Kwa Zulu Natal South Africa Feb 2016

Kwa Zulu Natal – more affectionately known as KZN or Zulu Land I was lucky enough to visit this wonderful part of South Africa in February this year with a small group of travel Counsellors on a fam trip supported by Qatar Airways – Your Africa and the KZN tourist board We had amazing time in KZN with adventure fun and history all rolled into one! It really is a destination for all ages even young families, despite the myth of South Africa not being safe – it is safe as long as you go to the right places and you wouldn't’t want to visit the other places there anyway, like in London you wouldn't’t visit the non safe areas there either, it’s the same in South Africa. I will start with Durban the capital city of KZN and the airport most people will start their trip from, Qatar airways have a new connection from Doha to Durban. The city of Durban is great for families they have invested heavily over the last few years in getting the coastal part of the city improved and now looking fabulous with a huge expanse of lido area to walk along safely and wonder along the beautiful coastline of Durban. The restaurants are fabulous and of course great value with the pound being strong at present we get great value you can eat easily by the sea for £5-10 a head with drinks depending on what you want great service always a smile! You have Umshaka Marine world in Durban too a fabulous waterpark and Aquarium great value and lovely day out for all ages, casinos if you like that the wonderful coastline, there are not too many cities boasting a coastline like this. Drakensburg Mountains – we stayed at the Drakensburg Sun Resort a beautiful ranch style resort offering either rooms or cottage style accommodation for family stays, the setting is amazing and from here you could easily spend 3-5 nights with a car and discover the area – very relaxed resort great service beautiful setting. If you’re an adventurer you would love the Canopy tour whistling through the Drak’ mountains on a zip wire overlooking the amazing rain forest – literally take your breath away, then after this you may to visit Cathedral Peak for a glass of beautiful South African wine to get your breath back. All sorts of sports can be done in the Drakensburg area if you like the outdoors you will love this area. Midlands – Where Nelson Mandela was captured you can visit this site and view the stunningly designed piece of art to commemorate this place and visit the museum too. You can visit Howick and the beautiful market town and water fall very laid back and lovely place to meander around the shops and have a drink – before maybe visiting Ardmore Art studio, if you like art this has been made into its Internationally known art studio in a smallholding housing some of the most stunning African art I have ever seen, which now sell for thousands of dollars a piece and some pieces taking more than 6 months to complete, it also supports the local community with a percentage of their sales going directly to the person who made each piece, outstanding quality! The Zululand and the North – we stayed at Isandlwana Lodge in the Battlefields you can take a tour from this beautiful lodge with the resident historian there and he will transport you back in time to the 1800’s when the battles took place a truly amazing historic experience and one that won’t be forgotten. We also stayed at Ghost Mountain further up North a gated retreat that offers peace and tranquillity in a beautiful lush surrounding with a crocodile enclosure if you dare to visit it onsite. You can visit a Zulu town from here and see how the Zulus lived and still do today to a certain extent in some areas you will also enjoy an evening of Zulu dancing so invigorating an amazing site. Up to some of the best game reserves in the area once of the oldest and largest in South Africa is Hluhluwe which we visited here you can see the big 5 and so much more you can drive yourself or take one of their guides very reasonable and a fabulous safari experience I would totally recommend the local driver to take you around and get the knowledge and history that they offer too, they know where to see and get the best views, the park is immense and could take days to drive around the whole place. Finish your stay with a bit of luxury before going home with a stay at Beverly hills hotel in Umhlanga Rocks area, the beach area here is second to none and have views of the lighthouse right on the beach in front of the BH hotel and the Oyster box hotel another well-known boutique resort here - a fabulous ending to a great trip. Give me a call for more advice on this area. Debbie