Experienced the real Joburg traffic when trying to get to airport to fly to Durban. In what can take 20min when no traffic, took 2hrs! Traffic is absolutely shocking on a Friday afternoon- especially when there is rain & thunder forecasted.
Arrived at Durban airport, and drove north 50km to Bollito (in the province of Kwazulu-Natal) - lovely seaside resort. There were a total of 14 people- all Hatch employees & some partners. 2 houses were rented. Awesome
weekend.
We left the rain & thunderstorms of Joburg and were greeted by a weekend of sun and 30c by the Indian Ocean. Lots of swimming, sunbaking, beachtime, eating and drinking followed.
The town was basically deserted- at the pub we were one of the main groups there. I’m told that sometimes the dolphins swim and frolic less than 50m from the beach shore- unfortunately we did not see any.
On Saturday night we ditched Aussie BBQ and tried the traditional SA Braai. Coals are used to cook the meat. It takes
around 1hr for the coals to heat up- then a similar amount of time for the meat to cook. Whilst I love BBQ’s, the smoked flavour of the meat from the braai was delicious. No flavour or sauces required.
We drove through the city of Durban to return to the airport. Quite an adventure- definitely felt the need to lock the doors and keep the car in gear at all times. The town hall was stunning European architecture- apparently a ‘mock’ of the Dublin town hall. We then drove along the beachfront- the few tourists we did see walking along the shore must be brave…
I have been told that you must trust no one in South Africa. This is quite difficult to adopt and practice. We passed a group of ‘blacks’ (also an accepted term in South Africa) who were singing and lazing around on the side of the road. A few of us feared for our lives…. Feel bad when they are probably just friendly, innocent people.
Crime is supposedly the worse in Durban- whilst I’m sure the surrounding suburbs would be nice- I don’t think I would return in a hurry to see the city centre!
Bollito was a lovely sea-side resort (very similar feel to Portsea in Victoria) and offered stunning views of the Ocean- definitely a place to return to for a weekend during summer. A lot of fun with a great bunch of people.
Arrived at Durban airport, and drove north 50km to Bollito (in the province of Kwazulu-Natal) - lovely seaside resort. There were a total of 14 people- all Hatch employees & some partners. 2 houses were rented. Awesome
weekend.We left the rain & thunderstorms of Joburg and were greeted by a weekend of sun and 30c by the Indian Ocean. Lots of swimming, sunbaking, beachtime, eating and drinking followed.
The town was basically deserted- at the pub we were one of the main groups there. I’m told that sometimes the dolphins swim and frolic less than 50m from the beach shore- unfortunately we did not see any.
On Saturday night we ditched Aussie BBQ and tried the traditional SA Braai. Coals are used to cook the meat. It takes
around 1hr for the coals to heat up- then a similar amount of time for the meat to cook. Whilst I love BBQ’s, the smoked flavour of the meat from the braai was delicious. No flavour or sauces required.We drove through the city of Durban to return to the airport. Quite an adventure- definitely felt the need to lock the doors and keep the car in gear at all times. The town hall was stunning European architecture- apparently a ‘mock’ of the Dublin town hall. We then drove along the beachfront- the few tourists we did see walking along the shore must be brave…
I have been told that you must trust no one in South Africa. This is quite difficult to adopt and practice. We passed a group of ‘blacks’ (also an accepted term in South Africa) who were singing and lazing around on the side of the road. A few of us feared for our lives…. Feel bad when they are probably just friendly, innocent people.
Crime is supposedly the worse in Durban- whilst I’m sure the surrounding suburbs would be nice- I don’t think I would return in a hurry to see the city centre!
Bollito was a lovely sea-side resort (very similar feel to Portsea in Victoria) and offered stunning views of the Ocean- definitely a place to return to for a weekend during summer. A lot of fun with a great bunch of people.
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| Lunch overlooking beach at Bollito |
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| View from our accommodation |
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| Left to right: Damo, Loz, Aidan, Pete, Jen, Jonny, Dabbo, Ilne & Chris |
