A year ago, my friends and I traveled to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. When I was researching the Durban leg of the trip, I saw a photo of a rickshaw on Golden Mile Beach and decided I had to find one when I got there and go for a ride.

On our way to the airport, I spotted this one near the beach and asked our driver to stop. We had only a few minutes but each of us got to sit in the rickshaw and have our photo taken.

The rickshaw was brought to Durban from London in 1893 by sugar magnate, Sir Marshall Campbell. At that time, there were only a few cars in the city. By 1902, Durban had approximately 1,700 rickshaws for more than 24,000 pullers who came to the city to work and returned home to the country with their earnings. Now, there are only about 20 registered pullers left.

Run by the Zulus, beautifully decorated rickshaws can be rented from pullers, who are dressed in colorful, handcrafted beaded headdresses and are usually stationed on the beach. They not only transport, they entertain in true Zulu fashion.

Rickshaw Rides on Golden Mile Beach cost between US$2 – $50.

This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website!