From Durban to the Wild Coast or 4 Monkeys sitting on the bed

On our way to Leisure Bay we stopped at the famous waffle house where they serve all sorts of main dished on waffles. This was Andrew's chicken curry on waffles. A little strange I will admit.

Written March 31, 2011

Chinsa, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 7 am with a view of the ocean

We left Durban to drive to a small town on the “Hibiscus Coast” of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Leisure Bay. We picked a B&B based on the fact it had an outdoor shower and we love outdoor showers. I know, sensible. The drive from Durban to “Leisure Bay” wasn’t too scary, but we did pass an accident with a fatality, and that got me brooding. I could see a lot about this accident, enough to know that the fatality was a pedestrian, a male, who was walking on the highway, probably trying to cross it. We were in Durban while that city was hosting a national Road Safety Summit, it is about time. What a task to get this country’s roads safe for both people and cars.

We arrived at our B&B expecting to find a couple, probably retired or close to it, but instead found a family. Out hosts, Libby and Mick, are a couple and they are somewhat retired, but Libby’s daughter Jax lives there with her family. Among other things, having a family around meant that I got to watch part of the Jonas Brothers TV show on the Disney channel. It was even more painful to watch than I had expected. That afternoon we went swimming in the ocean. Andrew has discovered that jumping backwards into the waves is really fun. I think he looks like a spawning salmon when he does it.

That evening we drove to the only “town” nearby to get some food at a local place, “Susie Can’t Surf”. We asked, but no one could tell us who Susie was, nor, why she couldn’t surf. The short local drive felt more precarious than the drive from Durban. The road was filled with people. It was wet. It was getting dark, and then darker. There is no shoulder on the road. Even with all of these factors cars still drive really really fast. Our tensions frayed. We arrived back at the B&B to find the family around the dinner table. Libby invited us to join them saying, “we planned your trip.” this was good news since we had not yet bothered to plan our drive to Cape Town other than to buy some maps. We had planned on getting her advice in the morning. They had a notebook and road maps and a little makeshift calendar.

The conversation moved to our terror with the roads. I started complaining. It is so hard to drive, there are so many people, they don’t show up in the dark, what if they are drunk and wander around? Finally Libby said, “Well, at least they are on the roads. At least they can be there. Back in the bad old days the roads were clear at 6 pm because they had a curfew. I would rather have to drive carefully than have the roads be empty of people.” Good point. Excellent point. It is all about where you start from, isn’t it? I started in San Francisco, where we have sidewalks and pedestrian overpasses. We (San Francisco) also have one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in the country. A fact I find horrifying and frustrating. I forgot where South Africa was coming from. This country, more than any other we have visited so far, reminds me that transportation is a social justice issue. South Africa is a car country, you need a car to do most things, but most people don’t have a car. There is a great mismatch, which of course is a legacy of Apartheid. I wish the delegates at that road safety conference good luck, they are going to need it.

We stayed sitting around the family table, drinking a bottle of wine, for hours. We heard about what district 6 was like before the Apartheid government bulldozed it. Both Libby and Mick had worked there during their medical training. We finally shuffled off to bed slightly tipsy and very happy.

Hiking (umm, walking?) trail along the beach

The next morning however, I was very aware of all the wine I drank. It is the long conversations around a dinner table that always get me in trouble. We ate breakfast on the veranda and watched as both the granddaughters came out to throw their arms around Mick, kiss his cheek and talk to him about their day. There are some clear benefits to living with your grandchildren. Also, the B&B has some friendly monkeys. Too friendly apparently. I did not witness this myself, but before we arrived a monkey broke into the house via our room and went to the kitchen for a snack. A few weeks ago Libby went into another bedroom to find 4 monkeys sitting on the bed, just chilling. What is that rhyme about Monkeys and beds again???

The whole family gathered to help us with the car

It was once again time to take to the road. We packed our bags in the trunk, said our goodbyes, pulled the car out of the garage and sigh, noticed the flat tire. DAMN CARS. We pumped the tire and drove around “town” trying to find someone who could fix it. It was Sunday and everything was closed. We called Mick and Libby and said, we are coming back for second night. We unpacked, and slightly grumpy tried to make the best of our extended stay. It wasn’t until we borrowed the grandkids boogie boards that our mood truly lifted. Andrew gave up his spawning action for enthusiastic wave riding. We walked out of the water exhausted, out of breath, happy and needing a shower (outdoor shower no less). That night we ate dinner with Mick and Libby and, thank god, they even served us vegetables. As a general rule South Africans like their fire-cooked meat and sausage or their deliciously fried fish. Yummy veggies are hard to find and I was beginning to despair.

The next morning was a Monday. The garages were open. It took about 15 minutes and cost 50 rand (about 7 dollars) to get the tire fixed. Finally we were on our way. My complaints about perilous driving took on a whole new level when several hours later we turned off the main highway onto a local road in a former “Bantustan” or “independent homeland” from back in the bad old days. This area has been described as a dumping ground for everyone the Apartheid labor system didn’t need and didn’t want to take responsibility for. It is rural and the roads are really crummy. It is also stunningly beautiful with rolling green hills dotted with circular rondovals (tranditional homes) painted bright colors.

A few rondovals to give you an idea of the area

At least, I had read it was stunningly beautiful. On Monday afternoon we didn’t notice the beauty. We didn’t dare look up from the road to notice it. The road is old, filled with potholes, filled with kids and filled with livestock. Also, it was pouring rain. Only lighting would have made it a harder drive, and then there was lighting. I should say, I never feared people would try to hurt us, just that we would inadvertently hurt them.

Can you see a storm brewing?

When we finally arrived at our destination, Coffee Bay, we were greeted with sunshine and a cove with a stunning beach. Basically, it looked a hell of a lot like Big Sur, except the only buildings you could see was our hotel perilously perched on the cliff and a few traditional homes. Also, there were cows on the beach (for real, cows, on the actual beach).

Our front deck with dinner, breakfast and reading table

Andrew, coming down from the drive

I expected it to take Andrew a while to come down from that drive. He did the whole thing himself, and it was intense. Surprisingly, a beer, a view and a dog to pet cure most of Andrew’s problems, and he was smiley and happy by the time I checked us in. He says we traveled so far, in such precarious conditions that we really earned the isolation and the beach.

View from out deck the night of the storm

That night we were treated to a violent and bright thunder and lightening storm. It cut the power early in the evening so we made dinner by candle light and found ourselves in bed before 9. In the middle of nowhere with no light there isn’t much else to do but sleep. We lay in bed and counted the lighting strikes

“1, 2, 3, STRIKE, 1, 2 Strike, 1, 2, Strike, 1,2, 3, Strike.” We counted until we got bored and we never got past 3.

Alas mosquitos got us all night long (the lack of electricity meant there was no fan to keep them away) and I woke up looking like I was back in the throws of puberty with red marks all over my face. Andrew counted 15 bites on my shoulder. Thank god this is not a malarial place.

It really looks like that

We hiked along the beach and spent the afternoon staring at the water and swimming. All in all, quite good. The next morning we said goodbye to the beach. The next challenge was getting from Coffee Bay to our next destination.

Oh, and as we drove back out from the coast to the main highway we had a very different experience than our way in. The kids were in school. It wasn’t raining. Man, it was gorgeous. We passed through rolling valleys dotted with traditional homes. The pot holes (proper pronunciation, po-tho-le) were still formidable, however. We wanted a little African adventure. That was enough for me.