Globe Trekking with KB2: July 2010

Friday, July 23 – Keith awoke not feeling his best – it seemed that something had gotten a hold of him and was attacking him from both ends. It was a slow and lazy start for us. On the way to Durban we had decided to take a 45 minute or so detour to spend the night on the Wild Coast in a town called Coffee Bay. My Lonely Planet describes the Wild Coast as the following: “The hauntingly beautiful Wild Coast is aptly named. With its rugged cliffs plunging into the sea, the remote sandy beaches, rural villages and a history of shipwrecks and stranded sailors, it is a place for action and adventure.” Though it seemed like a great idea, it ended up being more of a bad dream. Once we ventured off the N2 (the main road), we had to our best to avoid wandering livestock and people – even worse, a good portion of the road was covered with horrible potholes. We thought it would never end. Every time we would round a corner or top a hill, the road just seemed to go on and on. Finally 1 ½ hours after turning off the main road and Keith doing all he could to keep it together, we made to Coffee Bay. We checked into our hotel, the best of the bunch (which really wasn't saying much). The views and beach were spectacular, though probably not worth all that we had traveled. The big attraction in the area is the Hole in the Wall, a rock formation with a natural hole that was created by the pounding waves. Keith and I set out again, on a seemingly endless drive, on an unpaved road, way worse than the road we had taken in and a road clearly not fit for our little Kia (or even an ox-cart) to see this great attraction. We did finally make to the parking spot, despite there not being one sign for Hole in the Wall. We paid a couple of local kids to walk to the rock and again, although the rock formation was impressive, it was hardly worth all that we had traveled. After visiting the rock we bumped and rattled back to our hotel, went for a nice walk on the beach and had some dinner. Keith still was not feeling well and we called it an early night.

Saturday, July 24 – We were up bright an early. Keith was still not feeling his best and neither of us could wait for the drive to Durban to be over. It had been a fitful night for both of us, though Keith more so than me. It was a long and boring seven plus hour drive to Durban. As an aside, the driving is a bit scary in South Africa as people and animals roam freely. Many people drive way too fast and pass blindly – needless to say Keith and I were excited to finally make it to Durban. We checked into our timeshare, a spot located right on the beach but in a somewhat shady part of town. Our place was big (a two bedroom), but dated. After unpacking and parking the car, we went for a stroll down the beach. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Ushaka, a huge marine park with lots of shops and restaurants, was right around the corner. We grabbed a late lunch and then headed back to our home. Keith still wasn't feeling his best and we decided to have a low-key night.

Sunday, July 25 – Today Keith and I celebrated our 7th year anniversary, yeah us! We slept in and had a lazy morning. It was wonderful. The weather was beautiful (though a bit windy) and we set off after breakfast to walk the beachfront. It was a nice walk all along the beach. There were lots of restaurants, piers, sand sculptures, etc. It sort of reminded us of South Beach, though not quite as nice. We walked for several hours, checking out the Casino, the Moses Mabhida Stadium (where they held several of the World Cup matches), a couple of flea markets and a shopping area called the Workshop (where we did some grocery shopping). We hopped a taxi home (after we had already walked through some very shady areas) and relaxed for a bit. We then headed out to have cocktails and apps out on one of the piers as we watched the surfers and the sunset.

Monday, July 26 – Today we did a little more exploring around Durban and the nearby area. After breakfast we headed off to Victoria Street Market – a market with roughly 160 stalls selling all kinds of crafts. It seemed to be in yet another seedy area of town but the people were very nice. Keith made a few purchases and then we headed off to Umhlanga, a town about 15 minutes north of Durban. The waterfront at Umhlanga was lined with high-end resort buildings and the area was much nicer than our spot in Durban. Keith and I strolled along the water for a bit and then headed for the Gateway Theatre of Shopping, the mother of all shopping malls. The Gateway was impressive. We had a delicious lunch, Keith got a much needed haircut and we finished up our grocery shopping. We then headed back to our home away from home in Durban.

Tuesday, July 27 – Today we off on a road trip to the Drakensberg Mountains. The Drakensberg Mountains separate South Africa from the small country of Lesotho and are supposed to be quite picturesque. It was a 2 ½ hour drive to the town of Underberg, at the base of the mountains. We spent the next few hours exploring the area. Unfortunately we weren't able to cross into Lesotho as the pass required a 4-wheel drive vehicle, but we did check out Garden Castle, a beautiful area of the mountains where Keith and I had a lovely picnic and a short hike. The mountains were beautiful. We stopped at a “cheesery” on the way home and picked up some delicious Underberg cheese. We had another 2 ½ hour drive back to Durban. It had been a wonderful day, though both Keith and I were very happy to make it home.

Wednesday, July 28 – Today was a wonderfully relaxing day – just what we needed after spending all day the day before in the car. We decided to check out Ushaka – the huge marine world next door to us and one of Durban's major attractions. The weather was beautiful and it was a great way to spend the day. Ushaka was a fun-filled park complete with one of the world's largest aquariums, the biggest collection of sharks in the southern hemisphere, a seal stadium, a dolphin stadium, a lazy river, multiple water slides and multiple pools. Keith and I thoroughly enjoyed our day taking in all Ushaka had to offer.

Thursday, July 29 – Today was a big driving day. We were on the road by 6:05 am, bound for Swaziland. It was going to add a bit more driving time to our itinerary, but both Keith and I wanted to see the country. The forecast had called for rain all the way up the coast, but somehow Keith and I managed to stay ahead of the rain and only hit a few sprinkles coming out of Durban. The drive was pretty uneventful other than a few spots of construction and a couple of unpleasant unpaved roads. We hit the border by 12:30 pm and passed through without much commotion. We made it to the lovely Ezulwini Valley, found a fabulous place to stay (complete with a pool and a casino) and spent the rest of the day relaxing.