New Year fun around the pool

Having fun on New Year's Day around the pool at the Guesthouse are top Llewellyn, Christian and Dave, and in bottom photo Mark (Chicago), Ralph (Germany) and Robert (Poland and UK).

Happy New Year - New Durban Dawn 2008

Catching the 5am first dawn rays of sunshine on 1st January 2008 are Llewellyn (left) and Dave, co-owners of Durban View Gay Guesthouse. Happy New Year guys! We had an awesome New Year at the Florida Road Street Party, and then The Lounge before returning to the guesthouse and snuggling with the duvet on the roof-top sundeck until dawn. Durban, our sunny east coast of South Africa port city is this morning bathed in glorious sunshine and we wish all of our past, returning and future guests everything of the best for 2008. May the guy of your dreams be yours this year!!

Great diving off Durban

The East Coast of South Africa is world-reknowned for it's fantastic diving opportunities, particularly at Aliwal Shoal, minutes down the coast from Durban. In the photos are Johan, diving just outside the Durban Harbour entrance off the Bluff with Calypso Diving and Guesthouse Co-Owner Llewellyn (left in second photo) with Johan around the pool at our exclusively gay Durban View Guesthouse .

Durban Gay New Year

Durban's only open Gay Party this New Year is at The Lounge, the gay bar/club just down the road from our Guesthouse. The events in the lead up to New Year at The Lounge at 226 Stamfordhill Road are:

Thurs 27 Dec: Open

Fri 28 Dec: Special Event with Melanie Lowe (SA Idols) entry R30

Sat 29 Dec: Open Sun 30 Dec: Closed

New Years Eve: Mon 31 Dec: Party time as we see the end of 2007. Entry is R50 if tickets are purchased before the event, and R80 if bought at the door on the night.

We will be having our own pre-party braai at home at the guesthouse for our guests and the guesthouse is full. Many thanks for the support guys during 2007 and we look forward to seeing you all again and even more international tourists in 2008.

4th Christmas together

Earlier this month we celebrated our 3rd Anniversary and Christmas next week will be our 4th one together. Here's a photo I took of Llewellyn with our Christmas tree in the Guesthouse lounge. Happy Holidays all. The Guesthouse will be full next week in the run up to New Year.

Fun in the Guesthouse Pub

It's been a fun week at Durban View Guesthouse this week in the run up to Christmas as (photos from top) beach friends Jacques, Christo (with co-owner Llewellyn) and Christian have a few drinks in the huesthouse Pub, Johannesburg guest Peter celebrates his 25th birthday, friend Matt lights a flaming sambuca, and Jannie holidays from the States. Thanks for joining us guys... keeping the house a fun place.

Durban Tourism Info

Tis the season to be jolly, and in Durban, on the sunny east coast of South Africa, there is much to be jolly about this season.

Especially with the best beaches in South Africa - see our poll elsewhere (right side-bar) on this blog - much of the action centres around the glorious Indian Ocean and beachfront. There are also a few gay beaches, discreet, but plenty of time and space for just lying on the sand and soaking up some summer sunshine. Check out the links to more of the December holiday fun lined up for Durban .

Friends meet from Gauteng and Cape Town

Meet Johnny, Chris, Johan & Edwin - Friends from Gauteng and Cape Town who rendesvous at our Guesthouse . They were attending Edwins sisters engagement party in Westville.

The Lounge 330 Party

Durban's only gay club, The Lounge, and 330 party legend have teamed up for tonight's blast at 226 Stamford Hill Road. Tickets are R80 and will be a mind-blowing event (gay guys want more though..lol). And if you don't make tonight, remember Wednesdays are Tipsy night at The Lounge with entry R30 and house vodka and brandy free 9pm - 11pm. Always a good jol!!

Busy week in Durban

With the FiFa 2010 World Cup Football coming to South Africa, Durban was busy this week with delegates here for the preliminary draw. The Guesthouse had some delegates too and the rest of the week we have been full. In the photos are from top, Michael from Johannesburg, Rick from Jhb (and myself Dave), and in the bottom pic Theo and Riaan from Cape Town, Leon from Jhb seen with my partner Llewellyn in the guesthouse pub.

