Hello from a slightly windy and wet Durban, herewith some of the highlights and some observations so far:
On the way to the airport Etienne was telling the kids how high we were going to fly (above the clouds) and Mignon asked if we would fly high enough so we could see Jesus. From the subsequent FB comments I gather that this happens more often than you would think.
As we landed in Durban the girls looked out the window and were highly disgusted when they saw the airport. It took some fancy footwork to explain to them that we were now in Durban and that we didn’t spend almost 2 hours flying above Cape Town.
The Spar in Hibberdene. Daniel commented to Etienne that there were so few people from South Africa there as we were standing in the queues along with the hundreds of month end and pension payout people. Of course not delivered in the appropriate inside voice.
We lived in Amanzimtoti in the 80’s and the South Coast still smells like my childhood. (If you have read my ramblings for a long time you may remember that I strongly associate memories with smell)
The South Coast of KZN is as I remember it, albeit with more potholes. There are even still a few rather faded Afrikaans signposts around.
Speaking of signposts: not really a thing around here. In Cape Town you have signposts to warn you that signposts are coming up. Here, not so much. You see a signpost you best take that turnoff and keep going and hope for the best.
Avocados. Pineapples. Sugarcane plantations. Fields of banana trees. Macadamias. Papayas.
Vaalies*. On the beach. In the howling wind on an overcast day. In bikinis. Swimming in the sea.
To get to the beach we walked on a walkway under a train bridge and I said to Etienne I’m sure this is the bridge under which my Dad took me fishing many years ago. There was much sniggering as we crossed about 10 similar bridges with similar walkways in the next 20 kilometers.
There are a lot of rivers that flow into the sea on the South Coast.
The 3G signal here is very bad. Or I am very spoilt. Or both. Also: wi-fi is nothing to be sniffed at.
We went to Pure Venom today and neither their gift shop nor restaurant credit card machines worked. One because the landline has apparently been out of order for ages and the other because the 3G signal is so bad. Businesses are losing money because people cannot pay with plastic. The kids had a ball though, as usual they were the loudest lot there.
We were woken up at 6am this morning by the 15 peahens that sleep in the tree next to our bedroom having a serious disagreement.
And lastly: what would a holiday be without a sick child? (Mignon)
Stay tuned, more to follow. I’m battling to post pics due to the bad signal, will update later, promise.
*Vaalies is a term of endearment for people that are from Gauteng. Gauteng used to be called old Transvaal in the Apartheids years, hence the term.