By Terence Vrugtman

Looking for any reason to go on an adventure has become a day job for me for well over a year now. The opportunity to try something new, spend time with those that matter to me and have a camera in hand has become a full time pursuit, and I love it! As an occasional racer, I found the notion of convincing myself to go and watch comrades a bit silly. Mike Benci, a mate of mine, was planning on running and I wasn’t ready to take on 12 hours of mental and physical war. So why would I go? Well, Comrades isn’t the only event or activity happening in Durban. There's the beach, surf boards, I own a kayak… there's the beach. After weighing up the pros and cons, I decided it would be best if Mike didn’t drive to Durban alone, ergo Ash and I packed our bags and just like that the adventure started.


After recently returning from the Nedbank Save the Rhino Trail Run the idea of a holiday wasn’t a good one according to my wallet. So the plan was to have fun on a budget and just keep it simple. We did exactly that, and so can others.

Transport can be expensive in this day and age, the cost of petrol is sky high and plane tickets aren’t cheap either. Car pooling was the best option and we all love a great road trip. Packed into our semi-fuel efficient Parejo ‘io’ we shared the cost of a round trip to Durban which was less than R700 each. As these weekends become more frequent, you start to appreciate the open road along with great company.

Accommodation in Durban is an easy thing. I thought finding accommodation would be a real mission especially because we were booking two nights before a race that attracted thousands of people to Durban. The mass of back packers that Soccer World Cup left behind made the search easy. We found a homey place about 2km away from the beach that was still really affordable. Back packers are not only a prudent form of accommodation but they often come with free entertainment… in its own form.

Comrades and its logistics aside, Ash and I spent the bulk of our time as close to the ocean as possible. We visited Addington Beach near uShaka Marine on the first day and didn’t want to leave. Our goal was to find affordble and fun activities to do for 2 days. With little knowledge and even less effort we found what we were looking for.

For a while now, Ash and I have always wanted to do some SUPing. So we hired two boards and hit the ocean for our first SUPing experience. I was expecting to pay about R200 per board and was comfortable with that, I was pleasantly shocked to find that we could rent two boards for 1h30mins at R200! The open ocean, SUPs and the will for adventure provided ample laughable moments and the fun we were looking for. It wasn’t as easy as one would think and the massive swells of high tide didn’t make it any easier. Not that we were complaining.

Mike and some local friends hired a kayak and joined the party in the ocean, also for only R100 per hour per boat. A real bargain because you can hire a two-seater and have as much fun, if not more. The challenge of getting the kayak out to sea and surfing it back was the real source of fun!

The first morning in Durban, we walked along the promenade, the second we decided to do something different. We hired an old-school Schwinn Tandem bike and went for an hour long ride. The bike came from the same store as the SUPs and also only cost R100 for the hour. It was a ton of fun and is ideal for couples. We loved every second and took turns steering, racing other people, looking at the sunrise and trying to convince people for a high-five while on the move.

For more adventures, follow us on Instagram: @Ashezzzzzz and @Act10nMan

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Check out www.adventurelife.co.za for more in depth adventures.