durban

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The Antbear and the ‘Berg

Posted by 2summers on September 29, 2010
Posted in: Durban, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , . 4 comments

Joe and I left Durban on Saturday morning. But before going back to Joburg we decided to spend the night near the Drakensberg Mountains, which Joe calls the ‘Berg.

At a gas station an hour outside Durban, Joe went online and found a guesthouse called the Antbear. We liked the look of it. There was no answer when we called so we decided to take a chance and just go there.

The road to the Antbear (although I actually took this when we were going, not coming).

Getting to the Antbear wasn’t like stopping at a Motel 6 along I-95. We got off the interstate and drove for miles along a pot-holed country highway (always an adventure with Joe at the wheel) before turning onto a gravel road. We drove a few more miles, past grazing zebras and a dairy farm, before finally reaching the Antbear.

Built on the site of an old farm, the Antbear is in rural KwaZulu-Natal province, in an area called the Midlands (named after the English Midlands, which it resembles). We pulled up and a woman named Thoko came out of the kitchen to greet us. The guesthouse was fully booked but there was a spare room off of the dining room that we could have at a discount. The room was small but we readily agreed. We dropped our things and headed to the ‘Berg so to squeeze in a hike before dark.

The Antbear is a 45-minute drive from Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve, which is part of Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. I won’t go into detail other than to say that the Drakensberg are the highest mountains in southern Africa and stunning.

Speaks for itself.

We arrived at the park in the late afternoon and hiked for two hours along the Bushman’s River. We climbed to the top of Giant’s Ridge, where we watched a pair of endangered bald ibis soar down to their roost as the sun set behind them. Joe was in ecstasy.

River flowers.

Bald-ibis-spotting.

Sunset over the ‘Berg.

I know this is getting old, but seriously. It was really beautiful.

Dinner at the Antbear was at 7 so we hurried back. When arrived we met Andrew, the owner. “You’re in luck,” he told us. “Some people didn’t show and you can have their room.”

We grabbed our bags from the small room and Andrew led us across the yard to our new digs. We walked through the doorway and our jaws dropped.

The bedroom of our Antbear villa. This shot required Joe’s wide-angle lens. And still, photos don’t do this place justice.

Andrew is what he calls a wood butcher. Each Antbear room is filled with the most exquisite woodwork I’ve ever seen – furniture, window frames, lamps, door hinges, and waste baskets. I marveled at every detail in the sitting room and bedroom, and when I entered the bathroom I nearly gasped. There was a glassed-in shower with a life-size mosaic of an African woman inside, and a Jacuzzi tub big enough for a family of four. Even the toilet paper dispenser was a work of art.

Photo courtesy of Joe.

Dinner was served at a hand-carved communal table. We chatted with fellow guests from Italy, France, and Pretoria and dined on curried cauliflower soup and pork fillet with pears and blue cheese, prepared by Andrew’s wife, Conny, and her staff.

Over breakfast we had a long chat with Andrew, who has a fascinating life story that I couldn’t begin to tell in this blog. He showed us their newest room – the Cave – built under an overhanging rock looking out over the plains. Joe and I vowed to come back and stay there someday.

I hate superlatives, but the Antbear is the greatest. We would’ve stayed for a week if we had the time and money. (By the way, the Antbear is affordable. Our one-night stay, which included dinner, breakfast, and accommodation that rivals the most luxurious safari camp, cost R1260 – less than $200).

Andrew on the balcony of the new Cave.

Add the Antbear and the ‘Berg to my growing list of magical South African must-sees.

Zuma Speaks (and we miss it)

Posted by 2summers on September 24, 2010
Posted in: Durban, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Today is Heritage Day, a public holiday celebrating the cultural heritage of South Africa.

