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You don’t always get the chance to sail the Durban Harbour at
night. When officials of South African Tourism (SAT), announce a boat cruise
for hosted media and trade partners from South, West and East Africa on our way
back to the hotel after the day’s activities at the International Convention
Centre, Durban, venue of the 2010 INDABA, my colleagues and I needed no prompting
to be part of the trip.

Some hours later, we are on our way to the world’s ninth largest
harbour and popular holiday resort for foreign yachts in great spirits.
Legendary explorer, Vasco da Gama, reportedly sighted the Bay on Christmas Day,
1497, when he anchored off the bluff and named the lush area Natal. The name
was later changed to Durban in 1835 after the first British governor of the
Cape Colony, Benjamin D’Urban.

Our specific destination is Wilson’s Wharf, one of the three
marinas on the harbour fed by several streams and where the Allen Gardiner, a
20 metre wooden boat built during World War 11 is berthed. It is a merry group
of over 50 people that attempted to board the boat named after Captain Allen
Gardiner who, in 1835, called the first public meeting in Natal. Sadly, all of
us could not because the cruise which operates all year round, including
Christmas day, doesn’t take more than 45 passengers on its deck and in its
dining room. A quick consultation and some officials of SAT give up their
space. Some of us then appropriate the saloon while we (the three Nigerian
journalists) and others settle for the deck.

Fun sailing

It is a clear, starry night as Mark Folucle, the boat driver who
has been at the trade for five years, fires the engine. One of his assistants
tells us the course on the public address system and assures that dinner and
drinks would be served. He urges us to relax and enjoy the cruise.

It is fun sailing the busiest port in the Southern Hemisphere.
We cruise the calm waters of the harbour along the Maydon Channel (one-time
landing strip for the UK Royal Mail flying boats); the Silt Canal, past the
protected conservation mangrove swamps and Pelican Island, turning where the
Silt Canal ends at the Bluff. We pass several towering vessels bathed in light
and anchored in the bay where other recreational activities including canoeing
and kayaking, parasailing, fishing from boats and bird watching are carried
out.

The almost three hours we spend on the cruise is like an hour
with the informative commentary by the crew, drinks, dinner and the lively
conversation. National boundaries are broken as all of us (Nigerians, Kenyans,
Batswana, Malawians, South Africans) discuss almost every subject-politics,
religion, economy, the World Cup and relationships. Though Phumi Dhlomo,
Regional Director, Africa and Domestic Markets, South African Tourism and
leader of the tour, tries to raise ‘Shosholoza’ the traditional South African
folk song sung in a call and response style, people appear more interested in
the discussions. Only a few people respond before returning to their
conversations.

Worthwhile experience

Folucle, the boat driver, is a widely travelled sailor who has
been to most of the countries in Southern and Eastern Africa. “It has been good
driving a boat,” he tells my colleague and I when we join him at the wheels. “I
enjoy doing it but I won’t use the word exciting. I enjoy especially now that I
am taking a group on tour.” He takes people on the boat cruise everyday but
relaxes when he is not cruising. “One of my favourite sports is sailing and
when I am not driving a boat, I am sailing.”

Dhlomo also explains the objective of the night cruise. “We
organised the boat cruise so that people can have a good view of Durban. Most
people who visit Durban only see the city during the day, they do not see what
the city has to offer at night. Hence the boat cruise offers the perfect
opportunity for people to have a good view of the city at night from the
Lagoon.

“We also want our trade partners to have a taste of what their
customers stand to gain and see when they go on a boat cruise like this so that
when they market Durban, they will be able to tell their story from experience
and be able to sell the city as a good tourist destination in South Africa.
Durban has a lot to offer. There is a clean and interesting beach here, good
hotels and the food is also tasty.” He couldn’t have put it better, Durban is
as he says.