Saturday’s the day to circle: clear skies, 26° and a 23° sea, so the costumes might hit the beach before they hit the parties. Sunday turns wet by the afternoon, so get your outdoor plans in early.

This week: a Durban couple trek to Everest Base Camp just before a 70th birthday, a Brighton Beach rescuer who’d really rather skip the applause, and Halloween lands on a Saturday with something for every fright level. Plus a KZN football derby, Wednesday’s election-day public holiday, a 14-year-old teaching kids to code for free, and the usual stack of weekend plans.

Here’s your week.

🏔️ Nearly 70, and standing at Everest Base Camp

By the time Anand and Lalitha Sookraj reached Everest Base Camp, the sun was sinking and everyone else had gone home. It was just the two of them, the famous painted boulder, and a pair of horses waiting to take them back down.

Getting there took the Durban couple, both retired teachers, 12 days on foot. Family and friends had tried to talk them out of it, worried about the trails after Nepal’s recent floods. But a travel agent in Kathmandu gave the all-clear, so off they went.

Two days later, Anand turned 70. Most of us settle for cake. If you’re wondering how they managed it, both have several Comrades Marathons behind them, so a long uphill was never going to scare them off. (Source: The Post / IOL)

Marvin Phillips’ phone hasn’t stopped ringing this week. Ever since a video of him at Brighton Beach last Saturday started doing the rounds, members of the public and the media have been asking to meet him. The attention isn’t something he went looking for.

Here’s what the video shows. Marvin sprints down the sand in his swimming shorts and heads out to a man who seems to have stopped moving in the water. He gets him clear of the rocks and back onto the beach. What happened to the man afterwards hasn’t been made public, and Marvin hasn’t yet had the chance to speak with him.

Ask him about it and his answer is simple: helping someone in trouble isn’t something you do “for getting stars.” In a week when everyone wants to call him a hero, he’d rather the spotlight pointed somewhere else.

With summer crowds heading for the beaches, it’s worth repeating: swim where the lifeguards are, between the flags. (Source: IOL)

Friday: Sunny and breezy, 24°. Hold on to your hat on the promenade.
Saturday: The pick of the weekend: clear skies all day, 26°, and the sea at 23°. If you’re doing the beach this week, make it Saturday.
Sunday: Cloudy from the start, with rain likely in the afternoon. Still warm at 25°, so get anything outdoors done in the morning.

💻 A teenage robotics champion is teaching kids to code, for free

Plenty of 14-year-olds would be thrilled to win one international robotics contest. This Durban schoolgirl has won her age group two years running at a global inter-school competition. The first win was for a robot designed to help with health checks, and the second for a gadget that monitors air quality.

Now she’s sharing the skills. She raised R13,650 from corporate donors for three tablets, and with local non-profit The Seed Fund she runs free Saturday coding classes for children aged 9 to 13 at the Malacca Road informal settlement. Over six weeks, they learn Scratch, a visual coding tool for making simple games and animations.

Her reason, in her own words: “I don’t want to win if winning means leaving others behind.” Next, she’d like to take the classes to more communities. (Source: The Post)

🗳️ Wednesday is election day, and a public holiday

Wednesday 4 November is the local government election, and the day is a public holiday. Voting stations are open from 7am to 9pm.

Special voting runs on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 November, 8am to 5pm, but only for people already approved. Applications closed on 12 October, and both days are normal working days.

Not sure where you’re voting? Check on the IEC’s site, elections.org.za, before you head out, and take your ID along. (Source: The Citizen)

🎃 Fri 30 – Sat 31 Oct: Halloween, sorted
Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so expect the costumes to come out in force. Pick your fright level.

