"A big welcome to SA - 'Gangsters paradise'. I strongly recommend you make personal safety your top priority". Des, our weather router, had kept us abreast of dangers as we crossed the Mozambique channel. Even when we were safely moored in Richards Bay, his warnings kept coming!
He was not alone. We were greeted on the dock by Natasha, the hard-working, wonderful, Ocean Cruising Club Port Officer. She told us about the monkeys who are not afraid to come aboard and take off with anything interesting left lying around. It was clear we were going to have to be careful in South Africa.
After completing the 'clearing in' formalities (health inspection, immigration, customs) we moved Skyfall from the quarantine dock round to our berth in Zululand Yacht Club (ZYC). We quickly hosed down both boat and crew and then we were ready to go and socialise. It was around lunchtime, Saturday 2nd November and the club had organised a (slightly late) kid's Halloween party.
There was much noise and merriment but not from the kids - they were off hunting for sweets which had been hidden around the dinghy park. It was the parents who were having the most fun. Within half an hour, we had been covered in face paint, drowned in sparkly stuff and presented with multiple shots of tequila. All before 14.00!
We may have been warned to be careful in South Africa but, after 12 days at sea and with a welcome like that, it is fair to say that we ignored the advice that day!
The best time for sailors to reach South Africa is after their severe winter/early spring storms, yet before the cyclone season reaches the trade wind belt. The 'window' is quite short. Most boats arrive during the last week of October or first half of November. And nearly everyone clears in at Richards Bay. Consequently, ZYC was buzzing, with many old friends and interesting new acquaintances frequenting the bar.
In addition, food and drink was unbelievably cheap (e.g. large beer US$1.20, 500g T-bone steak with vegetables US$5) so it made no sense to eat on the boat. Instead, most evenings we found ourselves enjoying one of the most active social scenes I have witnessed anywhere on my RTW adventure.
I met a very unassuming gentleman, Mike Rutzen. Appearances can be deceptive. It turned out that he is a conservationist who had been honoured by two different organisations with 'Lifetime Achievement Awards' (for his work on understanding shark behaviour), had filmed several programmes for the Discovery channel where he became known as 'Shark man' and had even worked with Sir David!
We found a small café within ten minutes walk of the club which served excellent coffee and where Chris could indulge his passion for cakes and patisseries (I have enjoyed having Chris as crew but it has not been good for my weight!)
My plan was to leave Skyfall for a couple of months, enjoy Christmas with my family and return to South Africa in the New Year. Unfortunately, the seals on the rudder post had developed a leak and, since Papua New Guinea, I have been bailing out water daily. I needed to get Skyfall out of the water so no harm could come to her and also to give me the chance to drop the rudder out and replace the seals once I return in January.
ZYC have a very inefficient boatyard setup. Firstly, near the slipway, the channel is not dredged and there is only a three hour window around high water when they can either launch or haul out boats with 2m draft. Next, the travel lift is antiquated. The slings to lift the boat are operated manually with chains. And the travel lift is quite small so the forestay has to be removed as it would otherwise interfere with the upper crossbeam. Finally, the boat is propped using wooden posts which are placed in holes in the ground and wedged against the hull. It takes two people two hours to set the posts!
With these limitations, they normally only launch and haul-out one boat per day. Although I had booked a haul-out in September, I ended up having to wait almost two weeks before it was my turn. Two dates were missed and I ended up coming out of the water the same day as my flight was due to leave Durban! It was touch and go, but I left KYC at 16.30, took a taxi to Durban airport and caught the evening flight with an hour to spare.
Another issue with the boatyard is that it is filthy. There is black grime which continually descends on boats left there. This meant that I needed to remove sails and all canvas (bimini and sprayhood) before hauling out. It took me a couple of days with Chris, but I was pleased the task was completed before he flew home.
Whilst waiting for the haul-out, I used the opportunity to visit the HluHlu-Imfolozi Game Park with Christoph (SV Tin Lizzy) . We rented a car and took a one day guided tour. It was an early start as the park was ninety minutes away and we had to be at the gate for 06.00. The best chance to see animals is at dawn and dusk when they are most active so the first hours before breakfast were the most hectic but also the most 'productive'.
We saw lions, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hyenas, wild dogs, impalas, nyalas (see top picture), warthogs, zebras, Cape buffalo, duikers (like deer), a natal hinge tortoise as well as birds such as an eagle owl and hamerkop. The only big miss was the elusive cheetah but they are never easy to find.
Taking a one day guided tour was not the only option. It is also possible to drive through the park yourself without a guide. This is the cheapest option but you are not likely to find as much wildlife. The guides share info with each other. If one group finds something interesting, they immediately let the other guides know and, depending on how far away it is, your guide might suddenly do a 'hand brake turn', hit the gas and try to get there before the animals move on. Driving yourself, you would not have access to this information.
The most expensive option is to stay in a lodge within the game park for multiple days. In this case you would be taken on two excursions per day (dawn and dusk). If you want to be sure to see cheetahs then this would maximise your chances.
Finally, there is the opportunity to stay in a lodge close, but outside the park (typically in Saint Lucia). This is cheaper than the park lodges and has the added advantage that you can split your time between parks. For instance, there is a wetland park near Saint Lucia with hippos and the boat trips are supposedly excellent.
There were several highlights to our day but I really enjoyed finding this young male elephant very close to the road just as we were about to leave and after we all thought the day was already over.
This post began with warnings about how careful one should be in South Africa. With almost 40% unemployment, some desperate people and the country's violent history, there is plenty of opportunity to get into trouble. Yet, of my 'first impressions' of South Africa, my lasting memory has to be the overwhelming positivity of South Africans about their future. Despite the problems, despite the violence, whatever the colour of their skin, we witnessed an almost universal pride in the country and a belief that a brighter future lies just around the corner. They all profess a willingness to work together to make this dream a reality.
I really hope they succeed.