Durban's Gay Bar/Club

We in Durban have one gay bar and club and we are proud of The Lounge at 226 Stamford Hill Rd, just down the road from our Guesthouse. Friday nights entry is R30 with drinks half price until midnight. Saturday nights are the real Party Night with multiple Djs and a pumping dancefloor. And upstairs is the men-only Red Bar open every day from 4pm - 12pm.

We drop in from time to time, usually to show our guests around and whilst quieter mid-week have had some fun at the Karaoke evenings as well as hot weekends.

New friends from Paris

We made 2 new friends this week. Laurent and David from Paris stayed at our Guesthouse while passing through from St Lucia on their way to Port St Johns to stay with friends in a Kraal without electricity (aag shame - no gaydar access). We had an awesome evening with them at one of Durbans famous Indian Restaurants - Indian Connection - followed by Karaoke at The Lounge... David actually got me (Llewellyn) to sing "The Locomotion"

International Tattoo Festival - Durban 1/2 Dec

Durban loves being a front-runner when it comes to events and concepts. This December will be no different with Africa's first International Tattoo Festival to be held in the Ocean Conference Centre on Durban's beachfront.

Visit AfricanInkFest to see profiles on all the artists and to learn more about the art of tattooing and InkFest. The artists are from around the globe including Body Cult, Switzerland, Inkside Tattoo, Germany, DV8, United States as well as representatives from over 10 international and 12 national tattoo studios.If you like beach, ink and hot skin, don't miss it.

Woodstock Music Festival Nov 28

A two hour drive from Durban towards Johannesburg will bring you to what reporters have rated an A-grade music festival in Harrismith. It's Woodstock time again in a new venue, the President Brand Park with more than 70 of the best South African bands across all styles of music. The Woodstock Festival was founded here over 9 years ago and will keep you entertained 24-seven with action activities and plenty of food stalls. There will be several bars, three stages, DJ's, dance arenas, extreme sports demonstrations and fleamarkets. There is also a bus from Durban to take you there (R600 - book at computicket) or you can stay gay with us in Durban and buy your tickets from them. Also check out the Woodstock site for more info and a full list of the participating bands. In the pic above is Springbok Nude Girls, one of the featured bands and well respected in this country.

Durban, Dublin, Dubai

We've been to the 3 Dubs this last week - from Durban, to Dublin and Dubai (United Arab Emirates) - but East or West, home is usually best, and we can comfortably say that Durban's beaches and sea are undoubtedly the best we have seen. The desert safari in Dubai was pretty cool and here Llewellyn gets cosy with a camel. The second pic is of the Burj Arab Hotel, the world's largest hotel at Jumeira Beach where we swam in the warm waters of the Gulf. Not to be outdone by the rest of the world, the third picture is of the world's tallest building under construction. The height reached so far is 150 floors and the contractors are waiting for the building under construction in China before deciding on the total number of floors to be added (to about 170 stories) to ensure that the Dubai building is the world's tallest. We also saw from the air the world's largest poster laid out on the ground and entered in the Guiness Book of Records. The last picture was our sense of humour as gay guys looking laterally at the translation of stop in Arabic...lol.