For the family

(Family picks via Time Out Durban)

For the grown-ups

🎷 Fri 30 Oct: Andile Yenana presents Umngqungqo Wabantu
Pianist and composer Andile Yenana leads an evening celebrating South African music, with Thuto Motsemme, Riley G and Mohammad Dawjee alongside him. It’s a proper night of live jazz in one of the city’s best rooms for it.
📅 Friday 30 October · Doors 7pm, show 9pm · The Chairman, 146 Mahatma Gandhi Rd, Point · From R250 · 18+ · Book via Quicket

😂 Fri 30 Oct: Last Friday Laughs
The monthly comedy night on Florida Road goes Halloween for October. Robby Collins headlines, Vincent Joseph hosts, and Tibs Dumi and Mzwa Seme complete the bill. Tables are limited, so it’s worth booking ahead.
📅 Friday 30 October · Starts 7pm · The Green Mountain Collective, 1st Floor, 149 Florida Rd, Windermere · R80 online, R100 at the door · Book via Quicket

🎭 This Weekend: three nights at the theatre
If you’d rather sit somewhere dark that isn’t a haunted house, here are three options:

🎤 Sun 1 Nov: Internet Athi Live, Day 2
Saturday’s show sold out within hours, so Cape Town’s Internet Athi has added an intimate Sunday afternoon set. Expect his debut album Polymorphism, which is all about love in its many forms, moving between jazz, neo-soul, R&B and folk. Tickets are limited.
📅 Sunday 1 November · Doors 1pm, show 3pm · The Chairman, 146 Mahatma Gandhi Rd, Point · 16+ · Book via Quicket

🎷 Sat 31 Oct: Owanisi Sauti launches Nkosi Yaphakade
Owanisi Sauti celebrates her debut single with an evening of original contemporary jazz. It’s a small venue for a big first moment.
📅 Saturday 31 October · 6pm–9pm · Freedom Café, 37 St Mary’s Ave · R130 online, R150 at the door · Family friendly · Book via Quicket

🪔 Sat 31 Oct: Diwali Dhamaka Bhangra Night
Durban North gets a head start on Diwali, with bhangra, Bollywood dancers, DJ Keenz and dancer Sanavi Jiah, and food by Indian Delights Caterers.
📅 Saturday 31 October · 4pm till late · Beachwood Country Club, 9 Beachwood Place, Durban North · Early bird R100, general R150, VIP tables available · Tickets via Webtickets or Pick n Pay · Event listing

🤠 Sat 31 Oct: Boeremusiek & Country Dance for a good cause
Fynnland Angling Club in Bayhead hosts an evening of traditional folk and country music with dancing until late, raising money for cancer support for two local women. There’s a kitchen and full bar, so leave the cooler box at home.
📅 Saturday 31 October · From 6pm · Fynnland Angling Club, 1 Slipway Rd (off Seafarer Rd), Bayhead · R70 presale, R100 at the door if space allows, under-12s free · Book via Quicket

🎨 Sat 31 Oct – Sun 1 Nov: Two chances to paint something you’ll keep

☀️ Sun 1 Nov

🥂 Sat 31 Oct: Bottomless Mimosa Brunch
Saturday is the sunny day of the weekend, so start it with bubbles. You get two hours of bottomless mimosas and a breakfast from the Neighbourhood Café menu, and the dress theme is “colours of summer”.
📅 Saturday 31 October · 10am–12pm · Neighbourhood Café & Bar, Braemar Ave, La Lucia · From R395 · 18+ · Book via Quicket

☕ This Weekend: tea, two ways

🏁 Sat 31 Oct: Amazing Race Umhlanga
Round up four or five friends for a morning of clues, challenges and secret pit stops around Umhlanga. You don’t need to be especially fit. There’s over R20,000 in prizes, and the winning team goes through to a grand finale with a cruise on the line. Only 25 teams can enter, so it’s worth booking early.
📅 Saturday 31 October · 10am–2pm · Starts at Waxy O’Connor’s, Sunningdale · R250 per person · 18+ · Book via Quicket

🪘 Sat 31 Oct: A Blast after the Fast
The South Coast gets its own bhangra night: a fusion party at 12 Oceans Hotel in Warner Beach, with Ash the DJ, Alvi the DJ, DJ Anesh and DJ Malcom G sharing the decks.
📅 Saturday 31 October · 7pm–midnight · 12 Oceans Hotel, 175 Kingsway, Warner Beach · From R150 · 18+ · Book via Quicket

