#Wednesday Walk - A Fun Walk on Our Way to a Rugby Match.

This post is for the #wednesdaywalk challenge and the #makemesmile challenge collaboration. This collaboration initially took place once a month, but due to its popularity, @tattoodjay (of the #wednesdaywalk) and @elizacheng (of #makemesmile) decided to make it a weekly thing.

If you want to know more about the rules, visit this post by @tattoodjay where you will find all the rules at the bottom of his post after you've enjoyed his beautiful photos from his walk.

Today's walk is a combination of two walks over the past two weekends, yet they are related.

The weekend before last we went down to Kings Park Stadium in Durban to take some photos outside the stadium and last weekend we went back to see the URC game between the SHARKS and MUNSTER!

Yes, this was the second match we went to in three weeks...lol. The previous match was a local match between the SHARKS and another South African franchise, the PUMAS.

With the previous game between the SHARKS and the PUMAS, I was surprised by how quiet it was, but I soon realized that it was due to several reasons...

• It was a long weekend.
• It was the April holiday season.
• It was our B-team playing, seeing that our A-team was overseas, playing an international match in the current URC series.

Our Walk to the Stadium

For today's post, let's start with our walk to the stadium on the day of the match last weekend. This was the game between the SHARKS and MUNSTER in the URC series. Yes, this time it was the turn of the SHARKS to play on home ground.

As mentioned in a previous post, whenever we attend a live match at Kings Park Stadium, we have the habit of parking in the parking area of the Suncoast Casino in Durban.

The reason for parking at Suncoast Casino is three-fold...

• The security is good, so it is safe.
• It is free.
• It gives us the opportunity for a nice walk of approximately 2KM (20 to 25-minute walk) one way.

Last weekend was no different.

Although kick-off time was scheduled for 6:15 pm, we left early as I wanted to get some nice photos along our walk, and maybe a shot or two of the stadium before the start of the match.

We parked in the parking area at Suncoast Casino to start our walk at about 4 pm.

Going up the stairs, we would then turn to the left, away from the casino area, entering the area where the restaurants and some theaters are.

We then pass through this area, passing between several restaurants, until we exit at the back and go onto the promenade which allows you to walk along the coastline, just above the beach.

Soon after we arrived on the promenade, I met up with another "photographer" and I looked straight into his lense...lol.

I took another shot of him from the side...note the bird on his lense.

We continued our walk until we had to take a left turn to pass underneath the subway, going toward the Moses Mabhida Stadium, which is right next to Kings Park. The subway allows you to pass safely underneath the Ruth First Highway, also known as the M4. This is one of the main routes between Durban and Umhlanga.

As we were to turn left toward the subway, Kings Park became clearly visible. You can see the bright lights inside the stadium on the main stand on the west side of the stadium. You can also partly see the Moses Mabhida Stadium to the extreme left in this photo.

About to pass through the subway under the M4 highway...

Entering the subway. The pedestrian crossing is also becoming visible in the distance...the tiny red dot (pedestrian traffic light).

Exiting from the subway, approaching the pedestrian crossing in front of the Moses Mabhida Stadium. This pedestrian crossing allows you to cross a main road coming from the city.

Approaching the pedestrian crossing, looking to the right, this is the view of Kings Park Stadium.

After crossing at the pedestrian crossing, and walking around the Moses Mabhida stadium, Kings Park also started towering over us...

Arriving at Kings Park, we went to the ticket office to get our tickets. We took it easy and after strolling around a bit, we entered the gates just after 5 pm.

Inside the stadium on the last stretch to the ramp where we were about to go to our seats.

Walking up the ramp, I stopped to take this shot of the Moses Mabhida stadium from behind the far end of Kings Park's east stand.

I will share more shots inside the stadium in my post on Friday.

Photos From the Previous Weekend Outside Kings Park.

Let's now go back to our walk the previous weekend, taking some shots outside Kings Park.

It was a warm but nice, sunny day.

The scheduled game of last weekend was already being displayed at the gates.

Gate 9, where we normally enter the stadium.

Approaching the gate, with the east stand towering above us. Due to a sponsorship agreement in 2022, Kings Park is currently known as "Hollywood Bets Kings Park".

King Park is also known as the SHARK TANK. According to Wikipedia, Kings Park currently has a capacity of 54'000.

Just outside gate 9, to the right, is a Virgin Active Gym on the premises of the stadium.

The Virgin Active Gym from the side, with the east stand of Kings Park right behind it.

Moving around to the northern side of the stadium, I took this shot of Kings Park, with Moses Mabhida stadium in the background.

In the foreground, it looked like a school was having an event or some activity that they hosted on the grounds of the stadium.

Going back to the southern side of Kings Park, I took some fun shots of the Moses Mabhida stadium... More specifically the arch, which is a well-known landmark in Durban. The light was perfect for some fun shots of the arch against the blue sky.

In the photo above you can see the "Sky Car" (to the right, at the bottom of the arch) that takes people up the arch to the viewing platform right at the top of the arch. The Sky Car is glass all-around to provide a 360-degree view all the way the up to the top. Once at the viewing platform, you can get out of the Sky Car to enjoy the view in the open.

The next shot is an indemnity notice that can be seen on the glass, surrounding the Sky Car on ground level.

Focusing on the arch, with the Sky Car that can be seen at the bottom.

And that's it for today, folks. As mentioned earlier, if you would like to see the inside of Kings Park, on Friday I will share some more photos that I have taken inside the stadium while we attended the last game.

Thank you for reading my post!

I do appreciate it!