The night before our arrival in Durban had been stormy enough for the captain to issue a warning late at night advising us to secure heavy and fragile objects, and to refrain from moving around the ship. 50 knot winds and 5 metre swells meant not only were we tossed about, but we travelled on quite a lean. Bring it, I say! As a result, Durban loomed up out of the gloom at sunrise, as the storm clouds receded, and a pink sun broke through. The city has the largest port in the southern hemisphere, with a lot of industry going on within its confines. In particular, the world’s biggest sugar works. Continuing on past the port brings you to the city’s Golden Mile - a long stretch (a mile perhaps) of golden, sandy beach with big rollers crashing in, the shore lined with high-rise buildings.
I didn’t get to see much of Durban as I spent most of my time at the Tala Game Reserve, about an hour’s drive from the city. As we drove out of the city I caught glimpses of magnificent Victorian buildings, such as the old railway station, the post office, and the town hall which was comparable to the Victoria Railway Station in Mumbai. Most of the buildings however, were non-descript 1970‘s-type blocks. Durban’s population is only 2% white, and I must say I didn’t see a single white face on the streets.
Durban is in Natal Province, also known as the Garden State due to its greenery. We traveled through rolling hills to the Tala Valley. Lots of eucalyptus (introduced from Australia), and aloe vera at a lower level. The small holdings in the countryside seems to consist either of sugar cane, or poultry farms. Battery farming on a level that would have the Greenies in fits - maybe that’s why all the farms are fenced with razor wire.
The game reserve was quite beautiful and immaculately presented. The main lodge and out-buildings were thatch-roofed and set in perfect gardens. We were presented with pungent coffee, rooibus tea, and cafe-quality berry muffins before being whisked away on our safari vehicles - open air trucks that seated about 20. I was thrilled with my seat on the outer edge and had great views at all times. The reserve looked huge, but is small by game reserve standards. It was hilly, but also had open expanses with long grass, and acacia trees scattered everywhere. There was a small lake full of hippos, but the pride of the reserve is the seven white rhino. We were lucky enough to see them all in a cluster right out on an open field. They were sitting down, but all facing outwards looking for danger. They didn’t have anything to worry about. No big cats here, and no elephants (there are none in Natal). We saw so much game though. Here is a list: giraffe, impala, kudu, zebra, ostrich, wart hogs, wildebeest, eland, hippo, rhino and gnu. Each time there was a spotting we would turn the engine off and sit and watch, take photos, generally ooooh and arhhhh. We got very close to most of it, except the rhino, because, you know - they can kill us.
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