Blogs from Shelly Beach, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Africa

Here we are, a little long overdue blog about our daily life at home in South Africa. Point to note, we do not live close to Cape Town, as this place is way too cold in the winter. Shelly Beach, our little village is 130km south of Durban...and yes, we live right on the beach! Even with our bedroom windows closed, we ear the waves 24/7! I have lived from 1996 to 2017 in Metropolis around the world, I name Saigon, Hong Hong, Shanghai, Bangkok and Buenos Aires. All of those were fun...full of life...with some great qualities...and way less nice points at some stage in our stay. Since early 2017....it's out of the crowds for us. So put 2020 in the Covid perspective...suddenly I'm happy to live away from the crowds! We all have our ... read more

Here we are, after speaking about it for years, we have moved! Our new home is right on the beach, some 130km south of Durban. Why here? Simple, the wine and food that South Africa is providing are amazing. This must be the best deal ever when it comes to play golf. I have 7 golf courses less than 45 minutes drive from home...at a quality/price ratio that cannot be beaten today, anywhere...in the world! But the best, is that every morning, I just have to cross the road in my wetsuit to get to the dive center! Yes, just crossing the road in my wetsuit...and that diving is just amazing. The pictures on the blog are just the best of the last 11 dives, trust me, it was not easy to chose the best ones! ... read more

I should have written this entry a while ago....but here it is...the last few weeks have been slightly on the run. Long amazing week-end diving with Tiffany....than 10 days between Lubumbashi and Kinshasa. If you have followed the news lately, let say that Congo is in the middle of a turmoil for the moment. So getting around is just a little more "interesting"...and not really for those without contacts to tell them....stay in...or yes, you can go around and venture outside of your hotel! Safe I stay....worked I did a lot...but as always around Africa....it's not because we see demonstrations on international television....that life doesn't continue the daily routine, just around the corner! Next went another week-end in KZN with Tiffany...another great sunny week-end...followed by few days around Bangkok, Phuket, Saigon...Bangkok...and now back in the lounge ... read more

I have no idea how to start to write this blog. Here we are in South Africa for the first three weeks of the school holidays. Yes, one more school year is over. Tiffany managed to get 8 Bs, 4 Cs and one D...for Leslie it's one A*, 3 As and 3 Bs. They are following the British International Curriculum, and let put it simply, they deserve their holidays...and I can be slightly proud of the way they did at school. As some say....with such results...you surely don't do everything wrong...smile! Leslie has three more years till University, and five for Tiffany....and we are already starting to make choices for the future. All this may sound pretty weird when a lot of my friends are deep in nappies! So first disclaimer...if everything is going fine, I'm ... read more

Voilà quelques années que je lorgne sur des plongées en Afrique du Sud. En grande partie grâce à Pierre-Alexandre que j'ai « virtuellement » rencontré sur ce blog et avec qui on s'échange des conseils de destination de plongée. Par hasard, il est aussi dans le coin quelques jours, alors c'est grâce à lui et avec lui que je découvre Protea Banks. Mais pas seulement, parce Catherine, ma copine rencontrée en Egypte et avec qui j'ai voyagé en Indonésie est aussi de la partie. Toutes les deux on est parties pour 3 semaines de vacances entre l'Afrique du Sud et le Mozambique. Notre « road-trip », avec notre petite Ford Figo démarre à Shelly Beach, petit bled au sud de Durban, pour des plongées plutôt sportives dans le bleu. Le courant est fort dans ces eaux, ... read more