Durban, South Africa

Hi All,

Today we are at sea heading for Port Elizabeth, South Africa.  Yesterday we were in Durban, South Africa.  We docked in a very large industrial port, lots of container ships around us.  This was the view from the ship of Durban.

We took a shuttle to the port gate where a cab was waiting for us.  

Peter was our driver.  He is the fourth generation of his family from India living in Durban.  We told him we wanted to go to the Victoria Street Market in the center of town.  We said after shopping at the market we were going to walk through the city center to the beach front area.  He said it would be very dangerous for us to do that, as crime in Durban is a big problem.  He suggested that we do a city tour with him, then go to the market where he would wait for us, and then return to the ship.  This sounded like a great idea and after a few moments of negotiation we settled on a three hour tour.  We came to realize that Peter had done us a huge favor, and that our original plan really was unsafe.  So off we went through the city.  

City Hall

Post Office

Courthouse

Old customs house

This association was founded by Mahatma Ganhdi when he was a lawyer in South Africa before he returned to India to fight for the country’s independence.

This is the Moses Mabhida Stadium.  It was built for the 2010 Football (soccer) World Cup.   A feature of the stadium is a funicular that carries people to a viewing platform at the top of the arch.   We couldn’t ride it as it was down for some maintenance.  

Peter said this is the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere.

Lots of these condo buildings on the beach front.

Peter took us to the botanic garden.

We have been to several botanic gardens on this trip, and we think this one is the best.

Bamboo

Kids on a school trip inside the orchid house.

Orchids

Don’t know what kind of pretty bird this is.

Next we stopped at the Victoria Street Market.  We thought that is would be much larger, it was mostly shops selling local crafts and souvenirs.  There were lots of shops selling spices including this one.  Anyone need some of this?

Tobacco

Colorfull shop

After our stop at the market, Peter drove us through the city center on the way back to the ship.  It looked a bit edgy and we knew it wasn’t a place we should be walking. Too bad, but true.

We did see our next RV.

On the way back to the ship we had a conversation with Peter about apartheid..  Since Peter is Indian, he was considered colored.  I said to him that his life must have changed quite a bit when apartheid ended (20 years ago).  His answer surprised us.  He said some changes were good and some were bad.  He said the worst change was the increase in crime.  During apartheid the white government kept crime under control.  Now he said the police are overwhelmed by the crime.  

So that was our day in Durban.  It is a city of contrasts.  We went though some beautiful up scale neighborhoods and also areas where the people are struggling to get by.  Peter was a wonderful guide and a very nice guy, we liked him a lot.  Tomorrow we are touring the Addo Elephant Park in Port Elizabeth.  Standby for elephant pictures!

Jer and Helen 

Richards Bay, South Africa

Hi All,

Yesterday we were in Richards Bay.  It is a small city that is home to the world’s largest coal port.  This lovely port view was from our ship.

But we weren’t here to see Richards Bay.  Today we did a tour to the Hlihluwe Umfolozi Wildlife Reserve.  This national park is over 600 square miles in size and sits in the middle of South Africa’s Zulu land.  

On the way to the park, we drove through areas where the Zulu tribe still lives.  This is a Zulu settlement.

All  Zulu families have one of these small round buildings on their property.  This is a place where their ancestors can live.  On holidays the Zulu people even put food outside these buildings for their deceased family members.

After about an hours drive, we arrived at the park entrance.

We were a group of six, and we toured the park in this vehicle.  Everyone had a window seat!

We arrived at the park about 10:30am.  Our guide said we probably would not see lions that late in the morning.  But we got lucky and saw this guy chilling out from about 100 yards away.  

Then we saw this big boy

And these White Rhinos

Warthogs

Giraffes

Antelopes

Wildebeests

Baboons

Zebras

This isn’t a very good picture, these two water buffaloes were pretty far away.

This is called a Secretary bird because its feathers were once used to make writing quills.

These tiny birds are Glossy starlings.

The vistas in the park were stunning.  These pictures don’t do them justice.

Along the way our guide Jeff prepared lunch.  Sausages, steak, garden salad and pasta salad.  Wine, beer, and soft drinks.  It was a great lunch in a magnificent setting.

Our group of fearless travelers.  The two guys on the left are retired doctors from New York city.  The two women in the back are both single ladies (widows) on the ship.  The two front and right I think you know.

So, after a full and amazing day we returned to our ship about 5:30pm.  This park exceeded our expectations.  We have only included a few pictures due to internet limitations, but we saw LOTS of animals.  In fact we saw so many that by the end of the day everyone stopped taking pictures.  We sailed for Durban, South Africa about 9pm.  We will post about our day there tomorrow.  All is well on the good ship Serenity!

Jerry and Helen