Tag Archives: beach

Long Weekend

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This is how I was carried around as a baby!

When I went to stay with Sue Green for a couple of days, I had the opportunity to see some of her artwork. She is amazing! She switches from watercolor to acrylic to oil without batting an eyelid!

Her paintings decorate all the walls in her house, and I was simply blown away! As I went upstairs to my room, I looked at a grouping of pictures on the landing, and the one here really took my fancy.

She gave it to me!

When we were kids, our nannies carried us around like that on their backs, and the African women still do! Although, in town, I have seen young mothers with strollers so I guess more traditions are falling by the wayside. Sad.

Sue is “old-school” and doesn’t have the internet. I am so used to simply log in that it was an interesting few days as I went to a coffee shop and got emails, then the next three days were internet-free!

We reminisced a lot…and I was able to add more time frames into my memories. I seem to have been doing a lot of memory mining the last few weeks.

After a couple of days with Sue, I went down to Durban and John and I drove down to Clansthal, my most favorite beach in the world. Rosemary would come down on Saturday afternoon after her bridge game! I drove and John navigated to get me out of town as I have forgotten a lot of the streets.

cottage-clanWe had heard that Typhoon Irina was going to make landfall north of Durban on Sunday, so we were hoping to get some beach time in before that.

We missed most of the Friday afternoon and early weekend traffic, except for one area where the road was being resurfaced and we got stuck behind a stream of taxis, which typically, were absolutely jammed with bodies. Both John and I cursed as the ignorant passengers tossed their rubbish and plastic bottles out of the windows. I wanted to get out and go give them the stuff back but of course, couldn’t as we were moving! But honestly….

The cottage was exactly as it always has been, old and funky but as wonderful as every! Amos, the caretaker was there to help. And what a help he is! He cooks too, puts out the coffee and tea trays, does all the dishes! What a treat to be there.

beach-clanBoth dogs came down with us – Brutus, an elderly Jack Russel and Cleo, a Rottie. They absolutely love the beach and came with us as we went for a long walk. They swim, too and jump in the tide pools and Cleo swims out, almost surfing in on the waves. John and I got in too, but  it was quite cold and pretty rough too, with the typhoon starting to stir the sea up.

Saturday was still a gorgeous day – clear, sunny and oh yes, HOT! After a morning swim, a big breakfast and a short trip into Scottburgh to get groceries, I zoned out with a book before all John and Rosemary’s kids and grandkids arrived. Kathryn, their eldest and my god daughter came, with her boyfriend Anton. And Michelle with her husband and three little blonde girls, Kelly Rose (5) and Susie and Penny, the twins who are three and half, about the same age as Oliver.

We had a big lunch on the veranda at a long table that Amos set up. John braaied (bbq’d) dorado which was delicious! So with good South African beer and wines to wash it down, what more can a girl want?

By the time the gang left, the clouds had moved in and the wind picked up. The seas had got bigger – expecting 4-5 metres (12-15 ft) waves. It was looking really stormy.

I woke up to rain, big rain! And wind, but not typhoon strength. Messy, turbulent seas. But not cold at all. So we packed up and headed back to Durban before it could get any messier. And I drove back up to Ashburton from there. There was a huge amount of water on the roads, so I just drove slowly, and fortunately, everyone else had slowed down too.

By the time I got withing 15 km of Ashburton, the rain had eased up and at the house, it was just a light but steady rain, that gently half-filled the water tank, much to Debbie and Mick’s joy.

 

Hey Ho Silver Wheels

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silver fox

My "new" car, the Silver Fox, and that is Gremlin, my co-pilot on the roof

Wheels! Just picked up my “new” car* and am thrilled! Everything works, it drives well and it is quite amazing what good condition it is in.

I followed Mick home, as he he said he wanted to make sure “you drive on the left hand side of the road!” Thanks brother, dearest.

So though I don’t have any pressing needs to go anywhere, it is definitely a good feeling to be able to, and not have to rely on Mick or Debbie. I expect they are happy too!