Similar to Labor Day and Memorial Day, Heritage Day seems to serve mostly as an excuse for a long weekend. This year the holiday coincided with the end of the ANC General Council meeting so there was a big event at Moses Mabhida Stadium – the brand-new world cup venue in Durban. The specific theme of the event, in addition to South Africa’s heritage, was the success of the 2010 World Cup. The guest of honor was President Jacob Zuma.

Joe photographed the event and I tagged along, as usual.

At the stadium (photo courtesy of Joe).

We arrived around 10:00 a.m., just as the festivities were starting. The stadium is a brilliant work of architecture – sleek, modern, airy, and cool, all at once. It somehow evokes both a spaceship and a beach tent.

Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Joe headed down to the field below the stage and I settled into the stands. (The event was free for anyone who showed up. A quick pat-down and bag search and I was in. I couldn’t help but think about how the security measures would differ at a similar event in the U.S. featuring President Obama.)

I can’t tell you much about the actual program of events because most of it was in Zulu. The highlights were:

1)      A religious service by the leader of Shembe, the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church. Thousands of church followers knelt in the stadium infield, all dressed in white smocks. They sang hymns and blew horns that were similar to vuvuzelas, just larger and less annoying.

A sea of Shembe parishoners. The men are on the left (hatless) and the women are on the right (wearing hats).

2)      Multiple performances by male Zulu dancers. I saw a similar version of this dancing a few years ago in Swaziland and it mesmerizes me. The men, clad in beads and animal skins, stand in a row and stomp in unison. Then they take turns dancing individually and kick their legs high in the air. When I say high, I mean high. Their toes often stretch behind their heads. Sometimes the dancers finish off with a split.

I was too far away from the stage and couldn’t get a good photo of the dancers. So I had to photograph them on the Jumbotron. The guy on the left is the leader. He can’t kick as high as the others for obvious reasons.

The events were interspersed with highlights from the World Cup, shown on the jumbotron.  We saw every goal scored by Bafana Bafana, the South African soccer team, about 100 times. The crowd went wild each time.

Enthusiastic spectators.

My favorite part of the day was people-watching. Many of the spectators, especially the women and girls, came dressed in traditional tribal attire – skirts and tops and headdresses decorated with colorful beadwork.

A traditionally dressed mother and daughter consult with a stadium usher.

Love these hats.

I tried to take pictures without making a spectacle of myself, but I was one of very few non-Africans in the crowd and hence attracted some attention. I made lots of friends.

Friends.

More friends.

Zuma was scheduled to speak at around noon. But the praying, dancing, and singing stretched on for hours with no sign of the president. By 1:00 p.m. I was starting to feel a bit tired and hot. Joe called to say Zuma was running late and would arrive a bit after 2:00. I sighed and applied more sunscreen.

Finally, it was time. The Jumbotron showed the president’s motorcade on its way. The presidential guard and military band marched onto the field. Then the president himself arrived and sat on a dais. There were anthems and airplane flyovers and a 21-gun salute. And more Zulu dancing – yes.

At last, the president was about to speak. I thought. But no! More speeches by various officials. Each speech was long, and made longer by the fact that it was delivered in both Zulu and English. I know this is the way in Africa — I’ve experienced it many times. But I never get used to it.

Joe had all the photos he needed and came to find me in the stands. We left before the president’s address. I’ve never seen a sitting president speak before and had been looking forward to it. But after five hours I was happy to go.

We ate our last dinner in Durban at the same place where we ate our first – Al-Mehran. I finally had a Durban bunny chow and it didn’t disappoint. It was further enhanced by a passion fruit cola — a magical concoction of passion fruit juice, cream soda (which is fluorescent green here), and lemonade, with a twist of parsley and lemon. Perfection.

Hot chicken bunny chow and passion fruit cola. Seriously delicious.

We’ve decided there’s no reason to eat Indian food anywhere else in Durban. It’s Al-Mehran or nothing.

