South Africa

Because we had a long weekend due to Heritage Day, Gul, Larkin, Safi, Rebecca and I went to Durban from the 20-25 of September. We left on a Greyhound bus at 11PM from Joburg on the 20th and arrived in Durban just after 6AM the following day. The hostel we stayed in, Home Backpackers, was so cute. There were a porch and pool out front, and the adorable house was home to an adorable family. After sleeping for a few hours, it felt like a new day. We put on our bathing suits and left for uShaka Marine World, the largest aquarium in the Southern Hemisphere that also has a waterpark, animal shows, and a beach. The aquarium was beautiful, particularly because it was themed as a sunken ship and there were ship parts all over the walls and on the ceiling. Rebecca and Safi got through the aquarium much quicker than Larkin, Gul and I, so they went to the seal show while we continued to explore. An older man who works at the aquarium kept coming up to us and telling us animal facts. Apparently certain fish change sex in their lifetime! And octupus only live for about three years! All of us eventually met at the stadium for the dolphin show, which was of course ridiculous. The trainers talked about saving our seas, and one of the dolphins bopped a plastic jug into a recycling bin. Very silly, despite the postive message. Afterward we rented lockers and went on a few waterslides. It had become chilly rather quickly, so we didn't go on too many. Everyone but Rebecca got a R10 (ten rand, about $1.50) temporary tattoo. I got a giraffe, but it only lasted about two days. Bummer. Because the park was closing soon, we went to a nearby restaurant called Cape Town Fish Market. It was a little fancy, and of course we were in wet seimsuits and towels. We weren't up to doing much else after a long day, so we went back to the hostel and watched a South African soap opera and Big Brother: Africa (which was totally messed up).

The next morning, we slept in and had a wonderfully delicious breakfast at the hostel. Thoroughly satisfied, we left for the Juma (Grey Street) Mosque, the largest mosque in the Southern Hemisphere. There are a lot of "largest in the Southern Hemisphere" things in Durban if you haven't already noticed. Also, Durban has a very large Indian population. The guide warned us that it wasn't safe for us to be in that area after 1pm, so we went immediately to the Victoria Street Market to do some shopping so we could leave before that time. We then took the People Mover to the City Hall area in the center of the city. The People Mover is a bus system that allows you to get on and off at major locations around the city for R4 an hour (right now, 7 rand equals about 1 US dollar). You go to a bus stop where a security guard calls a bus to stop there. I wish Joburg had one of these systems. Durban not only had much better transportation, but felt much safer to us than Joburg. We had planned on going to some of the museums (after we grabbed some lunch and shopped at an outdoor market), but it started to get warmer so we took another bus to the beach at Suncoast Casino. Because it is a private beach, it's a lot safer than other beaches in Durban, which have become centers for crime/mugging. This was my first real view of the Indian Ocean!! Eventually it got pretty cold and windy, so we took a taxi back to the hostel. After showering and resting, we left for a Zulu Jazz Lounge. It was amazing. There was a guy on the piano who played a Fugees song and Sublime song during his set and a trio of women that also sang solos. Gul, Rebecca and Safi left after dinner to go to a singing competition next door. After a bit of fuss, we eventually got everyone back together and left for the hostel. There we just hung out for awhile and went to bed.

The following day, we woke up early and got a taxi to a used clothing and car boot flea market. We didn't buy much, but I found a cheap lightsaber (like David used to have that he got from DisneyWorld) for my Luke Skywalker Halloween costume (we're dressing as the Star Wars cast). Gul and Rebecca then split off to go to the beach, and Safi, Larkin and I went to the science museum and art gallery near city hall. The science museum was pretty cool. They had mostly stuffed animals, which I kind of disagree with, but it was nice to see them up close. The art gallery was half closed for renovation, but we still got to see a photography exhibit. Gul and Rebecca were still at the beach, so we went to the BAT Centre, an arts and cultural community center by the water. We went to a few shops, and then upstairs to the restaurant for refreshments. Gul and Rebecca eventually met us there. From here we took a cab to a Hare Krishna temple- the largest one in, surprise!, the Southern Hemisphere. It was quite far from the center of the city. We arrived in the middle of the service, took off our shoes, and sat on the floor with everyone else. When the service ended, people bowed on the floor as they left the temple, and we went further inside to get a better look. The decorations were beautiful- bright and colourful. A woman came up to us and began giving us a tour. She also gave us sweet Indian tea, the most delicious tea I've ever had. She invited us to dinner, but some of us felt intrusive, so we went to a nearby Indian restaurant (slash Indian clothing shop) called The Copper Chimney instead. I had curry, which is the spiciest thing I've ever had in my life. I don't think I'd ever had Indian food before. Once again, we hung out at the hostel that night and went to bed.

When we woke up the next morning, we had planned on going to the beach, but it was cold and rainy. So instead, we went to the Botanical Gardens, which were beautiful!!!! People kind of wandered off and did their own thing, but Larkin and I stayed together and had a lot of fun. Rebecca, Larkin and I had a quick bite to eat in the Tea Garden (scones and crumpets). We eventually met in the gift shop and then took a cab to Suncoast, where we had breakfast at Mugg & Bean. We then hopped on the People Mover to the Victoria Street Market again, but most of the shops were closed. Back at Suncoast, we went to two movies in a row becuase we didn't really feel like doing anything else that day. "The Last Legion" was intended to be an EPIC movie and was extremely hilarious because it was so awful. So awful. "Ratatouille," on the other hand, was amazing, and we're still quoting it now. Cape Town Fish Market lured us in once again, and I had Tempura for the first time. Yummy! We kind of had to hurry back to the hostel to get our luggage before heading to the bus station. The family we had stayed with was so wonderful, and they had a little boy about the same age as Zazu. The bus to Durban had been warm and pleasant, but this was not so for the trip back. It was freezing and uncomfortable, and we were much happier when we got back to Wits, even though it was 6 o'clock in the morning.


For lovely photos, please visit:

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