Gumtree Lodge Durban

I'm spending 2 more nights in Durban with a nice couple I found on couchsurfing.org. Margaret is an environmental consultant working on transportation issues for the city of Durban, and Gavin is a professional clown. They've given me a private guest room and various rides around town, which is great because public ...

... America. Did not really have time to mingle with the Americans as had sorted out a city walking tour and township tour. A real eye opener going to a township, makes you realize that what we complain about is not really worth complaining about. Meet a really cool woman from the library who is trying to get all the kids and adults educated in numerous ways by enticing them to come to the library through ingenious schemes. She was a real awesome person who is trying to change ...

... are in theory a great idea, because ARVs have certain side-effects people need to be aware of and also because HIV is a constantly mutating virus so consistency with the drugs is essential to prevent the virus from becoming resistant. OK, sorry for the bio lesson, but it's pretty interesting right? We waited in the living room while gogo Gloria changed a bandage, and then we went in and basically just tried to chat with ...

South Africa is really... white. Durban is dangerous at night and there
is a huge mall. They have blackouts every day for two hours at two in
the afternoon, and even the malls shut down.

... say, she wasn't able to make it to our meeting as the police had the entire area corded off. One of the teachers told me that one of her 4- or 5-year-old students told her that he saw a man get shot in Cato Manor over the three-week school holidays which ended last week. My supervisor told me that I will have learned more in the four play therapy sessions with these children than I would have learned in a ...

... group for the kids in the Prevention Program at iThemba Lethu two years ago for her psychiatric community service requirement at the university and was already a part of the clinic so everything would remain inside the clinic. I was disappointed as it seemed to be my only opportunity to do any work at the clinic for the time being at least as Anna didn't mention about my going to the clinic with her again. I was supposed to move into my new flat on ...

Swaziland is now behind me and the rest of South Africa is now ahead. My next stop was a place called Hluhluwe. Bet you can't guess how you pronounce that name. Its not even close to how it sounds. In Zulu the letters hl are pronounces sh. So the name of this place is Shu-shul-we. There is a game reserve nearby called Hluhluwe-Umfolozi and it took me ages to get the pronounciation right. My South African friend Dom laughed every time I attempted to ...

After Mozambique and Swaziland I went back into South Africa and stayed in St Lucia for a few days. It was really nice there, the sun was shining and there was a lot going on. I'm now heading into more 'surfer' territory so there are more shops for me to be tempted by!
In St Lucia I went to the beach, hitched a lift to Cape Vidal (the local holiday spot with great snorkelling), saw hippos roaming the streets at night (not something I can say I think I'll ever ...

... larger than the Asian Elephant). These mammals have very strong social bonds and live in family groups headed by a female (called a cow). Males (called bulls) occasionally join the group. Elephants are excellent swimmers. Elephants have few natural enemies except man, and they are in danger of extinction due to loss of habitat and poaching (they are killed for their ivory tusks). I knew that book I bought from duty free ...

... he thought he needed a new professional direction and began working in a restaurant to learn the business. But after a year, he'd had enough. He realized he had made a big mistake. That's when he set up shop. He swiftly, expertly handles the fabric of the dress I have brought in. In between the whirring of the sewing machine, we talk of traveling, careers and my long-time goal to live and work in Africa before he reveals his biggest dream. "I want to go to Italy ...