vacation talk

hungry neighbour looking for some fruit to snatch. the tree in our back yard.


vendor at the verulum market


verulum market


fisherman at low tide


umdloti beach


view to the south

just returned from a week in umdloti beach, it was so great to be chilled out and not have to deal with the office. long walks everyday, and tropical weather is a panacea for big city stress.

we opted to drive down and it was wonderful, the valleys and mountains sun kissed alive in winter's golden hues, majestic and wild,the vivid colours of the lion that roamed the plains,spread out as far as the eye could see. as always i just didn't take the time out for pictures.

i believe that the drive from gauteng to natal is one of the most scenic drives in the country, it rivals the splendour of the cape, for my money natal is the favoured destination, not being overtaken by foreign capital and people it retains its warmth and africanness, if i can say that. i would someday like to do the midlands meander, from trout fishing to horseback riding, the area offers so much. there are new bed and breakfasts that have opened along the route, some fine restaurants, where home made jams and pickles can be purchased, as well as some of the finest arts and crafts available, soos hulle se, local is lekker. this really rings true for natal and it's surrounds.

umdloti was all peace and quite, since we arrived out of the holiday season, just the way i like it, august is not really the month to visit, as it is windy, and winter fights to retain it's place, even that didn't deter the few holiday makers out on the beach, when i say winter the weather was a balmy 18-24 degrees Celsius, a light cardigan was all we needed, and the walks on the beach have a different flavour without a hot african sun, turning you to toast.the fisherman were not deterred and i got a good shot of someone fishing just outside our place. the tides were seriously low this week, for the first time since i've been taking trips to umdloti, the tidal pool had practically been empty of water at low tide, one could walk across the sand to the rocks that held the sea back, creating a huge swimming pool of the sea.

umdloti also saw the opening of a new restaurant, i love the name,.. " BEACH BUG BAHIA" should have asked what it meant, it's in a great spot, just outside the tidal pool, great sea views, and the food was not bad, i found the ambiance to be fresh and perfect, great for cocktails and lunches, the starters were good, smoked samon and asparagus, lamb with lentils, brinjal wraps, peri peri prawns etc, the mains were not that great, i found the fish overcooked, surprisingly i think i had better fish in johannesburg, which is 600 kilometres inland, on the whole, it has become one of durbans favourite eateries,... and it was a great timeout on a sunday afternoon.
our company were a fun bunch to,....it was then i thought had it not been so close to ramadaan, a couple of g&t's would have gone down well, the atmosphere just begs sipping on cold alcoholic beverages, in this case virgin coktails,...lol.we will definitely be frequenting the beach bug again, lets hope it has longevity, in this country fun places open and close quite rapidly, people constantly feel the need to move on to newer more trendy spots, fast food entertainment, not something i am really keen on, i prefer to have things last, to be familiar and comfortable in places....so beach bug here's to many years.

i ventured out of umdloti as well, into verulum, the indian part of town, it smelled and felt a bit like bombay, in a good way mind you,...i loved the vegetable market which is open on a tuesday, thursday and saturday, from 5am until 1pm.the place was welcoming, the prices were mind blowing, we went in on thursday morning,( just a day before the hindu religious holiday, excuse my ignorance, but i believe it might have been raksha bandan, the day sisters give tokens of love and respect to brothers,)
and were told "why don't ya'll come on saturday" prices will be muuch cheepar"
whispering to my mother how much cheeper, this is really the best value i have ever encountered. being from johannesburg where everything costs more, i thought christmas had come early, to give you an idea.
tomatoes were four rands a kilo, in johannesburg, probably nine rand a kilo.
ginger ten rands a kilo. as opposed to forty five rand at the local grocer.
the veggies were fresh, and smelled like heaven, the smell of freshly picked limbri (curry leaves) filled the air, and every stall we stopped had vendors with smiling faces, and something happy to say, that is the way to shop, i managed some pictures here, and automatically, looked like a tourist, yet the prices didn't go up.... this is a market i would recommend, as a must for any visitor to the north coast, we didn't quite make it to the fish market, hopefully on the next trip, freshly caught line fish, should be a treat.

further up the coast is ballito, the drive is scenic, their open air mall is a treat as opposed to the airconditioned city malls, good food places too, so another spot to visit if the north coast is your holiday destination.

this sounds like a travelogue, suffice to say i had a really relaxed time, and driving along the coast is really the best way to see natal, i would highly recommend this as a holiday destination, with fair warning as arshad is fond of saying " keep one hand on your balls and the other on your wallet and you should be fine".....happy travelling