Yesterday, I finally got to the beach at Winkelspruit with Graeme, my dear old friend who I grew up with. He lives in Johannesburg, and when he rang and said, “I’m coming to Durban, want to go to the beach?” of course I gave a resounding YES!

The water was clean and clear and warm!!! About 78F (25C) and although it was very choppy and no surfable waves, it just felt so good to get in. There were some bluebottles which I avoided, but one got Graeme but used the old remedy of Hottentot figs to soothe the sting. Brought back memories – one of my earliest – of when I was completely wrapped in the bluebottles and Mum slathered me with the hottentot fig juice and buried me in wet sand. hoping I wouldn’t go into shock from the stings. Obviously, she did the right thing, because I am still here!

There is a wonderful tidal salt water pool there. We had to wait for it to be filled, about an hour, but it has to be 25 yards or more long and if I lived close, would swim every day. It was clean and fresh and hardly anyone in it. It also brought home my desire to live really close to the beach, something that is always No. 1 on my list of where I want to live. The sound of the surf and the smell of the sea spray is what I want to wake up to every day.

The beach was cleaner, less rubbish, than when I was here three years ago, and I was also pleasantly surprised with how clean the public changing rooms were. Dilapidated, in dire need of maintenance, but they were spotless.

Had a great walk along the almost deserted beach and headed home to a lovely braai with Mick and Debbie.

That was a good day.

* For those who want to know: The car is a 1991 VW Fox with almost 300,000 km (187,000 miles) on it.

Weekend at Clan

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Clansthal is one of my favorite places on this planet. I have been going there since I was 16 and it holds so many wonderful memories. The cottage is a classic South Coast bungalow, with a wrap-around verandah and red tiled roof. It is on an acre of land and the lawn runs right down to the sand, with just a buffer of indigenous plants to shield it a bit from the wind. It’s been in the Lea family since the mid-50′s I believe.

Pix here

Rosemary invited me down and Zoze came too. Rosemary had to go to a 60th birthday party (very big here) so she could only come down late afternoon but John was going down at lunch time so we met him there. The weather people had been predicting a cold front coming through (thye’ve been saying that for days!) and it was chilly in Hillcrest when we left – I was actually wearing a sweat shirt and closed shoes! But when we got to the beach, it was stunning! Clear and warm – not hot.

Amos, the caretaker, lives on the property in his own quarters. This is still a bit of colonialism – he does everything in the house, makes sure it’s ready and clean, cooks, cleans up, puts out drinks on verandah in the evening, has the coffee ready in the morning. Lovely! He has been with the Leas for eons and has AIDS, but is fortunate to be on antiretrovirals and looks very well. Initially, the government didn’t have the drugs available to the local people, so John and Rosemary paid for his medication for a long time but now he is on government-provided meds. John speaks fluent Zulu, including all the click sounds, and he and Amos have these long conversations – I catch some of it but I have been gone from here for too long to really get the drift.

First thing Zoze and I did, was go down to the annex – it has three bedrooms and a bathroom separate from the house – where we sleep, and then took the dogs down on the beach. Cleo, the rottweiler is a puppy, just nine months old, and Brutus the jack Russel is about six. Cleo is so big and clumsy and she grabs Brutus by his tail and lifts him up and sort of tosses him around. But he doesn’t mind and they play and rough house all the time. They love the sea and head straight in. When we went to the swimming area they went running in and Brutus actually surfs the small waves! It is just the funniest thing. We were in stitches. The beach is loaded with shells and I found several cowries – one really big one. I haven’t seen that many for years.

