Having completed boat chores, rather than wait on the boat for the weather window to sail to Durban, we decided to 'explore'. Our first stop was the Isimangaliso Wetlands Park. We knew there are many hippos in this part of South Africa: they graze at night just outside the Zululand Yacht club and leave 'evidence' on the road. But, in this park, there were so many and they could be viewed safely.
The males are territorial and each find their own patch. The females choose which 'harem' to join (a successful male has many female partners) based on how attractive his territory is. For a male hippo, controlling a nice pool with access to lots of good grazing are the keys to an active sex life.
The wetlands are covered in water lilies, which attract bees and other insects. The insects, in turn, attract frogs, fish and many, many birds. We saw so many different species including this African jacana.
There are also many rhinos and water buffalo in the reserve. Actually, dung beetles have a preference for water buffalo dung, which is left on the road overnight (the road is warmer so the buffalo sleep on the road). Sometimes the beetles build nests in the dung where it stands. Alternatively, they make balls of dung and transport them to a different (safer) location.
We also had time to drive south and go diving on the Aliwal shoal. The spot is famous for sharks, in particular 'raggies' (ragged tooth sharks). The best time of year is April and, unfortunately, we did not see a single shark all day. Still, it was good to start the year with some diving.
Before departing for Durban, we needed to do some provisioning. The supermarket had an impressive display of artisanal breads, including multi-grains, muesli bread and some heavy brown bread. Excitedly, I asked for one of the multi-grains (most bread here is white). What followed would have reminded Monty Python fans of the cheese shop sketch. It seemed all varieties on display were normally available, but not currently. Exasperated, I asked, " Do you not have anything brown for me?" At which point the lady behind me squeezed my hand and said with a beaming smile, "Take me, I'm brown!" What a lovely start to the day.
The weather window for our sail from Richards Bay to Durban opened as soon as the wind had swung from the south to the east. We could not wait any longer and leave in daylight so departed at dusk. We had to motor for a few hours, waiting for the wind to fill in from the north. As soon as it did we unfurled the genoa. There was no need for more sail as we did not want to arrive too early and the current was in our favour. In any case, this was a night sail and the winds can get up very quickly.
The passage was uneventful, just as we like it, and we were in Durban in time for breakfast at Point Yacht Club.
Durban marina is located right next to downtown. These days it is not deemed safe to venture outside the marina on foot after dark. In fact, friends suffered an attempted mugging on a main Durban street even in broad daylight. Unfortunately for the mugger, he picked the wrong target as Ian (SY Mr X) has 15 years martial arts experience and he suffered no more than a torn shirt.
With the crime and violence, many businesses have left the area and a lot of Durban has boarded up buildings and a general run down feel. However, there are also areas which remain quite nice, for instance, close to the Durban Natural History Museum and Art Gallery.
Taking this picture with my smartphone, I was immediately warned by a local to put the phone away before I attracted unwanted attention.
Going into any shop or business and you are struck by the private security measures. This is the only city I have visited, where the supermarket is guarded by a private contractor with an automatic weapon.
We were impressed with the Durban natural science museum. Although 'tired' and in need of a 'refresh', the collections of stuffed African animals and birds were very impressive. Having seen the animals 'in the flesh', but at a distance, in the game reserves, it was nice to see the animals in detail close up, even if they were inanimate.
On the floor above the natural science museum is an art gallery. Given the violent nature of South Africa's turbulent political past, I had expected to see an avalanche of politically inspired works. In reality, there was very little on offer. The best I could find was this one (for those who have seen 'Cry freedom').
From Durban, the passage to East London follows the 'wild coast' for 260nm. There is no bolt hole (safe harbour) along this route and conditions can be very dangerous if you get the weather wrong. Of course, modern weather forecasting removes nearly all the risk. But you do need to wait for the right weather window. We met boats who had been in Durban almost a month, looking for a suitable opportunity to move on. We got lucky. Having arrived early on Tuesday, just two days later we had a safe window. We were not going to pass that up, even if it made our stay in Durban rather brief.
It turned out that our 'wild coast' passage would be, indeed, a 'wild ride'. But that is for the next post.
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