Durban

The second week we were in Richards Bay we hired a car. This enabled us to take two Belgian friends, Michel and Monique, with us to visit the iSimanga Wetland Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, which is one of the oldest game reserves in South Africa. St Lucia is a town on the edge of the wetland park and the place where we stayed the night in an international backpackers called BiBs. We had double rooms with ensuite facilities and the use of a kitchen, table tennis, bar, lounge so it was quite civilised. We took a river boat trip to see hippos and crocodiles at close, but safe, quarters. You should see the size of the hippos’ teeth. They’re huge. Did you know hippos can’t swim? They walk along the bottom of rivers and at night they often roam around the town. Fortunately, they stayed away from BiBs and we didn’t see any on the road when we left St Lucia at 4.00am.

Durban City Hall

We were the first vehicle at the gate of Hluhluwe-iMflozi Park when they opened at 5.00am. Within minutes we had to stop for a group of giraffes in the middle of the road. Wow! We drove round the park for 7 or 8 hours, stopping many times to photograph the wildlife but only getting out of the car at viewpoints, camps and picnic areas. It was an amazing day and we were rewarded with sightings of rhinos, buffaloes, blue wildebeest, impala, warthogs, zebras, baboons, monkeys, a lion and an elephant, plus numerous birds. Four very tired people arrived back in Richards Bay just before dark and when we went to bed we were spotting wild animals in our sleep.

Our other daytrip to Shakaland gave us an interesting insight into Zulu village life and heritage. The village was an authentic replica, our guide was friendly and informative and the Zulu dancing was superb. We enjoyed a hearty buffet in the adjoining hotel and sampled some local staples of maize and beans and traditionally brewed beer. The views from the dining room were superb.

The week flew past and we used the last morning with the car driving to and from various offices to complete the clearance procedure. A Flight Plan has to be completed before any visiting boat can leave for Durban and official stamps have to be obtained from the marina office, the police, immigration, customs, port captain and port control. The process took us over two hours.

Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban

The next day we left Richards Bay. The wind was blowing on to the harbour wall and we could only leave our berth with the help of several long lines tied together and passed across the harbour to the crew of a yacht who pulled our bows round and through the wind. We had wind over tide choppy conditions at the entrance to the harbour and needed to reef the mainsail, but generally the overnight passage to Durban was fine and passed without incident. We are anchored in the harbour. All the marina and yacht club berths are full. Everyone is very friendly. Both yacht clubs offer free temporary membership, swimming pools, BBQ areas, restaurants, bars and hot showers. We pay 50 rands a day for secure dinghy parking, water and refuse collection.

Pat and Jeremy at RNYC

We met Jeremy’s cousin, Pat, at the Royal Natal Yacht Club. It must be 50 years since they last met. We had a good lunch and enjoyed catching up and exchanging news. The next day we went on the Ricksha Bus and spent 3 hours touring Durban and the suburbs. Last night the weather turned nasty. We had prepared for it by putting down bow and stern anchors as the locals advised. This was just as well. We recorded winds up to 53 knots as a gale blew all night. We were ashore when it started. Jeremy had to forego his shower as we dashed back to Sal Darago in our dinghy. He was showered with sea water instead. All the yachts held firm to their anchors, thankfully. So now we wait for the 5 metre swell to settle and the winds to ease before setting out on the 2 day passage to East London.

Jummah Musjid Mosque