Durban Extremes

Posted by 2summers on September 23, 2010
Posted in: Durban, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 comment

Joe and I got up at 5:00 this morning to go back to Inanda. Joe wanted to photograph the housing settlements there in the early morning light. I was excited to come along, although sad to miss breakfast at Essenwood House.

We spent four hours driving up and down steep, narrow dirt roads – filled with schoolchildren and people walking to work – stopping periodically for Joe to get out and shoot the stunning landscape. I wish I could show you some of the photos he took, but that would give away his identity and probably get me sued by the news agency he works for.  So here are a few of my own shots instead.

Inanda puppies!

On the way back to Durban, we drove along a high ridge. To our left stretched the 1,000 hills of Inanda, covered with huts and shacks of all sizes. To our right were gated communities, mansions, and condos overlooking the crystal-blue Indian Ocean. It’s the same stark contrast that I’ve seen over and over since arriving in South Africa.

Our afternoon was the opposite of our morning. Joe drove us down to Wilson’s Wharf, a newly developed strip in Durban’s huge commercial port area. We parked next to a dock filled with luxury yachts and ate sushi at a small outdoor joint called the Oyster Bar. Then we drove along the water and admired the funky art deco apartment buildings that Durban is famous for.

Cruising the Durban Coast.

The coolest building in Durban.

The last stop of the day was the Southern Sun North Beach, a 32-story hotel along Durban’s “Golden Mile.” It’s one of the tallest buildings in Durban and has a nicely landscaped rooftop pool with beautiful views of the city. We spent some time up there and used the fancy marble bathrooms.

View from the 32nd floor of the Southern Sun.

We concluded the evening with takeout from a Thai restaurant near our guesthouse called the Bangkok Wok. The food was very good, but the waiter neglected to put chopsticks in the bag even though we specifically asked for them. We had to eat our curried rice and noodles with tiny teaspoons. Damn you, Bangkok Wok.

By the way, I haven’t had a Durban bunny chow yet. The Indian place we went to last night didn’t have them! I still have 36 more hours to find one.

A Thousand Hills

Posted by 2summers on September 22, 2010
Posted in: Durban, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 4 comments

Joe and I have spent the last couple of days moving between Durban and an area to the north of town called the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Here are some highlights.

Monday

After Sunday’s adventures, I’m pleased to say that Joe collected his press credentials in time to cover the opening events of the ANC General Council Meeting. He also got the LandRover repaired and the engine noise is back to a quiet purr. Thank god.

I spent Monday relaxing in Kloof. I took a long, pleasant jog through the neighborhood – unlike in Joburg, where the elevation is 1,000 meters higher, I could actually breathe while running. I admired the stately old houses and spectacular trees. I then returned to the Lemon Tree, where I played with Milo, the family dog, and worked/read/slept on the verandah.

Milo.

That evening Joe and I had lovely dinner at Aubergine, a restaurant in the nearby town of Hillcrest. It was recommended by Richard and Jane, our hosts at the Lemon Tree.

Despite its uninspired location in a shopping center surrounded by car dealerships, Aubergine was sublime. The atmosphere was both casual and classy. The friendly sommelier/manager, who was wearing flip-flops and an Abercrombie sweatshirt, had a long chat with Joe about South African Sauvignon Blanc. I ordered tagliatelle with smoked salmon, baby marrow (zucchini), and caviar; Joe had lamb shank. It was the best meal I’ve had in South Africa. Aubergine comes highly recommended if you ever find yourself in the outer suburbs of Durban.

Smoked salmon tagliatelle and lamb shank from Aubergine.

Tuesday

In between researching story ideas for the National General Council meeting, Joe and I went for a hike in the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve. The reserve winds along a massive gorge that cuts through the Valley of a Thousand Hills. The views were amazing.

Joe taking a rest in Krantzkloof Nature Reserve. He continues to insist on blurring his face even though you all know full-well who he is.

