Exploring Umhlanga - What Can You Expect (Part 3)

Today, I'm doing Part 3 of a series about what you can expect if you ever decide to visit Umhlanga.

If you want to read the first two posts, you find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Umhlanga is a residential, commercial and resort town north of Durban on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which was created in 2000 and includes the greater Durban area. (Source: Wikipedia).

Today, we will start from the Whalebone pier and move further down south.

But before we move further down along the beachfront, here are three interesting facts that can be found in Umhlanga.

Three Interesting Facts About Umhlanga

1. The Gateway Theatre of Shopping is located in Umhlanga and is one of the top 100 largest malls in the world. Gateway sees more than two million visitors per month. (Source: Wikipedia)

2. uMhlanga is one of the fastest-growing towns in South Africa; its population increased 57.5% from 15,387 in the 2001 census to 24,238 in the 2011 census. (Source: Wikipedia)

3. The Pearls of Umhlanga used to be the second-tallest skyscraper in South Africa according to this post in Wilpedia. However, according to a later entry in Wikipedia, the Pearls of Umhlanga is currently the fifth tallest building in South Africa.

Standing just above the Whalebone Pier, this is the view of the Pearls of Umhlanga.

Zooming in on the right wing/tower of the Pearls of Umhlanga.

Umhlanga Lighthouse

While still standing on the Whalebone Pier, this is the view of the Umhlanga Lighthouse.

Zooming in, you can see the city of Durban in the background.

The structure that is visible in the city right behind the lighthouse, is the Moses Mabhida Stadium, which was built for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Taking a walk on the promenade, approaching the Umhlanga Lighthouse.

Looking at the lighthouse, facing the ocean. At the bottom, you can see an information board, containing some interesting facts about the lighthouse.

The information board...

Some facts about the lighthouse as per the information board:

• The Lighthouse was completed on 24 November 1954.

• It was built to replace the Bluff Lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor.

• Construction took 4 days and 19 hours.

• The lighthouse cost R23 838.00 to build.

• The circular concrete tower is 21 meters above the beach.

• There are 95 steps to the top of the lighthouse.

• The fully automatic lighthouse flashes every 20 seconds and has a range of 24 sea miles.

• The Oyster Box Hotel is the 'keeper' or custodian of the lighthouse with status reports sent from the hotel to the Portnet Lighthouse Service in Durban Harbor.

Other interesting facts as per the information board:

• Not only does the Umhlanga Lighthouse stand guard over some of southern Africa's most treacherous waters, but it has become an iconic and much-loved symbol of Umhlanga Rocks and Durban.

• Have a look at the windows of the lighthouse... Can you see that they are not perfectly aligned? This is because the concrete rings of the lighthouse were made off-site and when assembled they were not lined up exactly. We think it makes it even more beautiful!

• With a focal plane height of 25 meters, the lighthouse is topped with a static red light that acts as a distance safety marker for anchoring ships - if a ship can see the red light it means it has dragged anchor and is too close to shore!

Looking at the lighthouse while standing on the beach. The white building that is visible to the left of the lighthouse is the Oyster Box Hotel which is the 'keeper' or custodian of the lighthouse as per the information board.

Durban View Fishing Spot.

From the lighthouse you can take a nice walk, following the O'Conner Promenade, going further south, all the way down to the Durban View Fishing Spot.

Approaching the southern end of the O'Conner Promenade at the Durban View Fishing Spot.

There are still benches all along the way if you feel the need to take a break.

These benches are strategically placed, providing you with a beautiful view of the ocean.

You can also continue the walk to the end of the promenade where you finally arrive on the beach at the Durban View Fishing Spot.

Although this beach is known as Durban View Fishing Spot (according to Google Maps), people do enjoy the water and we saw some surfing activity while we were there too.

In case of emergency, follow these instructions...

Looking back north, you can still see the Umhlanga Lighthouse from here.

Conclusion.

The distance I covered in these three posts, starting at the Forest Cafe at the northern end, and then, going onto the promenade all the way down to the Durban View Fishing Spot at the southern end of the promenade, is a nice walk of approximately 4km along the beachfront in Umhlanga. That includes the 1km walk on the boardwalk from Forest Cafe before getting to the promenade.

Umhlanga stretches further down south, but this is what you can expect when walking the O'Conner Promenade.

Thank you for reading my post! I do appreciate it!