Darnall, Dolphin Coast

Just inland from Zinkwazi beach, between the seaside village of Blythedale Beach and the Tugela River mouth, lies Darnall - a small sugarcane village close to Nkwazi. Darnall has largely managed to stay 'off the map' in the sense that you can snap up property here for next to nothing still, a situation I would not imagine will remain long, given that Darnall is so close to the growing in popularity northern swathes of the KwaZulu Natal coastline.

Darnall, called that because the town's founder named it after his home town in the UK, is only about an hour's drive from Durban and around 15 minutes to the beach of Zinkwazi. This makes it a perfect getaway opportunity from Durban, particularly for those who want to escape from the more popular beachside villages as an alternative for days that aren't beach friendly.

Besides wonderful views of undulating sugarcane coated hills, and guaranteed down time, there are a number of other options open to visitors. The Harold Johnsson Nature Reserve just north of Ballito offers a great variety of game and bird life, and contains two national monuments worth seeing, particularly Fort Pearson, built in 1878, which sits on a bluff overlooking the pont-crossing on the Tugela River. In fact the entire reserve used to function as a British military camp. The beautiful 104 hectare reserve offers picnic and braai facilities and sightings of zebra, duiker, bushbuck and crocodiles.

If you're after greater game, then a drive out to see the Big Five at the Umfolozi Reserve is but an hour and a half's drive from Darnall. But really one comes to Darnell to retire from the busy lifestyle of city living, peppered with the odd lazy beach day.