When we arrived at our hostel in Durban we were told that there was a mix up and the dorms had been fully booked. They had to give us a room with two double bed, a big bath room, a balcony and a sea view - shame!! In the end we agreed with the owner to upgrade for the rest of the week for an extra R20 each per night, that's the equivalent of £1. Not bad!
The first full day in Durban we went to Victoria market, it was in the not so touristy part of town to say the least. Lots of traditional Africa clothing, jewelry and little crafts, my kind of thing. We then went to the beach and had an extremely eventful 6mile walk back to the hostel. There may be a list of 10 ways we nearly died but i'll keep that one out for the sake of my mother. On Sunday Sean and George arrived and we went to a massive shopping centre, I treated myself to a pair of comfy flip flops as that's all I've worn since being in South Africa. On the Monday we chilled by the pool, tested out my water proof camera which is amazing (thanks Nana and Jane) and cooked our own Braai. On Tuesday we visited the boys projects in Tongaat. The boys work for a charity called boys town which cares for boys who either have behavior issues or like St Mary's have no family. The location of their project is beautiful as its situated just a few meters from the beach, their balcony looks over the Indian Ocean - just a tad jealous. On Wednesday the 4 of us girls went to the famous Ushaka a waterpark/marine world. We watched dolphin and seal shows, looked around the aquariums and went on the slides at the water park. The water proof camera was also a hit then and got some pretty funny videos.
On Thursday we travelled from Durban to northern Drakensberg. We stayed at the most amazing backpackers surrounded by mountains. It was all we could of wished for, a pool, a bouldering cave, pool table, jacuzzi (in the bar), the bar itself and great people. Once we arrived we chilled by the pool with a nice cold Savanna. We'd been stuck in the boiling bus for 5 hours so it was a refreshing treat. On Friday myself, Linsey and Melissa ventured to the beautiful country of Lesotho. Unfortunately Erin hadn't packed her passport so was unable to join us. We took a mini bus from the backpackers with a group of other travelers it took around 2hours to drive to the boarder. Lesotho is the 3rd poorest country is the world and is also the highest country due to it having the highest low point. The scenery was astonishing it was just like something from a magazine. It felt like we'd been transported back in time with traditional mud houses and people traveling on donkeys. We first went to a local primary school which is supported by the ampitheatre backpackers. There were only 5 teachers who each had the responsibility of over 50 children each. It is extremely rare that a child will go onto secondary school and if they do they must walk 2miles to and from school through the mountains everyday. We then hiked upwards where we were shown cave drawings from 4000years ago. Adrian our guide then drove us to a traditional sengoma's house. A sengoma is a traditional healer who helps heal physical, emotional and spiritual illnesses, directing birth or death rituals, finding lost cattle, protecting warriors, counteracting witches, and narrating the history, cosmology, and myths of their tradition. She talked us through her work and her calling to become a healer, this was translated by a local who worked at the primary school. It was really interesting and unlike anything I'd ever seen before. We then went a tasted some homemade beer which was ... different but I give it a try. To indicate that the local people have beer or food for sale they fly a white or red flag from their house. We then went to try some cultural food consisting of pap and spinach which was really nice. The local kids we're so incredibly cute they came up and held my hand and starting walking with me. They were so smiley and happy I wanted to take them all home with me but apparently that's illegal. It was such an unforgettable day which showed me rural Africa at its finest. On the Saturday I released my inner scout and climbed a mountain. We went with the same guide Adrian who was utterly hilarious. The weather was fairly wet and cloudy but luckily every half an hour it would pass and we would get a lovely view. We ascended 600m, 300 of which were up a wet, rocky, vertical gully. It took some time but we eventually reached the and the view was amazing. We took the opportunity to whack out our project trust merchandise and take some photos. On the way down we had to climb two metal ladders which added together were 45meters long. There was no rope it was very wet and very steep but I really enjoyed it and got the adrenaline going! Our stay in northern Drakensberg was brilliant and we met some lovely people from South Africa, California, Germany, Israel, France, Denmark, Canada and last but not least the exotic town of Croydon.
The holiday was perfect and just what we needed after a busy first 2months of volunteering. The kids were so happy to see us when we arrived back and baby Aaelyah even recognised us both. We cannot wait for new year to explorer even more of South Africa but for now we're very happy to he back at St Mary's.
