July 2014 and Beyond, pt. 3

Next on our list  was on the South-East coast, in Durban.

Durban is a cultural blend of quintessentially african urban, with the bustling downtown area in constant motion, fruit and vegetable stalls lining the streets up and down and worn down storefronts in a constant circulation of smiling joking people, and a laid back, beachfront lifestyle where everyone moves in slow motion and carry's their shoes in their bags. Then, there's the flurescent nightlife, when the young cats come out and enjoy the fun, artistic scene this generation has brought with it.

I was in love with all of it, almost instantly. After yet another long, tiring drive, this time in an even smaller car we rented after getting stuck at a gas station for six hours on our way back from Kruger (while we waited for the tow truck to come, we got dinner at Steers. I had the greek salad) we arrived in Durban at the height of evening rush hour. There were people everywhere. In cars, on the sidewalks, running in the streets, standing at bus stations that littered the wide blocks. Our hostel, when we arrived there, was a zigzagging mishmash of an Italian style villa, with an amazing communal vibe, very helpful staff, but very little internet.

An informal breakfast was served each morning, a "get to know your fellow backpackers" type of affair. I think we were the only people there not backpacking.

After breakfast, we drove down to the local water park/ marine park/ aquarium/ buffet restaurant, Ushaka, after being told it was a must see; and let me tell you, it was! The aquarium was unlike anything I've ever experienced - seen from the inside of a sunken ship, the building had incorporated every detail, down to the last life jacket. My dad can testify, when I first saw a fish swim past the porthole I had my face pressed up against, I practically backflipped out of my swimsuit! But it didn't end there. The aquarium had an impressive collection of extremely angry looking sharks, an adorable tank dedicated to the star fishy's of Finding Nemo, a hypnotic, glow in the dark jellyfish display and an immersing semicircle glass panel that made us all feel like we were breathing underwater. The buffet food was spectacular. It had options to please both the veggies and the not-so-muchies in our family and an overflowing bin full of mealie meal (aka mealie pap and samp (you may or may not know it as hominy)), a southern african speciality which has stolen my meatless heart. The dolphin show was charming and had the crowd going wild! Honestly, my least favourite part of the day was the tallest water slide in africa! We have now made up our minds to push for an aquarium in Halifax. Isn't that ingenious? We think it is. If someone from the government of Nova Scotia is reading this, please take note! (I'm really not ruling that out as a possibility; I recently discovered that we have an audience in Venezuela and Germany.)

After Ushaka, we cooled off in the beautiful waters of the indian ocean along Durban's "Golden Mile", a picturesque sprawling beachfront. The water was some of the most perfect that I've ever felt, and the surf was fantastic!

On day two, we saw a completely different side of Durban, starting with the Victoria market. If we had driven down, found a parking spot and left, I would have walked away happy. Since we didn't, I walked away happier! There's something enchanting about pushing your way past hordes of noisy people; an enchantment that was apparent as we squeezed our way through the streets of down town Durban. A certain charm felt only when you have negative personal space. It's like everyone is part of a functioning routine. No one person is left out. Sure, we were subject to a few raised eyebrows, due to the fact that we were the only white people in the entire area and looked distinctly touristy; partly because of the oversized backpacks and loose fitting capri pants made out of breathable synthetic material (you know who I'm talking about), and partly because a reasonable percentage of white people in this country have made it their mission to avoid walking at all possible costs. 

Trust me when I say, they don't know what their missing! That whole morning, I couldn't keep a smile off of my face.

After the market, we drove back down to the waterfront and enjoyed a quirky, delicious meal at a debuting restaurant before renting bicycles and pedalling our way down the Golden Mile! If I remember correctly, we turned out to have cycled a grand total of 14 km, stopping midway for another heavenly swim and coffee and snacks at a Mugg & Bean. 

The day rounded itself off with a family card game. Needless to say things got a bit craaazy. That night gave birth to enough inside jokes to last me a couple decades and then some!