Robin Hood Adult Pantomime

ROBIN HOOD 11th Annual Durban Adult Panto Oct 23 - 27 @ The Hexagon. Oct 30 - Dec 31;@ The Chris Seabrooke Theatre at DHS from Oct 30 Bookings and enquiries: 074 190 6239. It was a time of lawlessness and corruption, When honest decent folk lived in fear of thieves and brigands When the gold-hungry wealthy oppressed the poor. It was in fact, a time a lot like ours… Yes boys and girls, after many years happily spent sullying the memory of our best loved fairytales, this year's festive adult pantomime takes us back in time to the legendary green Sherwood Forest - before they smoked the green, ran a freeway through it and attempted to rename it after an obscure Libyan camel-breeder. Of course, this being pantomime there's bound to be more G-strings twanging than bow strings but, rest assured, the familiar faces will all be there. Staring Thomie Holthauzen as Friar Tuck, Rowan Bartlett as Little John, Clare McIlroy as Maid Marion, Sean de Klerk as Robin Hood & Anthony Stonier as Princess Joan of Collins. This show has it all: a dazzlingly dirty script, saucy singalongs and timeless (well they seem to last forever) songs in a classic tale of true love, good versus evil and the sheer joy of shooting sharp pointy things at other people - all this in a pristine forest setting with more bush than Paris, Lyndsay and Britney combined. Written and directed by Anthony Stonier
Just one more reason to come to Durban and stay at our exclusively gay Durban View Guesthouse.

Big Concerts for Durban

Durban's International Convention Centre (ICC) will be hosting two major concerts over the next few weeks. Next Saturday 20th October 2007 will see heart-throb singing star Enrique Iglesias wow audiences in Durban whilst 16th December 2007 sees Michael Buble' pay his first visit to Durban.

Most of this is happening due to the decision to build a superb indoor Arena attached to the ICC which was completed earlier this year. The ICC has been rated in the top-10 International Convention Centres in the world by the World Association and the best in Africa. The addition of the ICC Arena will cement our position as a world class venue. One can see the ICC from the roof-top of our exclusively gay Durban View Guesthouse and many of our guests do in fact come here as part of a conference.Book your concert tickets here, then come Stay Gay with us. Enrique Tickets Buble' Tickets Accommodation

Pride Film Festival

5th - 11th October is Pride Film Festival at Cinema Nouveau, Gateway Shopping Centre. Hosted by Sterkinekor this is an inaugural Pride event and features 9 diverse movies with a focus on light entertainment. The featured movie "Another Gay Movie" also opens on the general movie circuit this week.

ANOTHER GAY MOVIE, is described as "the dirtiest, funniest, most scandalous gay-teen-sex-comedy-parody ever," in which four young gay friends make a pact to lose their virginity by the end of the summer.

THE MOSTLY UNFABULOUS SOCIAL LIFE OF ETHAN GREEN is a screwball comedy about an adorable 26-year old looking for love in all the wrong places.

THE TRIP is an unlikely and humorous love story about a sexy, blonde gay activist and a closeted Republican set in the turbulent political climate of the 70's and 80's, while APRIL'S SHOWER is another comedy; a tale of lesbian love, romance, and expectation, which takes place in the midst of a bridal shower.

On a more dramatic note, POSTER BOY tells the story of a gay college student who is placed in a difficult position when his right wing father is embroiled in a tight race for re-election as senator.

Two films with an ostensibly factual slant top out the festival's offerings: NAKED FAME is a documentary portrait of widely successful gay adult film star Colton Ford who, at the age of 40, decides to leave porn behind to pursue his dream of making it in the music business, while SHOWBOY, an award-winning "mockumentary", is the journey of Christian, in his bizarrely erratic and passion-fuelled attempt to become a Las Vegas showboy.

Tickets to the Pride Film Festival are R40 per person; Vitality, Edgars Club and Movie Club concessions apply including half-price Tuesdays for Movie Club Members.
Bookings can be made:
o via the award-winning Ster-Kinekor Theatres website ? www.sterkinekor.com
o on your W@P-enabled cellphone via www.sterkinekor.com
o via TicketLine ? 082 16789 (vas rates apply)
o at Self-Service terminals at Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson
o at Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson box offices.

The screening times are:

Sun 2.30pm Poster Boy

6.00pm Naked Fame

8.30pm April's Shower

Mon 8.30pm Another Gay Movie

Tues 8.30pm Show Boy

Wed 8.30pm Mostly

Thur 8.30pm The Trip

Guests from around the globe

Meet Bill (Washington) Eddy (local savage from Pretoria), Ira and Brett (also Washington) who joined us for the Mince Show last night and are staying at the Guesthouse. The show was fully booked weeks ahead.

da Mincy fun

I was supposed to take the camera last night for some pics of the guys we took to see the fabulous, famous Mince drag show. But like a savage I forgot and this cellphone shot of Llewellyn, Mince Star Clive and myself, Dave, is all I have to show for the magnificent performance. We took Eddy, Ira, Brett and Bill, guests staying with us at the guesthouse,to the show as well and we were joined by another 15 friends - so much drinking and laughter was had by all. Well done Clive and Martin (best drag mime artists we have seen) - please bring your shows back to Durban soon!!!

