Drakensberg - Durban: 208km/130km

Wednesday 3 March 2004

After a disciplined breakfast, where we get to chat with a Canadian girl on a sabbatical trip, we set out for Durban. We arrive around 11.30am at Gardens Guest House, where we are welcomed by Donna. It is a nice B&B in Berea, a fine neighbourhood. Alex, one of the owners of the Guest house gives us some tips for exploring the city, notably the Indian part of the centre. Indians came to Durban and Natal in large numbers during the 19th century to work on the sugar cane fields. We drive to Grey Street and park in a car park (or parkade) near Commercial Road. It is a very busy part of town with lots of small shops and street vendors. We especially notice the side walk "phone shops": a table, a couple of (very old) telephones, a battery and antenna and a counter is all they need to set up and help their clients making phone calls.  

We eat a curry at Little Gujarat. A super cheap and busy eatery with only vegetarian curries. We sit at long tables under strip lights rubbing shoulders with locals. The food is fine. We walk towards the Town Hall. Near the Town Hall is Tourist Junction, the tourist information office of Durban. The African Art Centre is based in the same building. It is an art gallery for African Art, where artists are present to explain their work. The Town Hall was built in 1910 a now houses the Natural Science Museum and the Durban Art Gallery. This art exhibition hall was known back in the 1970s as the first gallery in the country to exhibit black African Art. Via Smith Street we walk back towards the car. Smith Street is more affluent in outlook. We take the car to drive to the beach. The city beaches, also known as the Golden Mile, are wide and sandy with piers sticking into the sea, which are popular with anglers. In the water we see lots of surfers braving the waves. The Golden Mile has for a long time earned a reputation as "Muggers Mile",  where muggings by street children were the order of the day. The city has taken action and police and security officers regularly patrol the promenade. The parking lots are guarded by parking attendants living of tips. It is working, because beach and promenade are popular again and all but a few street children have disappeared. At night however - or so we are told - the beach is still not a very safe place to be on your own. We have a drink at Kool, where we have a good view of the beach and the surfers. 

We enjoy the rest of the afternoon in the garden and on the porch of the guest house and have tea with our hosts Alex en Murray, who run this comfortable and tastefully decorated B&B. At night we go for cocktails to the bar of the trendy and lively Bean Bag Bohemia in nearby Greyville. After drinks we go upstairs to have dinner. Very tasty, well prepared and original dishes (ostrich carpaccio, chicken and banana curry) served by a cute waiter. Then we drive to the Roman Lounge on Florida Road. This is very popular gay lounge bar, where all the gays seem to go. It is fairly busy on a Wednesday night. It is karaoke night and Belinda, the evenings hostess plays the keyboard and sings along with the volunteering singers, helping them through the difficult parts of the performance. Very enjoyable night. 

Weather: cloudy, but warm and humid. 28°C/82°F

Durban - Port Elizabeth: 75 minutes' flight

Thursday 4 March 2004

We rise early because we have a flight to catch this morning. Breakfast is served on the porch. With Murray's best regards we are on our way to the airport.  The drive to the airport is a smooth one going against rush hour traffic. At 9.25 we fly with South African Airways to Port Elizabeth. The catering is awful, but the flight with the small aircraft takes only 75 minutes. In PE we get, to Erik's delight, a Toyota Corolla as a rental car. 

We stay at Jutland Manor Guesthouse, nicely situated on a hill with a view of the ocean. We get a large room with a view. The woman who runs it is a bit nosy, but we manage to keep her at bay. We go to the beach, but before we dip in the water we have lunch in the Boardwalk centre, a mindless artificial eat emporium close to the beach. After that we make an  attempt at sunbathing, but the fierce wind is so strong that we end up getting sandblasted. I try a dive in the water that has a nice temperature and huge waves. After an hour we give up and go and relax at the poolside back at the guesthouse.

At night we have dinner at Natti Thai restaurant. A small eatery in downtown PE much like the Thai restaurant Blue Mekong in our home city of Rotterdam. Even the owners look much alike.  

