Out and about in Durban

30 Nov. 12

We went to gateway, the shopping centre that is reputed to be the largest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere. At gateway we planted another tap root in the form of a suit. I haven’t owned a suit for as long as I can remember, but now, I will need one to go for interviews so our second tap root was planted.

Yesterday we drove to the lion park about fifty kilometres from Durban. We managed to get some stunning photos of a fairly tame rhinoceros, some elephants and of course the lions. On the way back we decided to stop at the valley of the thousand hills. The view was great but our camera just isn’t good enough to capture the image that meets your eyes. I believe that highways are a bit like using cheat codes to play computer games so we turned away from the highway and onto a twisty windy back road. Our map book did not have this road on it, but I decided that we would find our way back anyway. We drove along for about an hour through a township with thousands of people everywhere. Eventually we started getting nervous and decided to stop and ask for directions. I called some young teenage boys across and asked them where this road goes to. They stood talking amongst each other in Zulu. Only one of them could speak a few words in English so he would rattle off to his friends and they would rattle back to him shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders. They seemed to take turns pointing in opposite directions and eventually we figured that we weren’t getting any help here so continued forward in the same direction. About another hour later the road made a small circle and ended. I have heard the song by Talking Heads, road to nowhere, but never thought much about it. Now at least we know what is at the end of that road. We did eventually find our way back, using the cheat codes.

04 Dec. 12

My mother, stepfather and some of their grandkids came down to Amamzimtoti for the week so we spent the last three days visiting them in their flat. One of the many things that are missing when you live on a boat is a bath so being able to use their bath was like a breath of fresh air. They are unfortunately still experiencing problems with my siblings, their children, and thus my brothers and sister. I feel sorry for them having to deal with such issues at this time in their lives.

Strike action on route to Toti

On a positive note, Amy has finished her exams and completed her bachelors’ degree in marketing. I haven’t made any progress towards finding employment yet but it is still on the agenda.