Durban
Trip Start
Jun 08, 2008
1
19
28
Trip End
Aug 15, 2008
Durban,
South Africa
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Woke up at 5:00 for a 5:30 game drive departure. But this time it was worth it, as I was able to see a couple of animals that I have never seen before, including two members of the "Ugly Five", the hyena (my least favorite animal), and the wild dog, which is rarer, and therefore usually more difficult to spot, than lions. In fact the wild dogs were the first animals that we saw and our guide told us that they looked lost. Their disorientation was our gain.
We returned to our camp at about 10:45 for brunch, followed by an 11:30 departure for Durban, the city with the most Indians outside of India. The drive was beautiful and the feeling as we approached Durban was Mediterranean, beach and vacation. We drove along the beachfront through the city and the old hotels there had a very British feel and look to them. The weather, though, was better than what they are used to in England.
Our accommodation at the Happy Hippo Backpacker's Lodge was the least nice of our accommodation so far on the tour as it is the first time that I didn't have my own bathroom. Normally I wouldn't complain about such a thing except this time I paid extra for an upgrade. So it seems that in this case the only thing that was high class was the price.
In spite of my spartan room, the staff at the lodge were extremely friendly and helpful - and the location was excellent - near a big aquarium (which was actually of little use to me), but with an attached shopping mall - which was useful to me. I first went for a haircut, which I have been needing for weeks already, and it seemed to have worked out okay. The young lady who cut my hair was, you guessed it, Indian - but not only has she never been to India, she has never left South Africa. In fact, I don't think she's been very far from Durban. When I told her that I live in Thailand, she asked me if it was in India. At least she admitted that geography was not her best subject in school. After my haircut I bought a South African SIM card for my phone, which will hopefully facilitate the making of accommodation reservations on the rest of my trip after this tour ends for me on the 31st of July in Port Elizabeth. As mentioned in the prologue of the report for this trip, I'll have 9 days after this tour ends before my flight returns to Bangkok on 09 August. And I'll be on my own again and therefore responsible for my own transport and accommodation again. I'm sure that having my own phone here will be a worthwhile investment - both for convenience as well as for safety.
In the evening, our group went to a seafood restaurant for dinner - the only meal of the trip that was not included in the package. It was nice to eat in a restaurant for a change although the food on the tour is about as good as I could wish for - and probably, for the most part, better than what I'm used to eating at home. I had my first beer of the trip now that I've finished taking my medicine for the respiratory infection that I had. Perhaps this was not the right night for my first beer as it is, as I mentioned, also the first night without my own bathroom. So when the inevitable call of nature comes, I'm going to have to make my way to the common bathroom about fifteen meters away.
Unlike on my previous (nightmare) tour, I have to say that the time is passing fairly quickly now (too quickly, in fact) and there is no other place that I would rather be at the moment. Each day brings new adventures and experiences and I am glad that I am getting to experience a more or less proper tour as a comparison. While this tour is not without its shortcomings - it is leagues ahead of the first tour that I took.