Gay Outdoors

If ever gay guys were to look for outdoors adventure, South Africa is the place to visit.. with our wide open spaces, mountains, deep blue sea and diving opportunities.. the sky is the limit...lol. Or you could of course just lounge in the sun from October - April on our roof top at this exclusively gay Guesthouse and soak up our glorious summer sun. Gay Outdoors is an adventure website we have recently linked to and you could find us and any number of alternative gay outdoor vacations right here.

Fun times Mark...

Our fun friend and regular guest Mark (left) returned to the Guesthouse and sunny South Africa with his mate Brett (right), a spunky Bournemouth lad who flew out from the UK for a short South African holiday. Also in the picture is our "gay-curious" friend Shaun who loves to visit the gay boys every so often, helping out in the bar and around the house.

What an Awesome Cruise on the Med

Llewellyn and Dave on board the "Brilliance of the Seas" as she docks in Istanbul last week....

I know this is supposed to be a blog about our sunny port city of Durban, on the east coast of South Africa, but we returned back from an awesome cruise yesterday from Athens to Venice docking at the ports of Mykonos and Rhodes (Greek islands), Kusadasi and Istanbul (Turkey), Corfu (Greek island), Split (Croatia) and Venice (Italy)... and we promised you some pictures. So here are some of the shots we took. What an awesome time we had. The boys on board were everything they promised, the ports of call were fascinating and the ship was incredible. So we're home again and will be delighted to tell our Guesthouse guests more of the info on the trip and our adventures. Dave

Gay Cruise Athens to Venice Sept 07

The bodies on board our ship the "Brilliance of the Seas" were everything we were promised..

Llewellyn shows the boys his hot body and new cozzie...

Dave returns to his favourite European city Venice with the Bridge of Sighs in the background.

Llewellyn with postcard picture of our ship docked at the island of Corfu, Greece.

Here is the island we would love to buy off the island of Corfu!!!

Sailing into the port of Venice on a slightly chillier morning after an awesome cruise and fantastic sunny weather.

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Gay Cruise Athens to Venice

What an awesome time lies ahead as we get set to jet off to Athens for our 10-day gay cruise which takes us from Athens to Rhodes, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Corfu, Split and Venice. As we join 2000 other guys on board the Brilliance of the Seas with our new bodies (mine is not as awesome as my sexy hunk so will only appear behind one of those beach photo boards of bodybuilders...lol) we are sure to have loads of fun.. and plenty of eye candy. Will show you the pics and tell you more on our return... or during the trip if we get a chance to upload some pics.

Llewellyn takes Shape...

This is what Llewellyn has achieved in just under 3-months of twice-a-week personal training sessions with Bruce (see story below) as he and I tried valiantly to shape up for our gay-only cruise. Wow.. eat your heart out guys!!! :-) Dave

Our personal Trainer will beat up yours..

Meet Bruce, our personal trainer who has been trying to beef up our bodies for the all-gay cruise we are going on next week.. see story above. It is so difficult to believe what can be achieved, but after our 3-month gruelling sessions, some measure of success has been achieved. The "proof of the pudding" will be on deck before 2000 other gay cruise mates as we sail among the Greek Isles.... many thanks Bruce.

Sir Elton John in Durban

Legendary singer, songwriter and entertainer Sir Elton John has confirmed dates for his first South African tour. Don't miss the chance to see Elton John and his band live in SA!

Elton John is performing at the ABSA stadium on Wednesday 16 January at 20h00. Bookings can be made through Computicket and ticket prices range from R268 to R473.