Day 34
Durban
Woke up this morning to a sunrise over Durban, South Africa as we pulled into port.
The bus tour guide to the game reserve today was much easier to understand than yesterday’s. Better microphone/speakers and a less-thick accent. It took about an hour to get out to the Tala Game Reserve, much of which I slept through because I was up at 4 AM finishing yesterday’s entry. Unlike yesterday’s late afternoon trek, this one started before 7 AM. Because of the time and the fact that it’s Sunday, the DBD (Durban Business District) was eerily quiet.
As you can probably tell by the photos, Durban is a large city, around 4.5 million people.
But this is about the critters again today. We arrived at the game reserve to find that it was substantially different than yesterday’s. The one yesterday was larger by 1000 hectares and in the middle of nowhere. Thick brush made it difficult to find the animals. Not so here. Originally farmland, this reserve sits right on the highway, with still-existing farms on the other side, so you’ll notice in a lot of the photos, there will be wild animals with farmland in the background. The good thing about all of that is the grass wasn’t overgrown and the animals were much easier to find.
Like yesterday, this is an herbivore reserve, so these animals roam freely without any natural predators. Unlike yesterday, this reserve isn’t big enough to be allowed to have elephants. I’m sorry we wouldn’t see any, but I’m thrilled that South Africa has strict standards on how their wildlife is treated, even in a reserve. So 3000 hectares (7500 acres) is too small for elephants. Doesn’t matter, because with one exception mentioned later, we had no trouble at all finding wildlife to look at.
We also spotted the most dangerous creature in the world: a human being. This one is doing a good thing, though, keeping watch over the rhinos to protect them from poachers.
Rhino horn is used in traditional Asian medicine, particularly in China and Vietnam. It fetches high prices on the black market, so poachers are willing to risk being shot themselves to get some. Obviously rhinos aren’t keen on having their horns removed, so the poachers kill them first. Rhinos are in danger of being hunted to extinction. Like yesterday, these rhinos have had their horns removed out of caution to deter the poachers, but the horns, like fingernails, grow back eventually.
Zebra, wildebeest, impala, nyala, ostrich… all out on the grassy areas and easy to spot.
There were two other animals left to see, but we had to drive around awhile to spot them. The hippo were elusive, even though the driver had a good idea where they’d be hanging out. We saw ears, eyes, and nostrils.
The other was giraffes. Our guide drove to all the acacia groves (their favourite snack) but there weren’t any hanging around. Giraffe hang out together when they want to, and wander around solo when they don’t. Perhaps the lack of sightings meant that if we find one, we’ll find more than one. The guide stopped and pointed to a ridge far away. Even with the zoom lens, it was hard to make out what we were seeing, but the guide said, “there’s one!”
He put the truck in reverse and backed up to the last intersection of jeep tracks and off we went, down and across a valley, then up onto the ridge. The single head we saw sticking up wasn’t a loner. Apparently, lots of giraffes were in the mood to hang out together today. We counted as many as 14 - nine are in the photo below.
Back on the bus for the ride to the ship. On the way, we passed Durban City Hall, which is a copy of the one in Belfast, Ireland.
A rather lengthy metal detector queue meant that was saw more of the new (2021) Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal than we’d have liked, but it was a nice terminal, anyway.
There was a fish-n-chips extravaganza at the pool deck tonight. As usual, chef and his team created a memorable spread.
We headed to the World Café, where Rob ordered the fish-n-chips, which they brought to the table at the buffet….
I took full advantage of the buffet instead, having a taste of penne carbonara, a salmon poke bowl (spicy!), and a metric tonne of sushi, followed by a milk tart and a cappuccino panna cotta. The poke bowl wasn’t what I’d really call a poke bowl, but I’m sorry I didn’t have it earlier on the trip, because it was freaking delicious and I would have it again and again. New friend Tom from Palm Springs CA joined us near the end of the meal and we had a nice time.
The evening show tonight was four of the Viking musicians playing classical music. It was very, very good.
Even though we spent most of the day on safari and didn’t get much into town, I’m happy to be in this part of the world, because of the cultural, musical, and artistic gifts this area has given to the world. Ladysmith isn’t far from Durban, and Ladysmith Black Mamabazo is practically a force of nature - a rare entity that produces music with no instruments and is both soothing and exciting at the same time. Extraordinary, multi-Grammy winning awesomeness. If you are unfamiliar with them, grab a cuppa and enjoy.
That’s it for today - more critters tomorrow!