📅 Coming Up

🎄 9 Dec – 2 Jan: Trail of Lights turns 10, and early-bird tickets end this week
If December plans are on your mind, book now: early-bird pricing closes at the end of October. The Botanic Gardens light trail marks ten years with an all-new show. Expect a zipline through the trees, virtual-reality experiences, a Santa’s Village, two food gardens and a reimagined Christmas tree. Dog owners can bring their pups along on 10 or 14 December for the Paws ‘n Claus charity nights (R60 per dog).
📅 9 December – 2 January · Sessions at 6pm and 7:30pm · Durban Botanic Gardens, John Zikhali Rd · From R85 online (R120 at the gate), under-2s free · Webtickets, or in-store at Pick n Pay and Boxer · (Source: Time Out Durban)

🏉 The Sharks snatch a bonus point in Cardiff, but lose their captain
The Sharks left it late at Cardiff Arms Park last Friday. They were trailing 21–17 going into the final quarter, then ran in three more tries, the last two after the hooter, to win 36–21 with a bonus point. Matt Ramao scored two of them.

The price was skipper André Esterhuizen, who limped off in the first minute with a right ankle injury and has flown home for scans. With the Springboks heading to Europe next week, that’s a worry for more than just the Sharks.

Next up is Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday, with kick-off at 7:30pm SAST on SuperSport, which is a civilised hour for once. After that, the URC breaks for the November Tests, and the Sharks are back at Kings Park against the Stormers on 5 December. (Sources: The Citizen, Rugby365, Sharks Rugby)

⚽ Sat 31 Oct: AmaZulu vs Golden Arrows
It’s a KZN derby on Saturday evening. AmaZulu come in flying, with five wins on the bounce, while Arrows found their shooting boots last weekend with a 4–0 win over Chippa United.
📅 Saturday 31 October · 6pm · Princess Magogo Stadium, KwaMashu
Arrows are back at home on Wednesday, against Marumo Gallants at King Zwelithini Stadium (7:30pm). (Sources: Golden Arrows fixtures, FotMob)

🏏 Proteas: it all comes down to Newlands
The series is level at 1–1, and the decider got under way in Cape Town on Tuesday. South Africa posted 329 in their first innings, and Australia batted in reply on day two. The Test runs until Saturday, so keep an eye on the live scorecard.

Andrea Tiana sinks her teeth into Halloween
Durban alternative singer-songwriter Andrea Tiana has a new music video out, “Fangs”, and she’s celebrating it the only sensible way: with a vampire-themed Halloween show. She hosts and headlines, The Afroneza co-hosts from the DJ booth, and Horizon opens. Costumes are encouraged.
📅 Saturday 31 October · 6pm–10pm · The Stella Club, 175 Helen Joseph Rd, Bulwer · R80 online, R100 at the door · 18+ · Book via Quicket

💡 Last call: a week of filming at a new KZN beach and safari resort
Entries close this Sunday, 1 November. Club Med is choosing two emerging creators for a “Cinematic Residence” from 1–8 December at its new KZN resort. It’s split between the beach at Tinley Manor on the Dolphin Coast and Vikela Safari Lodge in a Big Five reserve further north. Travel, accommodation and meals are covered, and you’d be filming alongside two professional filmmakers.

To enter, make a 30–45 second landscape (16:9) film about how you spend the time that’s yours and nobody else’s. You must be 18 or older. The entry form and full rules are on Club Med South Africa’s Instagram and TikTok. (Source: Time Out Durban)

The shipwreck that’s actually a theme park
When uShaka Marine World opened on 30 April 2004, its designers added a twist: the whole aquarium sits inside a make-believe shipwreck. You enter through the “Phantom Ship”, a mock-up of an old wrecked cargo vessel, then follow underground galleries designed to look like sunken wrecks, with the sea life all around you. It’s billed as the largest aquarium in the southern hemisphere, and it gave the Point end of the beachfront a big new reason to visit. If you’re joining Saturday’s sunset photo walk, that’s where it starts.

uShaka has been on the beachfront for 22 years now. What’s your favourite memory of the place, or the first sea creature there that stopped you in your tracks?

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