We saw lots of interesting wildlife, including a pair of trumpeter hornbills, a stunning crowned eagle, and a small, chubby antelope with short skinny legs called a duiker. (Sorry, I failed to catch photos of any of these animals.)

The walk was quite challenging, as we hiked all the way to the bottom of the gorge and back up again. We got some nice pictures of crazy rock formations along the way.

Crazy rocks halfway down the gorge.

Tuesday evening we switched hotels to be closer to the ANC events in Durban. We’re now staying at Essenwood House, a guesthouse in Durban’s Berea neighborhood. Like much of Durban, Essenwood House has a Victorian-tropical feel to it. The owner is a quirky Englishman named John; he and Joe are great friends as Joe is a regular here.

Essenwood House.

We settled into our spacious room, had an early dinner, and collapsed with exhaustion into the gigantic bed.

Bed.

Wednesday

We started the day with a full English breakfast, served at a large wooden table overlooking the gardens. John’s three dogs – two long-haired dachshunds and a mangy terrier named Danny – waited patiently for scraps at our feet.

Breakfast.

Then it was time to drive back up into the hills. Joe wanted to document the lives of the people most affected by the policies under discussion at the National General Council meeting. So we left the city and headed to Inanda — a beautiful, poverty-stricken area in the former black homeland of KwaZulu.

I’ll have more to say about Inanda later because we’re going back tomorrow. Here are a couple of photos to give you a hint of what’s to come.

All of the above from Inanda.

We finished the day back in Durban, browsing ANC merchandise for sale by vendors outside the conference. Joe took pictures and I bought a hat.

Modeling some ANC gear. Photo courtesy of Joe.

This evening I plan to sample my first Durban bunny chow.

Bedlam at the Beach

Posted by 2summers on September 20, 2010
Posted in: Durban, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 comment

I’m on the verandah of the Lemon Tree Bed & Breakfast in Kloof, a posh suburb of Durban. A breeze is rustling the royal palms in the garden. It’s calm and quiet.

The verandah at the Lemon Tree.

Yesterday was a different story.

We left home at 8:00 a.m. on the six-hour journey to Durban. Less than an hour outside Joburg, we heard a loud clunk from the LandRover, followed by a menacing rumble that persisted whenever Joe pressed the accelerator.

We pulled to the side of the highway – we were in Mpumalanga province, far from anything, on a Sunday.  Joe propped the hood open. A bolt had fallen out (it probably came loose during our off-roading adventure in Lesotho) and created a hole in the exhaust system. Joe determined that the engine would run well enough to get us to Durban. But it now roared like a monster truck.

We made our way through Free State province, then over a high ridge and down into KwaZulu-Natal. The temperature rose as we dropped in elevation – from 1,700 meters to 600. Air conditioning was out of the question so we sweat it out.

We arrived at the B&B at around 2:30. We dropped off our luggage and briefly admired the lovely surroundings before heading to town.

Joe is covering the African National Congress (ANC) General Council meeting, which is in Durban this week. President Jacob Zuma will address the congress today. Joe had warned me about the legendary disorganization of these meetings but I didn’t truly understand what he meant until yesterday.

Joe had been instructed to go to the conference center at 4:00 p.m. to collect his press credentials. We arrived at the conference center, and after 30 minutes of wandering around, learned that credentials were actually being given out at City Hall. We drove to City Hall, where we maneuvered through police barriers and cars parked every which way. Joe squeezed the monster truck between two other cars and instructed me to wait there and make sure no one parked us in.

I held the traffic at bay – barely. Joe returned in 10 minutes. Press credentialing was delayed; the ANC had lost everyone’s information. It might start at 6:00, or maybe 8:00. Joe was fed up so we left.

We drove to an area called North Beach. Vacationing families and surfers were packing up for the day. The sun was starting to go down; people strolled the cement promenade and live music played at a rooftop bar called Joe Cool’s. The crowd was diverse – black Africans, white Africans, Indian Africans. Kids in bathing suits trotted among women in head scarves and full abayas. We walked to the end of the pier and took in the scene.

