.Monday, February 1, 2016 Welcome to the Zulu Nation, Richards Bay, South Africa.

By Nelly:

Richards Bay, South Africa, is a very large port with a small town attached to it . Its export is mostly coal. We could tell that immediately by evening. The coal dust and suds had settled everywhere on the ship. What a mess. Consequently, the pools had to be drained and re-filled, the ship's outdoor facilities and the cabin balconies needed to be hosed down. From a tourist’s standpoint, the port is perfectly placed. It is close to a spectacular game reserve, wet lands and right next door to the cultural heartland of the Zulu Nation.

However, in order to experience all those places, you had to earn the privilege of waiting patiently. Needless to say some were not too patient. With passport, visa and health forms in hand, we stood in line for 2 hours. The immigration people didn’t show up on time. I opted to sit in line and got comfortable on the floor. Some people did the same, but the majority were afraid they might not be able to get back up again.

It was worth the wait for what we experienced afterward. We went to the St . Lucia Wetlands Park, which has been designated as a World Heritage Site. While driving north for 2 hours, it was very noticeable that there was litter everywhere. Even in the little towns we passed, next to the houses, which sat on dirt, we saw garbage laying everywhere. We were riding along for half an hour and enjoying the sites when the air conditioner went on the blink. The windows didn’t open, so we all felt like sitting in an oven. We were glad to arrive in the wetlands where we boarded a small boat. It felt wonderful being on a river with a breeze. It was an exiting ride because we saw all kinds of wildlife. The best part was when the driver of the boat took us for a close up to a herd of 7 hippos. The hippos were cooling themselves in the river.

Back we went into our oven on wheels. But before we visited the wild animal sanctuary, the driver stopped at a grocery store where we were able to get something to eat and drink. Because of the immigration delay we had missed our lunch . Then off we drove through a wild animal sanctuary park, where we saw to our delight, monkeys, wildebeests, antelopes, boars, zebra, etc. Most of them had their young ones with them. We ended up on a beautiful beach where we were discouraged from wandering off or going near or into the water because of sharks, hippos and crocodiles. The time went by just too fast and we had to head back to the ship. Half way there, we finally were able to change to an air-conditioned bus. Oh, what a relief it was! Arriving at the pier by 6:15 pm all the vendors greeted us with all their colorful wares.  

By 9 pm off we sailed into the night toward our next port, Cape Town. That means 2 days of sailing. So far we have the first day behind us, which started with sunshine and ended in rain and cooler temperatures. It feels good to me after all that heat. But Mr. Jim is busy creating his layered outfits. Good thing I have bought him a few local and colorful T-shirts on the way.

Our next report will be from Cape Town. See you there! 

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