The Balmoral Hotel Durban

... little bit and the area my grandparents live by the beach. Our guide, Dina, began by giving us this really delicious Afrikans doughnut like thing that is bread dropped into hot oil then soaked in syrup. I have realized that many of you probably don't understand what an Afrikans person is. A person who is Afrikans has descended from the Dutch colonists that settled here in South Africa many years ago ...

... tourist (well she looked so German to me) and a group of people on their cigarette break outside what appeared to be a bank I think. I really have the impression that it is really difficult for the blacks to get access to the best jobs and that the best paid jobs are occupied by the whites. You very often see a white boss with black employees but I have not yet seen the other way around. I am just trying to get an understanding as to how post-Apartheid South Africa ...

... added “God is in control so there will be no problems, if you don’t believe in God, ask me to slow down and I will” I was not sure how to take that really J and he finished off by saying that we will arriving in Durban “at 10pm African Time”.


The drive was bumpy at times and I was literally ejected 3-4 inches off my seat. We drove through a village where I saw a guy ...

... we were in a group of 6 we were given our own cottage, equipped with our own washroom, shower, and kitchen. This hostel wasn't like most backpackers, it was mainly filled with the owners extended family. Keith, the owner was a ex pat from the UK and has been living in Durban for the past 17 years. He runs the hostel just as a part time job as he is retired. Real down to earth guy and very friendly. That night we all pitched in and made a really yummy pasta and ...

... for the night. In the morning we continued on our journey for about 8 hours or so, stopping in the surf town of Jeffrey's Bay, then finally making it to Durban the following night. We saw lovely country landscapes along the way, tons of animals, and sadly, a lot of 'shanty towns'- villages of shacks made out of scrap metal and random materials ...

... Africa. It was my first time seeing a marimba played as well. Last week I had the opportunity to accompany a social worker, Mandisa, and social work auxiliary, Primrose, from Christian Social Services (CSS) on a One Stop community outreach event in Ntshongweni, a rural township outside Durban. The One Stop was an interesting experience. Unfortunately, they spoke with all the clients in Zulu, but they did stop to tell me ...

... Hubbly Bubbly but rather from drinking himself silly, Andrew, myself and Fiona feeling very sick from too much kiwi and lemon, Kirsten hyper active once again on energy rather than anything else and Kenneth was... well... boring and was nearly asleep on the couch! It was a crazy night that surprisingly enough ended quite early!!! It was a surprise to wake up and find that it was already 10am and by the time everyone realised I was supposed to be ...

... sweep you out to sea so it is dangerous, so we didnt even get in the water this morning. AHHH, the agony, the one thing i wanted to do while in SA was catch big fish out of a kayak. I even came back early today(20th) from the bergs to try again but while i was gone a high tide and high wind kicked up a 7.5 METER surf that destroyed much of the eastern seaboard, no fishing. Tomorrow i should have some pictures up of the same beach but you will see the difference.

... also went to sleep, 6 of us sleeping soundly till the *wonderful rooster crowed at 0500. Was it profound trust or a simple understanding that these two strangers could spend a peaceful evening with hosts speaking a different language, from a culture miles apart from our own and in a village hours away from our sense of "civilization"? Sunday morning we set out for our (long) ride to Durban. Since we were holed up on the Baz Bus from 1500 until 2315, we did not expect any ...