North Beach, Durban.

I bought pineapple on a stick from an Indian street vendor. I ate it plain as I was afraid to try the spicy version. Maybe tomorrow.

We were ready to blow off the credentialing and return to Kloof for a quiet dinner. But Joe got a text from a colleague that credentialing had begun. Back to City Hall.

Quick side note: Joe was really enjoying his monster truck. Each time we stopped at a traffic light, he glanced at the car next to him and revved the engine, then roared off with a mischievous grin when the light turned green. I had flashbacks to cruising the highway in Ocean City, Maryland, circa 1992 — with different scenery.

A typical street in Durban.

This time I accompanied Joe into City Hall. The registration room was filled with ANC delegates and hoards of angry journalists. There were lines, but no one knew what they were for or which one to wait in. People laughed, shouted, jostled, and yelled into cell phones.

Joe managed to snap this photo before we were advised to put the camera away. It accurately conveys the mood at Durban City Hall last night.

We learned that there was one line for journalists to add their names to a list, and another line to get photographed for an ID. Joe pushed his way through the name line and moved on to the photo line, which didn’t move for 45 minutes. By now it was nearly 8:00 p.m. and we were faint with hunger. We surrendered and left.

We went to Joe’s favorite Indian restaurant in Durban, Al-Mehran. I was eager to try a Durban bunny chow after my recent experience but decided to save that for later. We had curried lentils, mutton, rice, and butter naan. It was delicious and our bill came to $14.

Al-Mehran

Curried lentils.

We felt a renewed sense of vigor after eating and rumbled back to City Hall. The lines were longer than before. I settled myself in the back of the room and read boring conference literature amid a sea of jovial ANC delegates. Joe had his photo taken around 10:00 and was instructed to pick up his ID in the morning. We happily departed and returned to the Lemon Tree, where we sat on a bench outside our room and listened to the frogs.

Joe left for the conference early today – hopefully he got his ID and found time to drop off the LandRover for repair. I was happy to stay behind and enjoy this peaceful oasis away from the monster truck and the ANC madness.

Stay tuned for more adventures from Durban.

Chowing down, Durban-style

Posted by 2summers on September 16, 2010
Posted in: Johannesburg, Johannesburg Suburbs, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , . 3 comments

This Sunday Joe and I are going to Durban, a coastal city in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. I’m excited about going for several reasons, one of which is the food. Durban’s cuisine is heavily influenced by India, which is a hop across the Indian Ocean.

Today we got a taste of Durban in Melville, at a place called Neela’s on the second level of the Boulevard Shopping Center. It’s a tiny shop (a stand, really) that sells authentic South African-Indian fare, including 10 types of samoosas (spelled with two o’s, not one). Neela’s also specializes in the bunny chow, a spicy-sandwichy thing made only in South Africa.

Our new friend Avesh at Neela’s.

Neela’s was opened just a few months ago by some guys from Durban who realized that no one in Joburg knew how to make a good bunny chow. The store is already so successful that they are planning to open a second location.

We discovered the samoosas first – Joe brought them home one day and we were instantly hooked. The potato samoosas are the best, delicately spiced with coriander and various secret ingredients. They taste like India inside a pastry.

Cheese and onion samoosas. A warm-up for the main event.

I decided to try my first bunny chow today. A bunny chow is a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curried meat and vegetables. Avesh, the manager, recommended the lamb.

Lamb bunny chow.

He brought it out and instructed me to “get my hands dirty,” as bunny chows are not meant to be eaten with utensils. I took his advice.

After I began to eat, Avesh returned and said I was supposed to eat the bread off the top first and then work my way in from the sides. Too late for that.

I don’t think there’s much more to say.

We used utensils at the very end because Joe wanted to share.

This was good practice for next week. I clearly need to perfect my bunny-chowing skills before going to Durban.