Again in this area, we found the beaches to be much cleaner than when I was here before. One thing attributing to that, is you have to pay for plastic bags so there are very few thrown out now. But unfortunately, the Indian fishermen almost always leave trash on the beach which is often quite disgusting old bait, sometimes with hooks and lines which is so dangerous. We almost had a problem with Cleo getting hold of one, but fortunately although she got it hooked into her upper lip, the barb hadn’t gone in and as I kneeled on her (the only way I could keep her down, we were able to get the mess out!). But overall, the beaches are wonderful, lined with rocky outcroppings with lovely tidepools. The sea was quite rough so we didn’t swim.

Rosemary got down to the cottage around 4:30 and we went for another walk, much to the dogs joy. And then we went out to an Italian place in Scottburgh, a few clicks south. The others had pizza, and because I am not allowed dairy at the moment, I had the most delicious grilled calamari.

I slept pretty well with the sound of the surf lulling me, but woke up with a sore throat and cold – Zoze has had it for the last week so now I have it. Anyway, after a hot cuppa that we had lounging around on Rosemary’s bed, I felt much better and we went for a long walk on the beach. When we got back, Amos had breakfast ready – a huge breakfast! What a pleasure!

John and Rosemary’s daughters came down and had invited numerous friends – the party kept growing and growing! Michelle has three littles ones, Kelly is almost three and the twins are about 18 months – and each twin has her own nanny! Huge amounts of food were prepared – a big braai! John cooked a big filet (in the oven not on the braai) that was to die for – and I don’t eat much red meat!

By the time lunch was over, there was time for quick walk on the beach before we left, so we could get home before dark. When we drove off, the party was still in full swing and probably went on till dark.

Umzumbe Beach

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The sun is just lightening the morning sky in the east. I’ve been up for a while after falling asleep to the sounds of the surf breaking on one of my favorite beaches – Umzumbe. There is absolutely nothing like this anywhere else in the world, at least that I have seen. What a stress reliever this place is.

We left Ashburton yesterday morning early. Debbie’s sister Karen was on her way back to Zimbabwe and they were dropping her at the airport in Durban so they dropped me first at Zoze and Bryan’s. We loaded the car and headed out. The trip was about an hour and half, down the hill (we are at about 2000 feet) and on to the coast road heading south. Once we were out of the industrial area that surrounds Durban, just like any major city, the countryside opened up to the rolling hills of Kwa Zulu Natal. Miles and miles of sugarcane, interrupted by the primitive (by most standards) housing, some the traditional rondavels (round buildings) but most the newer rather ugly low cost concrete block tiny square structures. Many don’t have toilets, just outside longdrops. But some of the newer ones have what look like prefab, ready-to-go (no pun intended) composting toilets, provided by the government.


There are a couple of small towns along the way, but no major developments. A few new houses have gone up in the past year, according to Z&B. The road winds through the hills, with tantalizing views of the water and amazing coastline. We zipped by Clanstal where Rosemary and John’s cottage is and where I will go in the next couple of weeks. The Cottage!!!! we are staying at sleeps about 16 I think and is set up on the hill directly above the beach. The native bush shields it from a lot of the breeze, and a path makes its way down to the gate, through the indigenous plants that crowd it. The house itself is wonderful, open on the front with 180 degree views north to south. Absolutely breathtaking.


We went for a nice walk out to the rocks called Stabel, but it was very high tide, and the beach was too steep so we paddled but didn’t swim. The water is about 75 and I really wanted to get in but it was just too rough. The beach was beautifully clean though and there were maybe three other people out. Bryan went back before Zoze and I and managed to trigger the alarm system on the house! Frantic calls and everything was ok! That is something I am getting used to again – setting and unsetting alarms around the place.


My favorite place to sleep is upstairs in the bunk room – four beds along the walls with windows directly above, looking out on the same view as the main living room. The house is three stories high, and downstairs are three more bedrooms and the game room, which saw a lot of ping pong action last night. Zoze and I had quite a battle going. Wore us out so it was an early to bed.


No one else is up yet; the surf is calmer than yesterday too. We will probably go for a drive south to Port Shepstone and the coffee plantation there. And maybe to the casino (I’ll spend my big R10 allotment ($1.25) on the slots.