Durban

A walk of 6 kilometres runs the beachfront with a separate cycle lane. Strong surf means lifeguards mark out the section where swimming is allowed.

A building shaped like a wrecked ship holds the fish of the Indian Ocean. The passage through the shark tank is dressed as the inside of a hull.

Curry powder is sold from tubs graded by heat. Every stall has its own blend and gives it a name.

The oldest Hindu temple in the country stands beside the harbour. At festival time coloured powder covers the street and a procession passes.

Steps laid along the arch over the stadium roof lead to the top. At 106 metres the sea and the centre come into view together.

Forty minutes beyond the city the hills fold one behind another. Zulu homesteads are scattered on the slopes and several lookouts face them.

Laid out in 1849, the trees here have grown to a great size. An orchid house and a cycad collection are kept separately.

The pullers wear tall headdresses built from feathers and horns. A short run along the beachfront ends with a photograph.

A red and white lighthouse stands directly on the sand of the northern beach. Walking out along the pier beside it, dolphins sometimes pass.

Three hours north lies a reserve where a lake runs beside the sea. Hippos come up into the village roads at night, so nobody walks about.

A mosque first built in 1881, its gold domes and minarets rising over the old Grey Street quarter. For a time no mosque south of the equator was bigger. Between prayers visitors may step in, in clothing that hides arms and legs.

A Hare Krishna temple in Chatsworth, its lotus-shaped building wrapped in a moat and gardens. Leave your shoes outside the marble hall, where the ceiling is crowded with mirrors and paintings. Many stay for lunch at the vegetarian restaurant inside.

The Umhlanga body that runs the beach shark nets and shows how they guard swimmers. Its signature show is a real dissection of a netted shark. Dissections run on set days once enough people book, so reserve; the centre shuts on weekends and public holidays.

Proclaimed in 1895 and one of Africa's oldest reserves, three hours north. The white rhino, close to extinction, was brought back here and sent out to other parks. The land is hilly, so you scan for animals in the valleys from the ridge roads.

Gandhi's 1904 communal farm in the Inanda hills, where he printed a newspaper and shaped his non-violent campaign. His house, Sarvodaya, has been rebuilt to show photos and a press. It lies on the Inanda Heritage Route, paired with nearby Ohlange school.

Under a freeway flyover, traditional Zulu herbalists trade dried roots, bark and animal skins. Healers consult customers and choose remedies for them. The lanes are confusing and petty theft is common, so walk them with a guide who knows the market.