HISTORY OF DURBAN TOUR - 4 hours

We end the tour at Durban’s Botanical Gardens, famous for the original specimen of a Cycad (Encephalartos woodii)- widely acknowledged one of the rarest plants in the world. The gardens are renowned for an extensive collection of South African Cycad species. Another highlight is the Orchid House, named after Ernest Thorp-responsible for building it as the first "naturalistic" Orchid display house.

The Phansi Museum houses some of the largest collections of traditional arts, crafts and artefacts in South Africa.Life size dolls showing ceremonial wear from different regions and cultures of South Africa are on display as are examples of beadwork dating back to the 19th century. Head rests, meat platters, carved spoons and Zulu pots are also displayed.The museum is housed in Roberts’ House, which was built in 1898 and was home to Esther Roberts, one of South Africa’s first female anthropologists.

“Kwa muhle” is a Zulu term that means “the place of the good one” and was named in reference to its first manager, Mr Marwick. This man helped no fewer than 7 000 Zulu people to escape Gauteng (then called the Transvaal) during the Anglo-Boer War. He was thus instrumental in saving the lives of thousands of native South Africans in a time when their blood was sought by settlers and farmers.