The next morning, we packed up shop and sardined ourselves into the car once more for the long drive back to Joburg. Two days wasn't long enough by a half in this amazing city and I hope one day to be back.

Watch out Durban ;)

July 2014 and Beyond, pt. 2

Kruger National Park.

The beauty of this place is that it is as it was. It's one of the few places left on earth that hasn't been torn down and remodelled by the foot of mankind. Nature has been allowed to work it's own magic. To feed it's own body, take it's own course. It has been allowed to swell, to falter, to grow and move at it's own pace without the interruptions of big city noises, a beauty which feels so fragile it could shatter at a too loud word, yet with the resilience and elasticity of the animal kingdom. Planet earth cleared a path for all this life. For once, we haven't put up a roadblock and tried to do construction. For once, undisturbed existence has been allowed to thrive, and it's exquisite. 

The best time is at sunset, when the world turns into a silhouette, a shadow and a whole thing all at once. The shades of yellow, orange, pink and white, blended together in a show stopping array too perfect to be teased by the distractions of the rest of the landscape. As we drove past in our guided vehicle, I traced out the blotted figures with my hands, and trees came to life, their every detail blended into a two dimensional figure. If you looked away for one second, the picture would have changed, so you had to keep your eyes on the sun as it dropped like a stone.

It's sights like these that are meant to be enjoyed for more than a split second, but I'll take what I can get.

Elephants have always been one of my favourite animals. I find myself drawn to them, wherever I am. At home, my napkin holder is shaped like one. A couple weeks ago, I bought a traditional elephant painting. I was finding it very hard to resist the little ivory elephant at the Victoria Market in Durban. No matter what beautiful things are created in the shape of theses creatures, nothing will ever compare to the real thing. Relaxed, regal, lined skin telling a story of existence. They instilled a sense of peace in my subconscious. I wasn't afraid of them and they certainly weren't afraid of me.

The Big Five of the animal kingdom. The absolute most vicious and difficult to pursue of all the hunted. In three days, they found us, one by one. We felt vey special.

And now, a montage for your viewing pleasure!

Morning walk in the bush

Mopani Rest Camp

Mopani (or butterfly) tree's that surround the camp

Their name comes from the resemblance the leaves bear to our favourite fluttery little insects

Beautiful animals

Enjoy!

Holly

July 2014 and Beyond, pt. 1

Tomorrow, we have been in South Africa for one month. If I wasn't already so adept to the time zone, it would feel like we arrived yesterday. I've never known a time in my life to move at such a ferocious pace, Europe included, and I have absorbed every second of it. From the highs and the lows, the hostels and the hotels, the familiar and the completely terrifying, I've seen it all through my expanding eyes. The feeling of it is all consuming.

What I'm trying to say is, we have been very, very bad bloggers. Very. Nearly one month here and we haven't breathed one single, solitary virtual syllable, nil. Yes, we know how absurd that is and yes, we apologize from our deepest hearts of hearts, and hope that we can gracefully move on from this unfortunate hump in our track record. I could spend the entire intro to this post coming up with a long list of semi-credible excuses to make myself feel better, but since this is your post, I think a more wise use of my time would be to address your concerns. I understand that some of you lovely readers have reached out, asking what in gods name was going on and if we could please post something just to confirm we hadn't died.

Well, that's basically the purpose of this blog post, so hopefully, by the end of today, all your questions will have been answered, just, make sure to ready yourself with a big bucket of ice water to dunk your pretty heads in incase you start to fall asleep, because this is going to be a long one!

On the 11th of July, 2014, we arrived tired and hungry, in South Africa. I can't remember what time it was. In fact, I can't actually remember what time anything was in that first 7 days. Jet lag is a freaky thing. Coincidentally, we got no pictures at all in the first week which, when you think about it, wasn't at all coincidental, seeing as we all looked like angry, sleep deprived baboons.




