Beach Bums!

Thursday, February 04, 2016
Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Our home for the last eight days has been at Umzumbe, which is about 15k from Port Shepstone (ghastly place, run by the Indians), on the Hibiscus Coast, Kwazulu-Natal.


When we left the main road and headed into the bundu towards the sea, we were reminded of the approach to ‘The Shack’, the amazing rambling beach ‘hut’ we stayed at near Fish River Mouth last year . Indeed, we are told that up to 2013 that is exactly what ‘The Studio’ was when our exchangers Vicki and Tony bought the plot. However, you would not believe how beautiful this place now is if I were merely to describe it, so I am attaching a small library of pictures and you can see for yourself just how lucky we are!


Tony is a builder and he and Vicki have built and designed this amazing house together. There is nothing between it and the Indian Ocean - apart from a luscious, tropical garden which has been developed over the years when there was just a beach hut on the plot. Now it boasts a four bedroom glass and concrete palace in its grounds. It’s very grand in its simplicity; polished concrete floors and ceilings with ceiling-to-wall concertina glass doors on every aspect (jolly glad I don’t have to clean them!) and it’s filled with wonderful, sea-washed, rustic furniture and artefacts. But of course, being so recently built, it has every mod-con you could possibly want . And the sound system!! Wow, it resounds round the entire house from a command station that Mike cannot resist. There are literally thousands of records (mainly rock and blues) in the computer and it seems Mike must have been a closet DJ in his earlier life. Along with Sky TV, it is keeping him very happy and busy.


There is a small, very deep splash pool on the deck which is essential for constant dips to cool off. Sadly, yesterday, my brand new Kindle decided to go for a swim, too. The thrashing seas are constant and the breakers are enormous. The beach is shared only by a very few serious surfers. As I write this, it is pitch dark but the whole front of the house is open and it is pleasantly warm. We don't seem to be suffering from the bugs and mozzies of Shelly Beach, thank heavens. Being South Africa, we have a maid service and the gardener keeps us supplied with whatever fish we want; however, after a delivery of rather scary live crayfish the other morning, I have not asked for any more . I put the horrible crawly things in the freezer and still haven’t had the nerve to cook them!! Wimp, I know.


So, not surprisingly, we have not ventured far from our paradise here on Umzumbe beach. There is, however, a Rock Bar just minutes away, catering for the surfers, hippies and aged rockers like us. For a couple of quid you can get a big basket of seafood and chips, along with a bottle of SA Sauvignon Blanc or Rouge for a fiver, whilst being entertained by a number of Natal rock ‘stars’. It is a pleasant way of spending an evening. On Sunday afternoon, they have a ‘plug-in and play’ session where any would-be rocker (or has-been rocker) can get up and sing and play. Shame, I couldn’t get Mike to pick up a guitar - but we enjoyed watching others having a go!


Yesterday (Tuesday) we decided we had been lazy enough and went to explore Oribi Gorge, which is just north of Port Shepstone . We started at Lake Eland Game Reserve which is famous for its Zip Line (Victoria - tell George about this: I will take him there if he is brave enough to do it!). It is the longest zip line in Africa; 4.5km in length and is over 300m high above the Gorge. You have to be mad to even think about doing it. There is also a pretty frightening suspension bridge which scans a part of the Gorge which gave me vertigo just to look at - but Mike was brave enough to venture on to it. The self-drive game drive was pretty enough; mainly Blesbok, Eland, Impala, Springbok, Wildebeest, Hartebeest and Zebra but we did spot some beautiful giraffes. The two hour drive was spectacular; the incredible scenery of the Oribi Gorge has to be seen to be believed. The game reserve was originally formed to preserve the Oribi (a small buck), an endangered species. Now there are believed to be at least 50 Oribis in the reserve. Sadly, we did not spot even one. But we did have a very nice lunch at the restaurant which overlooked a pretty lake, so all was not lost.


Tomorrow (Thursday) we move on to Clansthal (near Scottburgh). We will be sad to leave this beautiful house; it must be the most heavenly spot in the world. We shall never forget our time here.  


The only problem we have here is that the wifi is very hit-and-miss so I don’t think I will be able to send this blog from there. Hopefully the internet access will be better at Clansthal and so you should get it by the end of day tomorrow. Look forward to hearing from you all - your comments are so welcome.
  
PS Eventually plucked up the courage to cook the crayfish - see pics. Delicious!
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Comments

Mike Garside
2016-02-04

I think this must have been the area we visited back in 1981 when we were in Durban on our boat, Gillie.

Mum's lifelong buddy Peggy Woods and her husband Howie had a beach hut in the dunes a couple of hours drive South West of Durban and they took us there with their married daughter Barbie and her husband Chris for a weekend. Barbie then sailed with us from Durban to Cape Town; the only passenger we ever took on the voyage.

Extraordinarily 20 years later after I had finished talking to the teller behind the counter at Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf, when we had the flat at West India Quay, and was about to walk off having drawn my cash a bloke tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was Mike Garside. It was Barbie's husband Chris. He said he recognised my voice! He and Barbie had left South Africa and come to live in England after Peggy and Howie died. Small world stuff, eh?

Anyway, glad you're enjoying that beautiful place.

Victoria
2016-02-04

Oh Mum it looks absolutely beautiful - how lucky you are but you also really deserve it! George said he's definitely up for the zip wire! All's good here - managed to raise £250 for Cancer so really pleased and had a couple of drinks on Monday but still haven't had a hangover xxxx

gillie.bowen
2016-02-04

Mike, I also went to Peggy's beach hut with Mum many years ago, and yes, I am sure Umzumbe must be in the same area. It was a very special place, as is this. Do you know, it could just be the same place! They pullled down an old beach hut to build this incredible house. How amazing you should bump into Barbie's husband in London!

gillie.bowen
2016-02-04

Hi Tors - George would be a brave man to do that zip wire and you certainly wouldn't want to watch!! Well done for raising all that money for our favourite charity.

Karyn Horn
2016-02-06

Read the entry and viewed the photos with a grin on my face. Very special Gillie. Tony and I are motor bike riding to Bright next weekend…the vicinity of friends of yours if I recall? Enjoy your escapism. K and T

gillie.bowen
2016-02-06

Enjoy Bright Karen - the friends you mention were one of our very first exchangers! Now we have done at least 40 house exchanges! Moved on from 'Paradise' now - more in the next blog.

Vicki Nott
2016-02-11

So glad you and Mike had a good time at our house in Umzumbe. We also think it is paradise. We managed to sort the Wifi out. The big storm affected wifi and cell connections in most of Umzumbe. There are quite a few Woods living in Umzumbe. Must be family of the people you and your friends stayed with years ago.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.

gillie.bowen
2016-02-11

Vicki, it's a lovely thought that my mum's friend Peggy Woods had her beach house in Umzumbe. Her main house was in Durban. She has long since gone but her daughter Barbie and husband Chris might still be around. There was another daughter, too, but I can't remember her name.

Vicki Nott
2016-02-12

I'll find out from Grant Wood. He has a house overlooking main beach. He grew up in Durban and his parents had one of the original holiday shacks in Umzumbe. Grant and his wife Trish now live in that house. I'll keep you posted

gillie.bowen
2016-02-12

Thanks! It would be amazing if they were related!
Gillie

2025-02-08

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