In this section there are extra sporting articles, in the main surfing and bodyboarding, but I hope to write articles on other activities we do such as diving and fishing.

Sun, Surf 'n Shark Nets - Durban SA

For the travelling surfer one thing is essential - WAVES. No waves, then you've blown your hard earned dollars on a tourist trip, probably spent more on other activities, drinking comes to mind and generally feel pretty gutted that you've spent 24 hours and the best part of a grand to get somewhere that's comparable to the South of England on a bad day in August. You check the surf every day and its flat or onshore, in the end you force yourself into the lines of white water with the kids just out of sheer boredom and frustration! (Nothing to do with the fact that you've drank all your beer money)........

This is what I was beginning to think of Durban. Admittedly I hadn't checked the surf everyday as I was otherwise engaged on a sailing course, but each time I did it was onshore junk - lines of white water for the truly desperate. I had all but given up on catching a decent wave in Durban until the penultimate day of the trip. I looked out the window to be greeted by lines of clean, and large surf. The wind was blowing a steady South Westerly and all the breaks along Durban's town beaches were firing. At last I could see what the Indian Ocean was made of.

Warmed by the Agulhas current and the sub-tropical climate the breaks themselves are mainly right handers, the odd left comes through especially at Dairy beach, but other than that I found the breaks to be fairly similar with North Beach attracting the most crowds. The crowds though are not bad at all considering the fact that these breaks are on the doorstep of a city which readily embraces surf culture. Strong currents and shifting peaks can shift and spread the crowds out too.

After any length of time in the surf you will see why this city has spawned such great surfers and bodyboarders such as Andre Botha. The quality of the surf and those in it is exceptional. All surfing disciplines were on show from kneeboarders, to longboarders and in all the places I have surfed the overall quality of the riders on display was the highest I have seen.

Outside of Durban there are breaks to the North and South, the Bluff to the South of the city is home to Cave Rock - another right hander comparable to Backdoor Pipe but be warned, only the city breaks are shark netted thoroughly, there are other areas of nets North and South but if you're worried about being on the menu then stick to the city.

Another word of advice for anyone thinking of travelling to Durban's beaches is to paddle out by the piers, there's a rip that will drag you right to where you need to be. If its big though the paddle is tough, I found myself being swept the 400 metres from Dairy Beach to North Beach in a matter of a minute! Scary stuff, especially when you see those piers looming large as you get swept by. After speaking to some locals I found that everyone was having difficulty paddling out. The 'trick' is to walk out to the end of a pier and launch yourself in to the line-up from there. You've heard the old saying "if you can't paddle out you shouldn't be there" in this case believe me, save yourself the hassle and do it the easy way!

Other things to note in SA are how cheap the whole deal is. For the travelling surfer this is superb, for example a reasonable, clean double room with views of the surf and a TV costs around £20 per night ($35), cheaper options are available with hostels dotted all over the city. Cuisine wise the traveller will also do well, I spotted a T-bone steak lunch for £3 ($5), also try the Indian food, with a huge population of Indians in Durban you can get a mean beef curry for about £1 ($2), sweet! One last very important thing to note is that a beer costs from less than a pound, need I say more?

The flipside to Durban city itself is crime, just like in the surf you have the worry of the Great White's to contend with, on the land you have the crime. It is a constant thought in the back of your mind that's fuelled by by crazy stories of car-jackings, shootings and rapings that every South African can recount. The News also doesn't help, it's blood lust style would be banned in many countries I'm sure! Luckily I didn't witness any crime, but I made sure I didn't flash my wallet and camera around, a bit of common sense can go along way both in and out of the water in SA.

To see some video footage of Durbans surf take a look in the video archive.

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