Despite that, we still managed to get most of what needed to be done, done. We bought food, visited schools, aquatinted ourselves with the house, sorted out some urgent work issues, etc, etc. And, most important of all, we slept. It took me a full six days to adjust to the time zone. Thats six days of falling fast asleep in the car, not being able to close my eyes until 3:00 in the morning, and waking up at noon. Our poor domestic, Mary, waited outside for two hours on the first day, not wanting to interrupt our sleep! Once we finally hauled our lazy butts out of bed, we enjoyed a delicious brunch, provided by the one and only Tim and Rose, a.k.a some of the greatest people I've met in SA thus far. Brunch was followed by a day of intensive shopping and touring, which, while fun, left me utterly pooped (no surprises there), and once Rose loaded us up with a full supply of South African cookbooks and DVDs  we headed home. We spent the rest of the week doing more of the same, which was fine with me! I loved the look of my school and, as my crippling jet lag faded, started developing a routine. 


The next week, I spent nine hours in a cramped car with a dysfunctional engine.

That was not part of the routine.

Our first excursion was to the Kruger National Park. If you haven't heard of it, it's an enormous wildlife reserve on the border of Mozambique and the provinces Limpopo and Mpumalanga in North-East South Africa. The park itself is a stunningly rich Savannah landscape, and so it was no surprise that we were all eager to arrive. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as it had sounded.

As I mentioned, our car was experiencing some issues. The first time we failed to start it was when my parents were picking us up from mine and Rory's school. It had been a shockingly fantastic day and we hopped into the car with spirits high; spirits which were promptly flattened as soon as my Dad turned the key. It simply refused to start. So, we sat. We sighed. We waited. We tried again. Still nothing. Fortunately, the staff at Sacred Heart College was very helpful and did everything they could to make our suffering as comfortable as possible. After roughly a half-hour of sitting around, we called the South African Automobile Association (SAAA or AA for short) who took an eon to come. They couldn't find a problem so they called for a tow, which took another eon to come. Just before they arrived my dad tried again and by some miracle, it started. As you and I both know, though, this stroke of good luck couldn't last.

We divided the trip in two and made a stop in Sabi where we stayed a night. Our B&B was eclectic, toeing the line of kitschy, but pleasingly so. We had an amazing dinner at a local traditional restaurant and a good sleep. Apart from being squeezed into the backseat of a car with my two other siblings, we were quite comfortable!

Swimming pool in winter

Our luck changed for the worse the next morning. We woke up later than had been expected, had a lengthy breakfast followed by a morning swim and a short stroll. By the time we left Sabi, it was
9:00 am. Assume panic stations, everyone. We drove for a while, our minds alert with worry for the car stopping. The longer we drove, the uglier it sounded, the more we prayed. Please, please, may we not stall in the middle of the road. In the first leg of the drive, we didn't pause, even for one second, we just kept driving and driving. And then, the unthinkable happened. We saw a stop sign. I'm assuming that most of you reading this are adults, and so I won't need to repeat Mr. Police Man's definition of a rolling stop.
Fortunately, he took pity on us and our dying car and let us putt free with an address for a local mechanic. In town, we stopped for a bite at Wimpy's, a local fast food chain. I had the greek salad (otherwise known as the big pile of lettuce with a few olives on top). May I just say that as a vegetarian, by the end of July, I could barely think of a greek salad without convulsing.

This whole stop got both of the 'rents very anxious. As far as they were concerned, any time spent not driving was time waisted, and the hours were counting down to 6:00, when the doors to Krueger closed for the night. Did I forget to mention that? On top of this, a slight miscalculation had been made. My parents thought we had to be through the gates to the park by 6:00 but in fact, we had to be at our rest camp by that time. Our rest camp was three hours away from the gate. Needless to say, they couldn't let us in.

A big thank you to the folks at the South African Wildlife College for allowing a family of five, tired, grumpy hooligans to spend the night with you. We owe you our sanity.

I think I can safely say, with the agreement of the rest of my family, that this was our most trying experience to that moment.

Other notables include, getting locked out of our house, the power going out for 24 hours with a simple fix and setting off the alarm. So. Many. Times.

Talk soon!

Holly