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Published: June 26th 2017
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Geo: -21.0326, 55.2351
This was our
last stop in South Africa. Durban is an even larger port than Port Elizabeth.
We came in a little late as the pilot was tardy in arriving. He flew in by
helicopter. We watched the sail in from our balcony. We docked and were free to
get off about 9am.
We had
planned to get a taxi from the pier and go into the city. However, we found
confusion on the wharf. There was a long line of people waiting for taxis and
none in sight. We decided to buy a ticket on the ship shuttle bus which was taking
passengers to Ushaka Marine Park, located on “The Golden Mile”, a stretch of
beach leading to the Football Stadium which was built for the World Cup. The
Marine Park was housed in a large complex containing shops, restaurants and
various animal enclosures. We walked through and out onto a beautiful stretch
of white sandy beach.
After the compulsory jetty walk we strolled along the beachfront. At the Marine Park a huge group of young people from Varsity College were having a great time . Some kind of Uni Orientation I suspect. We stopped at the Surf Riders café for coffee and to use the Internet. Managed to
connect but not very strong so I couldn't upload photos. After a while there we walked on. There are several different beaches here and they seemed segregated. Near the Marine Park there were almost exclusively white people swimming. Further along on South Beach it was predominantly black. There were lifesavers at both spots and people were swimming between the flags.
There were not many cafes right on the beach so for lunch we crossed the road and went to the Garden Court Hotel. Here we had excellent fish and chips with a nice white wine. Well dined we returned along the beach front. It was a very warm day and we paused frequently in as much shade as we could find. Another brief stop at the café again but still no improvement in the connection so it was back to the Marine Park and a browse through the shops. We then caught the shuttle bus back to the ship. A quiet day but still enjoyable.
Then we had three days at sea before reaching Reunion. This was mainly taken up with quizzes (we won another one!) eating (I've put on too much weight) and good company. We watched a couple of
movies including Kingsman which we enjoyed and started playing Shuffleboard, which is fun. The main excitement was our Princess Pop Choir concert which was held yesterday. We had a huge audience and though the first song was a little shaky, we sang the rest with gusto and got a standing ovation!! Best of all, Renee, our conductor, organised free champagne after as a well done. We are starting to look forward now to getting home. It has been a wonderful trip but I certainly am missing family and friends. 9 days now to go.
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