headed back down the following day after a walking tour of a different Basotho village. I tried a little fly fishing in the nearby stream - I'm told by the locals that there are loads of trout in the streams. I don't believe them. I caught nothing, and it surely cannot be because of my fishing skills.

We stopped at the Sani Adventure Pub (I think that's what it's called these days) for lunch at the highest pub in Africa - had a burger that was excellent and helped settle the nerves that were pinging thanks to the drive back down Sani in an unfamiliar vehicle.

Lesotho is perfect to get away from the 9-5, doom scrolling modern life, you should try it.

31/08/2026

Great giraffe sightings this past weekend at Tala Game Reserve. It's been some time since I took guests there so decided to have a recce. The reserve has upgraded their bird hide and the picnic area, looks really good. When the rains come back again the place is going to be perfect.

www.durbansafarisandtours.com

18/08/2026

A photo dump of a week of tours in and around Durban. Images here are from Hluhluwe Imfolozi, Rorkes Drift, Sani Pass, Florida Road (Durban), Club Med and beachfront (Durban).

I was told by an official that Durban is the fastest growing city in south Africa right now, and based on how good the city is looking, all the development going on, I can believe it.

Next week I'm headed into eSwatini so lots of photos will be coming from there.

www.durbansafarisandtours.com

16/08/2026

Yesterday (Saturday) I had this idea to be a bit of a tourist in my own city. I often host walking tours around the markets but rarely in the suburbs, so I decided to stroll around the Florida Road area as a tourist. I came across this block of flats that I honestly have never noticed before. The other buildings are all art-deco styled, or clean (and a little boring) mid-century styled.

But this one is just fantastic in that it's so different! I'm no architectural student, I do not know the names of the different styles, I would call this "brutalism" without knowing if it truly is.

I love this building though, it has rentals available so I am so keen to go have a look at one of the flats to see the design work inside. If it's all rough concrete then I'm moving in asap.

02/06/2026

I have had, over the last few weeks, some of the most amazing tours. From Rorkes Drift to Lesotho, from city tours to safaris, I have not had one bad day. And it's got nothing to do with me, it's the amazing guests, the beautiful landscapes and the gift that is KwaZulu Natal.

Over the next few weeks I have a number of great tours planned (tomorrow I'm off to Rorkes Drift again) and a chance encounter in Underberg has led to some new birding tours that I'm keen to promote.

How fortunate and privileged am I to earn a living doing something I love!

www.durbansafarisandturs.com

29/03/2026

A desperately needed, cooler day in Durban. I'm headed to Underberg where two of my guests are gonna brave the Sani Pass while I kill a bit of time fishing at Kenmo.

I have now confirmed there is not one fish in Kenmo, not one. I spent at least an hour throwing a line out and got nothing more than laughed at by the locals. Stupid dam.

But a day spent at the waters edge fishing beats a day in the office in spite of the lack of fish.

07/03/2026

Yesterday I headed to Rorkes Drift for a little R&R and some research on the battle. I usually am out here with guests so I don't get to explore some of the sites written about in the many books on the subject.

I have to say, that South Africa is spoilt for jaw-dropping landscapes, but I do not believe that there is a more picturesque area than the areas surrounding Dundee, Wasbank, Helpmekaar and Nqutu.

These happy snaps do not do justice to some of the landscapes I took in, especially on the road to Wasbank from Dundee. If ever you visit South Africa, please please please make the effort to get out to these remote spots off the regular tourist trails, you will not be sorry.

25/01/2026

Everything must come to an end eventually; I'm back home from my Japan adventure and back in the bush on a tour. I suppose I shouldn't complain, today has been an extraordinary day with 4 of the big 5 spotted and possibly one of the best afternoon game drives I've ever done.

The late afternoon sun provided my photographer guests with exactly the right light he wanted so parked up alongside a pan and he and his wife spent around an hour taking photos of giraffe, wildebeest, nyala, buffalo, impala and warthog, all in one spot.

Eventually I had to call them to ensure we were back at the camp before the gates were closed, I knew it would be close but I wasn't concerned until over a hill we encountered a herd of elephants, with one particular young in musk and refusing to give way.

After ages he finally conceded the road but not with quite a show of annoyance and I was able to speed back to camp, literally making it by a minute or so.

Beautiful day, it's good to be home :)

17/01/2026

I slept in a bit this morning and only got on the train to Nara Park around 10'ish. Nara Park is known for the deer that roam about being fed by tourists. What a great experience watching these deer! Many Japanese people bow to the deer before feeding them, so some of the deer have learnt to bow as well, it's crazy to watch them approach a person and bow to them!

The Buddha statue museum was next level, I think it's my favourite so far, the statues are just beautiful. How lovely they must have looked in their brightly painted colours and patterns. The museum also sold calligraphy paper which I immediately snapped up since the lesson I booked didn't have any to take home.

I ended the afternoon with a tea ceremony tour which I have to admit isn't really my cup of tea (ha!) but I ended up enjoying so much. The focused process of preparation and serving is a meditation in off itself - it calms the mind and feels so purposeful.

I got back to the hotel around 4:00pm and relaxed a bit before heading out on search of dinner. First off though, I headed to the samurai and ninja museum which came highly recommended, and it didn't disappoint. I did the 45min tour which was highly entertaining and ended in a challenge of throwing shuriken (I came third).

Tomorrow I head back to Tokyo for my last two nights.

15/01/2026

Yesterday I moved from Kiba to the town of Kamakura. I came here because of the Buddha statue and because of a YouTube video that recommended a jazz club in the area. I could only check in after 3 and it was a pain to deal with the tourist crowds and haul my suitcase around so I found myself a coffee shop and people watched until check in.

Although it was getting late in the afternoon,I headed to a nearby Shinto Shrine and then strolled the busy district looking for a place eat.

One of things I appreciate here in Japan is that almost every restaurant has "models" of what their dishes look like. It's almost as if they cooked the dish and then somehow cast it in resin - they appear so life-like! I had a ramen bowl that was way too big (it's polite to finish everything) and then walked it off back to my hotel.

Today I plan to find some breakfast and then head to Buddha and then the seaside followed by the jazz club.

Address

12 Ocean Gardens
Morningside
4051

Website

https://www.durbansafarisandtours.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Durban Safaris and Tours posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Durban Safaris and Tours:

Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency in Morningside?