Harbour Stories 2025: A Reflective Look Back Before the Next Arrival

As you are all aware, I am currently working on a series that features passenger ships visiting Durban Harbour.

If you missed the first 3 parts in the series, you can find them here:

Giants of the Ocean Visiting Durban Harbour (Part 1) (AIDAstella)
Giants of the Ocean Visiting Durban Harbour (Part 2) (On Board Experience)
Giants of the Ocean Visiting Durban Harbour (Part 3) (MSC Opera)

Focusing specifically on passenger ships means that weekly posts won't always be possible. This week has a slight twist, but I'll talk about it as we go along.

I decided to review the year and how it got me to start writing the series about passenger ships.

Some years don’t unfold in dramatic chapters. Instead, they drift by quietly...day by day, until you look back and realise all those special moments you had. When I think about 2025, I remember the rhythm of Durban’s coastline most clearly: the gentle hum of harbour life at dawn, the shifting colours along Point Beach, and the calm, thoughtful walks that carried me through each season with a camera in hand.

With the holiday season ahead of us, access to many of Durban’s beaches and viewpoints will become limited, as it does every year. That means new ship photos will become a challenge for arrivals later in December. Rather than rushing into repetitive posts or forcing new content, this felt like the right moment to pause—just for a moment—and reflect on the places that shaped my photography this year.

This is not only a look back at where I walked, but also at how this journey led to the beginning of my long-term passenger-ship photography series.

The Rhythm of Durban: A Year in Coastline Moments.

Nature in the Durban area has a way of revealing itself slowly. Some mornings began with soft pastel skies over the ocean; others opened with a moody blanket of cloud rolling in from the east.

I found myself returning to familiar locations again and again, but they never felt the same twice. The light changed. The tide shifted. The atmosphere held a different mood.

Walking these same paths throughout the year gave me a deeper sense of place and taught me that the coastline tells a new story every time you show up.

Wilson’s Wharf — Calm Water and Harbour Life.

Wilson’s Wharf remained one of my quiet anchors this year. There’s something peaceful about the still water there, reflecting boats, masts, and the soft early-morning light. Some days the water was like glass. Other days, the movement of the harbour created gentle ripples that caught the colours of the sky.

And then there were days when I got reminded about the action and colourful fun of yacht races out on the ocean

It’s a place where harbour life feels slow and steady—perfect for thoughtful walks with a camera.

Bluff Viewpoints — Where the Ocean Meets the Port.

The Bluff viewpoints offered a completely different experience: height, perspective, and wide-open views that stretched far along the coastline. From up there, the ocean felt larger, the port more alive. I watched ships waiting offshore, the distant cranes, and the restless waves breaking against the rocks far below.

These viewpoints helped shape how I approached my harbour photography this year and became essential to planning my passenger-ship series.

Building the Passenger Ship Series — How It Started & Where It’s Going.

How it began.

Throughout the year, I found myself drawn more and more to the movement of ships in and out of Durban Harbour. Those early photos sparked the idea of building a proper series—one that captures every visiting vessel I can photograph.

Why it’s now a long-term project.

Passenger ships don’t arrive on a weekly schedule. They come when they come.

Seasonal beach closures, weather, morning light, tides—everything plays a role.

Trying to force a rigid posting schedule would take away from the authenticity of the project.

I monitor the Durban Harbour Schedule and use online ship tracking platforms to follow and stay updated on the movement and positions of large passenger ships.

So the series will continue whenever new ships arrive, and I’ll be there to capture them.

What’s next?

The next opportunities will be on 27 and 28 December, depending on how accessible the viewpoints will be during this time, from where I can take photos. So, if I can gain access, I’m looking forward to picking up the series again before the new year. From there, the project continues into 2026 with fresh arrivals, more harbour walks, and new angles still waiting to be explored.

What This Year Taught Me About Photography.

During 2025, I was reminded that photography is rarely about rushing.

It’s about showing up, paying attention, and letting the world reveal itself in its own time. The coastline taught me patience. The harbour taught me rhythm. The walks reminded me that the ordinary scenes...the ones you pass every day, often become the most memorable.

Closing Reflection — Looking Ahead to the Next Ship.

As I close off the year’s final stretch, I’m grateful for every place I visited and every opportunity I had, discovering new places, sceneries, and experiences.

Durban’s coastline has been an adventure, and I look forward to continuing this journey with my camera in the months ahead.

Also, the passenger-ship series will continue just as soon as the next visitor crosses into our harbour.

Thank you for walking through 2025 with me. See you by the water again, very soon.

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