Since our itinerary was changed to now include a visit to Africa, there was one thing we had to do.. Go on safari.
And while it was a bugger to book, took only 7 hours, involved a kamikaze bus driver and bluntly introduced us to ‘African (snail like) Time’, it was also spectacular, thrilling and 100% unforgettable. Here is our day.
Arriving into Durban, South Africa
After 3 days of rocky sailing that had us surfing 6 metre swells, ducking under Madagascar and fighting the notable Mozambique current, we arrived just after breakfast into Durban, South Africa’s third largest city after Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Some quick facts. Durban is the largest city in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
South Africa has 9 provinces. South Africa is the southernmost of Africas 54 sovereign states.
Mahatma Gandhi played a significant role here. (google it)
Pilot Dangling From Helicopter
What made our arrival into this port different from most others is that rather than arrive by boat, our female port pilot was dropped onboard from a hovering helicopter. (Photo courtesy of fellow passenger).
Our Safari Operators - African Sun Safaris
With the ships organised Safaris in Durban fully booked, we opted to engage a tour operator through the website Get Your Guide. Being significantly cheaper than the ship’s tours, and offering a visit to an additional wildlife park, it was a great option.
A statement I maintain even though our driver appeared to have a death wish (“radical” in the words of one passenger), our bus didn’t seem to have its full quota of gears and Timbu, our guide, was the most chilled escort I have ever encountered – “what time you want tour to finish? 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock? You tell me”.
Initial Impressions of Durban
It was with some interest that I viewed Durban and its surrounds as we sped along a large, bumpy concrete motorway to our first destination. Having been warned beforehand to leave all jewellery on board, to be extra vigilant here, my curiosity about this place was aroused.
What I found was a landscape eerily similar to Australia; grasslands with grazing cattle, tobacco trees, banana plants, chicken farms, sugar-cane fields, lantana bushes, shopping centers containing H&M, Woolworths, English road signage, vehicles driving on the left.
What I did find different was the colour of the population (South Africa is 80% black), the hitchhikers on the motorways, the number of partially complete houses.
Tala Game Reserve
It took about an hour of gear crunching before we arrived at the first of our stops – the Tala Game Reserve. A 3000 hectare grassland home to rhinos, giraffes, hippos, wildebeests, warthogs, zebras and a multitude of other animals and birds.
It was a comical arrival as true to form, chilled Timbu had us jump onboard a jeep only to realise, when we didn’t all fit, that it was the wrong jeep. A blunder soon forgotten as traversing a spine-crushing, crater ridden track we quickly came across a herd of zebras followed by a tower of giraffes, a crash of rhinos, lots of antelope’s and a lone ostrich.
A Lion Park (with no name).
When going on safari in Africa, the aim is to see its Big 5 – a lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino. While Tala gave us rhinos, our next stop was to provide the lions and elephants. We would unfortunately not get to see any leopards nor buffalo on this trip. Once again, Timbu and our driver managed to provide comical relief as we sped our way between the two parks. This time arguing whether it was worthwhile to see the elephants or not. “the road is crap and there is only one lousy elephant,” says our driver. “but it’s a great elephant,” says Timbu. Suffice to say we do visit what eventuates to be two elephants, and the road is every bit crap as predicted by our driver.
The Valley of 1000 Hills
While we had been expecting visits to Tala and a lion park, it was a surprise, when making our way back to port, that another stop was included. This one to a Zulu village cum restaurant cum souvenir shop. Located in an area called the Valley of 1000 Hills (because it feels like there is a 1000 hills), this elevated area was cooler, more verdant than the grasslands below. Not really wanting to enter what definitely felt like a tourist trap, the majority of us opted to give the place a miss and return to port.
Durban Port
As I mentioned earlier, we had been warned beforehand not to wear any jewellery while in Durban and to be extra vigilant. This warning was reinforced when, rather than returning to our cabin, we opted to take a complimentary cruise provided shuttle to a local shopping area. No sooner had we sat down in our shuttle bus seats than we had arrived. Apparently, it is not even safe to walk what must have been a little under a kilometre in this area.
Something Interesting I Learnt About the Housing
Making our way to Tala, the number of partially completed housing had intrigued us. On enquiring, we discovered that the houses are owned by people in Durban, who, on being gifted a piece of land by the Zula King, would take years to accumulate the funds to finish building their houses. Interesting!
Where Next?
As I type, we are sailing down the east coast of Africa heading towards Cape Town. Due to a medical emergency, we will be calling into Port Elizabeth at 6pm tonight to off load an ill passenger. See you after Cape Town.
