Durban - Durban’s summer has started, as usual, with a bang. Spiking temperatures, sudden thunderstorms and soaring humidity sent us on a mission to the beachfront to savour the range of ice-creams available to cool down sweaty swimmers and surfers.
Well-known fast food outlets dominate the cheaper end of the spectrum.
Kentucky Fried Chicken cones takes the cake at uShaka Marine World centre, where they go for R3.40, according to Zama Mvuyana, who stands at the door and answers patrons’ questions.
At North Beach, penny-pinchers would be wise to select the Wimpy cones for 60 cents more.
However, for people who are more flush, ice cream take-aways at the opposite end of the market are around 11 times more expensive at uShaka and four times more expensive at North Beach – and definitely more exciting.
At North Beach, Milky Lane’s R17.90 Choc 99 Dipped is rich in chocolate and comes with a Flake. I shared one with ricksha puller Kohlwangipe Gazu as he waited in the heat for someone to take a ride.
Down at uShaka, Mozart’s at uShaka offers a “Mozart Classic three-flavour”, served in a cup with three dollops from any of 20 flavours for R39.50. I chose Banana Split to represent Durban, Mozart Symphony – a caramel syrup with chocolate biscuit in a vanilla base – to represent the shop and rum and raisin, my personal favourite.
By the time attendant Sibongile Mazibuko had dug into the dishes on display and I was sitting on a bench under a fig tree to devour it, it was already well on its way to becoming a liquid treat, such was the heat of the day.
Down on the beach, Goodness Mhletshe from Inanda, with cooler box in hand, expected to do good business selling ice creams. between North Beach and the Wedge.
“It’s good when it’s so hot,” she said, as I bought one of her R7 Berry Blazes. - Independent on Saturday