Mtunzini

I want to tell you about the trip last week and weekend. Tuesday, 9 August was a national holiday – Women’s Day. Pretty cool, huh? On Wednesday we flew down to Durban. I’ve already told you a little bit about Durban. Let me tell you about the guest house we stayed in. More specifically, let me tell you about the house cat. She was a stray who adopted Murray, the owner. She was very friendly and I think she knew I was missing some cat lovin’. She came in my room and slept on my bed the first evening. I thought that perhaps I shouldn’t let her stay on top of that pretty white duvet cover, but she was sooo sweet… The funniest thing, though, was that she drank from the tap in the bathroom sink! Really! She jumped up on the counter, and I was going to stop up the sink and run some water in for her. But when I turned on the water, she stuck her head under the stream of water and started drinking! I have photographic proof.

We were there two nights, and she stayed with me both nights.

On Friday, we drove north up the east coast, and called on the library at University of Zululand. It reminded me a little bit of Alcorn State University, a HBCU and former customer of mine in Mississippi. As we drove north, we passed many a field of sugar cane. It is one of the primary crops in KwaZulu-Natal. It’s pretty to see growing. It looks a little bit like corn only taller and more slender. When it’s blooming, as much of it is right now, it has long, willowy blooms that are whitish, but in certain sunlight, it looks almost lavender. The rolling hills that we drove through are covered with it.

As we drove further north, one of the other crops that we saw a lot of is timber; specifically, wattle or blue gum trees (or what we mistakenly, I think, call eucalyptus trees). The blue gum trees are native to Australia, and were brought here because they grow so quickly. But now the country is trying to get rid of them, except where they grow in controlled areas for timber. Apparently, they have enormous roots that really suck up water. As I think I may have mentioned before, or you probably know if you’ve read much at all about southern Africa, water is a scarce resource in many parts of the country. But I loved driving past the blue gum forests on the way to Mtunzini.

So, after all of this traveling around for the last three weeks, Jean thought that we needed a rest. She was right! She booked a cabin for the weekend in Mtunzini at the Mtunzini Forest Lodge. It is adjacent to the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. The lodge, which has 15 or so time-share wooden cabins and a small conference center, is also one small mangrove forest, one reed-filled river and one sand dune away from the Indian Ocean! Remember that it is still winter here, but most of you know how I love the ocean. I was excited and happy to be there.

Our cabin had a small but complete kitchen, a small lounge (den or family area), two bedrooms, and a deck that overlooked the forest. And even though we couldn’t see the ocean, we could hear it just fine. We shopped for groceries on Friday afternoon in nearby Richards Bay, a growing industrial area 40 kilometres north of Mtunzini. On Saturday, Jean’s cousin Denise, Denise’s husband Billy and their two girls, and Billy’s brother David joined us for a braii (barbecue or cookout). David lives in nearby Gingdlovu, and Denise’s family was there for the weekend. Both Billy and David work for sugar companies, and they both talk a mile a minute, so I learned all about the sugar industry. For instance, depending on the soil, climate and rainfall, sugar is harvested every 12 to 24 months. It grows about 8 feet high. Here in SA, human workers still harvest it. They cut the stalks down with a scythe, throw them into bundles, and a truck comes around and scoops up the bundles until the truck is loaded. There is a processing plant nearby. The smoke that Jean and I had noticed is actually steam. Billy says it’s a pretty clean and environmentally-friendly process. Both Billy and David scolded us because we hadn’t bought any sugar for tea (because Jean doesn’t take sugar in her tea; I do, but I didn’t think about it when we were shopping).

After our braii (pork ribs, lamb chops and boerwors {Boer wurst, or sausage}, plus several salads), we all walked to the beach. The 2 young girls and men played at the edge of the ocean for a bit, but the wind had picked up a lot, so it didn’t take long for all of us to decide that we’d had enough. The sand blowing in rivers over the beach looked like what I imagine the Sahara to look like. August is a windy month here, everyone says.

Apparently, having guests all day wore us out because Jean and I both slept until 9.00 the next morning. We had a leisurely breakfast, and then walked back to the beach. Jean sat and sewed (she’s a quilter) while I went and walked into the ocean a little bit. I didn’t go far, though, because the waves were almost knocking me down as they came in; I imagine they were just as strong going out! Also, there was a sign posted prominently warning that this beach had no shark nets. Okay, you don’t need to tell me that twice.

We had a lunch of leftovers when we came back, and while we were sitting on the deck, I heard, then saw, two fish eagles! I was so excited. The fish eagle is the official bird of Zimbabwe, and I never saw one while I was there. Also, it looks very much like an American bald eagle, and I’ve never seen one of those out of captivity, either. It was exciting. Too far away for meaningful photos, though.

After we cleaned up and checked out of the lodge, we drove through the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. We saw 7 or 8 zebra just standing around, a little klipspringerbok, some ibis, herons, and a monkey. The reserve has some nice car camping areas and beach access; might be a good place to take visitors.

We flew from Richards Bay back to Jo’burg on Sunday night. Jean dropped me off at my townhouse. When I walked through the front door, I almost called, “I’m home, girls!” Then I remembered that Maggie and Tessie aren’t here yet. I’ll be very happy to have them with me. SA doesn’t require a quarantine, and if I find out that the U.S. does not require one upon my return (whenever that will be), then I’m planning to bring them with me when I come back here in September.

I think that’s enough for now, hey?