patriciawatt

Mossel Bay, Durban & Richard’s Bay

Once again I was lucky to get around the cape with very good weather. Fair weather and calm seas have been the hallmarks of this cruise so far. Sailing up the east coast of Africa we have stops in Mossel Bay, the smallest commercial harbour on the South African coast.

Durban is a city I have visited a couple of times previously, so I did not do any tours here. But I do know that near here is the site where Nelson Mandela was captured.

Our next port is Richard’s Bay located in KwaZulu-Natal and has one of the country’s largest harbours. From here I was able to drive the one and a half hours to Bushlands at the Hluhluwe Game Reserve. I drove this road back in 1988 when I was travelling with my friend Jen Snyder and while she visited with her mother in Durban, I went to the game park, stayed at Bushlands which was run by a young South African couple. He picked me up in Durban in his pickup truck and was supposed to take me back after my week at the camp. But South Africa was in the finals of the world soccer the day I was supposed to leave. So he talked to another guest who had his own private plane and arranged that I fly back with them. It was an exciting flight following the coast line all the way back to Durban and much more interesting from a different angle. I learned that the husband passed on some years ago and more recently the wife sold Bushlands. But it was nice to drive around the area and reminisce. At the time they were just starting to plant eucalyptus trees in the area for their wood, because they grow so quickly. The problem is they also use major amounts of water and the water table in the area was being affected and the people were objecting to the trees. Today I saw acres and acres more eucalyptus trees planted so it obviously didn’t stop the planting, and our guide told me people are still objecting.