Durban (5-19)

Wednesday we left Drakensberg to head to Durban, my final stop on this tour. The first part of the trip went through the mountains and dairy country. 

We made two stops in Howick along the way. The first was the site at which the capture of Nelson Mandela as he was traveling on the road in 1962 is memorialized. There is a building with large boards depicting parts of his life. These will soon be housed in the new museum that is being built. 

After walking through the building, you walk down a long path to the bottom of the hill where there is an amazing sculpture of Mandela. It is a group of columns that, when looked at straight on, form Mandela’s face. It reminded me of the sculpture in Stellenbosch that used metal and shadows and lines to create Mandela’s face. 

How such images are created is wondrous to me. Being there seemed like a fitting end to that part of my journey, as I’d seen a few other Mandela sites: Robben Island, the prison he was in last, and the place where he gave his first speech as a free man.

The next stop was at a waterfall in town. We had a break there to look at the waterfall and walk around town, which is mostly tourist shops. 

I found a lovely, small print of a South African landscape. I hadn’t planned to purchase more art, but this one captured South Africa so well that it spoke to me.

We arrived in Durban in time for a late lunch at a restaurant on the beach. The wind was so fierce that walking along the beach wasn’t really enjoyable. For lunch I had a vegetarian bunny, curry served in hollowed out bread. I remembered that Megan had talked about this, and Matt had said it is one of Durban’s traditional foods. 

After lunch we checked in at the hotel where the campers were also accommodated so we could have a farewell dinner together. This must be a point at which people leave the group on a regular basis as the dinner is built into the itinerary. My room had a view of the ocean, which was nice even though it wasn’t spectacular due to the wind. 

After a few hours of free time, we went to a restaurant that specializes in local food. I had a delicious Moroccan style vegetable curry. It was nice to have vegetables—and no chicken—again. As part of the ambiance, a small wax design was painted on our faces.

Thursday morning Anke and I took the shuttle to the airport together. There we hung out until time for her flight, which was nice as she was one of the people I enjoyed. The rest of the day was spent on two planes and at the Johannesburg airport.