Gateway

Today we went to the Gateway Theatre of Shopping. Its the largest shopping mall in the Southern Hemisphere and is about 15 minutes outside Durban. I am not one to really enjoy malls. I dont really even like to shop, at all. But we didnt have much else to do and its kind of one of those things you have to see while you are in Durban. What we found was actually pretty cool. I wasnt too excited about the mall itself, but they had an amazing standing wave pool and huge indoor climbing wall.

The standing wave pool was this very larg, foam lined pool that shot streams of water over a curve to simulate a wave. It looked like it would be pretty difficult to control your position on two feet. I imagine I would flop over pretty quick and get plunged backward by the powerful jets. But the guys riding the waves there today were pretty impressive. I didnt try it, but am planning on coming back to give it a full day's effort. I'll be sure to post a picture of me trying, or of my bruises afterwards.

One entire end of the mall seemed to be devoted to surf, skate, and sport. Just about every international (Billabong, Quicksilver) and local surf companies (Island Style, Lizzard) had a huge shop there. I was excited to discover a huge outdoor/camping store. It was all pretty expensive, but its so hard to find good camping equipment in this country. There was also an outdoor skate park, and a climbing wall that had to have been 80 feet hight. Despite my desestation for shopping, it was cool to look through the racks of surf and outdoor clothing that I cant afford.

All in all, I was actually kind of impressed with the place. Sure, it is ostensibly profit driven and entirely overpriced but I know places like this are actually good for Durban and South Africa. While it does make rich people richer, it also gives lots of people jobs. Plus, it will gave me something to do on a Saturday afternoon and now gives you something to read about.