Weather: sunny and warm (25°C/77°F), but very windy. 

Port Elizabeth - Storms River Village: 168km/105mi

Friday 5 March 2004

After breakfast we leave Jutland Manor guesthouse. We first drive to downtown Port Elizabeth where get some money at an ATM. Then we drive on in the direction of Cape Town via the N2. After a few miles the engine starts making a rattling sound. First we think the noise is part of the South African music played on the car radio, but soon we find out it is the engine after all. Just when we decide to turn back, the noise becomes even worse and suddenly the engine gives the ghost. We are stranded by the side of the motorway (about 8km outside PE) and indicators start blinking on the dashboard. The manual tells us that they mean "engine failure". That was clear to us already, as we could not get the engine started again. And that with a car with only 100 km on the clock. We call Sixt, the rental company, on our cell phone. After a short description of the situation we are told that a new car will be coming shortly. After merely 50 minutes a tow truck appears. The truck driver tells us that the replacement car is on its way. And true enough a few minutes later a Nissan Almera comes along with a guy from Sixt. After filling in a number of forms, the baggage can be moved and we are on our way again. We drive to Storms River Village, close to Tsitsikamma National Park. Here get a room at  The Armagh, a  project of Johan en Marion, who, after an  IT career in Cape Town,  decided to make a new start in life. As all the regular rooms are booked up we get a room in the attic or loft. Spacious but decorated with furniture reminding us of 1970s student digs. Johan the owner has written a booklet with the house rules and suggestions for a pleasant stay that may well keep you going for 3 days. Johan has plastered the hotel with notes carrying suggestions and rules - all laced with his own sense of "humour". Johan has strong ecological convictions, which why he suggests on one of his notes to shut down the shower while soaping your body. Showering for more than 10 minutes is frowned upon. The hotel is nicely situated in a beautiful garden and the other rooms, which have direct access to the garden seem to be fine. 

We have lunch in the guesthouse and drive to Tsitsikamma National Park. Tsitsikamma National Park exists of two parts: De Vasselot in the west and Storms River Mouth in the east. Both parts are not connected except for a walking trail. For Storms River Mouth we have to pay an entry fee. It is a beautiful spot with an rough sea charging against the rocks. We do the walk to the suspension bridge over the river mouth via a boardwalk. From there I go on, without Erik, to a viewpoint some 220 metres up the mountain. A stiff climb, but rewarded with a marvelous view of the coast. Within an hour I am back at the suspension bridge. We walk back over the board walk and have a drink at the park's restaurant. We drive back to Storms river village via the most beautifully located filling station in the country at the Storms River bridge. Here we take photos of the river's canyon. 

Later that night we have dinner at the guest house's restaurant (Rafters). It is an excellent buffet dinner and we order a nice Shiraz wine to go along with it.  

Weather: sunny but cool. A cold front is passing the south coast and temperatures have dropped 20-22°C/±70°F

Saturday 6 March 2004

We drive again to Storms River Mouth for a walk up the Otter Trail. It is a popular walking trail for a 5 day trek to Nature's reserve. Day visitors can walk the first 3 km to a waterfall and back. We start the walk optimistically. The first hour is fine, over paths along the coast, but then we get to rough patch, where the path stops and we have to climb over large chunks of rock. We try it for a bit but then get enough of it and turn back.   We pick up another trail that takes us through the coastal rainforest. Thick bushes and Tarzan like lianas hanging from gigantic Yellowwood trees. After another 90 minutes or so we are back at the car park. We have lunch at the park's restaurant and continue to Nature's Reserve in the De Vasselot part of the National Park. We take the old road, the R102 via the Bloukranspass, a beautiful route. In Nature's reserve we see a wonderful white sandy beach. The wind is terribly fierce, and sunbathing is out of the question, although some die-hards do try seeking shelter in the dunes. We drive back to Storms rivier village. We have company now in our room: a big mouse has moved in and is not prepared to let us catch him!

At night we have another good dinner in the guest house. '

Weather: sunny, 23°C/73°F