La Lucia has it all: tranquility, timelessness and fun for tourists, writes Shanthini Naidoo
It was a wonder that during the maddening school holidays, we were sitting on a secluded beach with a curving view of Durban's cityscape to the right and absolutely nothing but the sea and sand to the left, a few ships on the horizon ahead.
A clue to the location of this quiet spot would be the occasional sputtering of light aircraft taking off, which delighted the toddlers in our group. Those would be the small planes taking off from Virginia Airport. We were in La Lucia, somewhere between Durban North and Umhlanga.
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It's a quiet seaside suburb with old, 1950s-style homes mixed with new, sprawling mansions, with balconies shaped like waves and built half of glass. There are none of the holiday crowds who flock to nearby Umhlanga or central Durban. Only the airplanes can be heard and, if you're on the beach, wind and waves. It somehow hasn't been discovered by the visitors looking for city beach breaks.
We could see the umbrellas and colourful hats of people wading in the far distance, but the beach was empty apart from grey-haired runners and a dog with a frisbee.
But some of the residents have recently cottoned on to the idea that they could share their spectacular beach-side properties. Several guesthouses feature on the promenade, and Airbnb has a few offerings listed.
Ours was a private, six-bedroom 1950s-style house with family-convenient fittings and knicknacks more plentiful than seashells on the beach.
Our favourite thing was a sign on a high surrounding wall which, at the far end of the garden, pointed to a secret door directing you to the "Beach". Open it and you are on sea sand.
The area is upmarket, scenic and convenient.
It's close to Umhlanga if you want crowds and Durban North has many new restaurants. For fun things to do, check out the lighthouse, the Sharks Board on the ridge or the malls.
It's a pleasant, seven-minute drive to town for a visit to the wharf or uShaka Marine World.
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As for food, we self-catered, braaiing in the ample yard, which had a kiddies' pool attached to a larger one, between visits out the little door when the sea was calm.
Take a longer break to make the most of the holiday homes on the beach and, for a short while anyway, you can call it your own.
PLAN YOUR TRIP
GETTING THERE: Head north from King Shaka, or Durban central on the M4 or N2, and take the La Lucia offramp.
RATES: Around R5,000 per night for a four-bedroomed house.
A NOTABLE NOTE: Make sure the home you book is secure, as you would in any suburb of South Africa. We had some electronics stolen by a thief who jumped over a small section of the wall not covered by electric fencing. This was newly built but had not been noted by the letting agent.
WHY GO: For a quiet beach location, at home with private beach access.
CONTACT:laluciaaccommodation.co.za or look for homes on Airbnb.
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