Market Friday: Boat Rides at Wilson's Wharf

Today is #MarketFriday, a project initiated by @dswigle, and this post is my contribution to this project.

While being out on my walk last week, I relived a boat ride we enjoyed a few years ago and I started looking at what is available now and what the rates are like.

All these photos were taken at Wilson's Wharf which is situated inside the Durban Harbor. It was early in the morning, just as the new day arrived and I was able to get some shots just as the sun was rising.

I had a look at various charter companies to compare their rates and what they have to offer.

Madevu Boat Rides.

The first charter company that got my attention as we arrived, was Madevu Boat Rides.

Their rates are very visible and not too bad at all. At the time of writing this post, the USD/ZAR exchange rate was R16.25.

They have 1-hour luxury boat trips:

• R160.00 per person for adults ($9.85).
• R120.00 per child ($7.38)

They also have 30-minute harbor cruises at:

• R100.00 per person for adults ($6.15).
• R60.00 per child ($3.69).

They seem to offer other services too, but it is not fully displayed...well, not that I saw...

It was still early and they were not open yet, but I did get the impression that they would do their bookings telephonically...or from this little "office"...yet their boats are on the other side of Wilson's Wharf.

Let's pay them a visit first, and see what it looks like.

Inside the entertainment area of Wilson's Wharf, they have some nice images on display of their boats.

As can be seen in the photo above, they have 3 boats:

• Madevu SA,
• Madevu Royale, and
• JamJar.

Let's go have a look at what they look like in real life.

• Madevu SA.

As we walked out of the Wilson's Wharf entertainment area, we couldn't miss it.

It has a unique appearance...almost "capsule-like", and as I walked down a little further, I took this photo to show how it stands out from the other boats.

I was really fascinated by this boat and took more photos from other angles...

This one while standing right behind it.

And this last one, standing in front of the SPUR, taking this photo against the background of the sunrise.

• Madevu Royale.

The Madevu Royale was docked just a couple of boats away.

The building visible behind the boat is the SPUR, where I stood to take the last photo of the Madevu SA against the rising sun.

We couldn't find the JamJar, so let's move on.

Isle of Capri Cruises.

Where you enter the Wilson's Wharf entertainment area, the set-up is almost like an indoor craft market.

This is also where you find the little booking office for Isle of Capri Cruises.

They are very visible and clear with what they offer to the public:

• Whale and Dolphin Watching.
• Party Cruises.
• Fishing.
• Educational Tours.
• Birthday Cruises.
• Fun Ferry Rides.
• Evening Discos.

They also have images showing their boats, but the only boat I saw outside that clearly belongs to them, is DA BOSS.

According to the banner on DA BOSS, they also offer the following in addition to what is shown inside:

• Scattering of ashes.
• Harbor Cruises.

Let's move on to the last charter company for today.

Hakuna Matata Charters.

A few years back we went on a 1-hour cruise with them and it was great.

At the time (about 7 years ago), we paid something like R70.00 per person ($4.30 per person).

The current rates they are showing now are:

• R150.00 per person ($9.23).
• R100.00 per child under 12 years ($6.15)

(These are for 1-hour sea cruises.)

They also have images of their boats outside their office, but as you look to the left, you can see the boat that we went out on.

The boat's name is My Girl.

Their other boat is visible next to My Girl in the next photo. I think that boat is used more for harbor cruises.

And to end this post, I'll share a memory of our cruise on My Girl, which cost us an additional R40.00 ($2.46 at today's rate) at the time.

And that's it for today, folks.

Thank you for reading my post. I do appreciate it!