Umhlanga Rocks

Umhlanga is the beach town Durban's northern suburbs grew into - high-rise hotels and apartments along a short strip of coast, with warm Indian Ocean surf and lifeguarded, netted beaches. Two structures define the front. The lighthouse, a slim red-and-white tower built in 1954, stands directly on the promenade and is unusual in having been operated for decades by the staff of the hotel next door rather than by keepers. The Whalebone Pier, opened in 2007, is a concrete walkway carried on curved ribs that arch over the walker, designed to evoke a rib cage and functioning as a stormwater outfall as well as a promenade. A coastal path runs several kilometres from the lighthouse north to the Umhlanga lagoon nature reserve, which is a patch of coastal dune forest with a boardwalk.

History

The Oyster Box began as a beach cottage in 1869, before the town existed, and Sir Marshall Campbell founded uMhlanga in 1895; its first hotel opened in 1920, the borough was formed on 1 August 1972, and the Gateway shopping centre opened in 2001. The name means place of reeds in Zulu (Wikipedia, UMhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal).

Highlights

• The 1954 lighthouse - a red-and-white tower on the promenade itself.
• The Whalebone Pier - curved concrete ribs arching over a walkway, from 2007.
• Warm netted beaches - Indian Ocean surf with lifeguards and shark nets.
• The lagoon reserve - coastal dune forest with a boardwalk, north along the path.

When to go

April to September for dry mild weather. A day. Sunrise over the sea is the photograph.

Good to know

The strip is dense with high-rise development and can feel built-out. December and Easter are extremely crowded. Summer humidity is heavy. The lighthouse is not open to the public.

Nearby

Durban's Golden Mile is south; Ballito is further north on the coast.

Key facts