Skip to main content

Durban / Fri Mar 8

 Today we're docked in Durban, South Africa. It's the third largest city in Africa and the busiest seaport in the country. There are beautiful beaches making it a vacation destination for many. Mahatma Gandhi was resident here from 1893 - 1914.

 Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natale and is home to many Zulu people. They live in an area called Valley of a Thousand Hills which is where we went on tour today. We went to the Phezulu Village to learn about Zulu culture and traditions. 

 When we arrived we were greeted with a welcome dance.
 
Before going to the Zulu village area we went to a crocodile and snake park. The photo below is of 'Junior.' He was caught in the Okavango Swamps in Botswana in the 1960's when he was about 50 years old then came to live in the Phezulu Park in 1988. He died in August 2012 at about 109 years old. He was almost 15 feet long and weighed just over 1300 pounds.
Junior



Ball Python

Black Mamba
Green Mamba

Banded Cobra
Puff Adder
Then we went to learn about the Zulu marriage customs and how the male courts the female and has to give a minimum of 11 cows for her dowry. Fortune tellers are involved and everyone in the village attends the wedding. 

The Fortune Tellers
Courting the Female



Meet my new Zulu friends!
 
The Valley of a Thousand Hills was beautiful to see. 
 
As we were leaving a group of school children arrived. So cute!
Below are a few other photos of our day including a Zulu hut and pictures of Durban's downtown area and a suburban mall.
Mall located in the Durban suburbs
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We're On Our Way!

Guests who are not on the world cruise boarded the ship on Monday. Since we boarded on Sunday and were already unpacked, we spent much of the day exploring the ship and going to the gym. At 5:15 there was a 'Muster Drill'. Fortunately we didn't need to bring our life jackets with us. At 6pm we set sail and the USC Marching Band played as we sailed off. After dinner we went to a variety show called 'Crystal in Motion' and from there we headed to the Atrium to watch the balloon drop. The balloon drop is the final part of the Bon Voyage World Cruise Countdown. Waiters handed out champagne while a quartet played music and a singer belted out tunes. The captain gave a toast and then balloons dropped as confetti rained down. Quite a fun end to the World Cruise Countdown Party! The Captain making a toast. Balloons starting to drop Lots of balloons and lots of confetti flying.. Today is Wednesday and we're on our 2nd of 5 sea days. Our fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Adventure Begins - Part One

It's now less than 24 hours before we head out on our adventure! We are so grateful to have wonderful friends who are sending us off in style. Steve and Tresa planned a lovely Bon Voyage dinner for our last night on the Ranch. The dinner included a signature blue drink (yummy!) and a Bon Voyage cake. Kim and Don sent us off with a fun and super creative touch ... personalized Bon Voyage napkins! We used some of them but the rest are coming with us on the ship. I wonder if the butler for our cabin has ever had someone provide their own personalized napkins! Signature Drink Bon Voyage cake, signature drink and gifts! Bon Voyage Cake & Napkins Other friends have called or sent emails and e-cards to wish us bon voyage - too many to mention individually, but it means so much to us. Thanks to each and every one of you! Now that we're ready to head out I can finally answer the question - "how many suitcases are you taking?" The answer is 5 large ...
Post a Comment
Read more

So This Is The Intro Post ...

Welcome to Opals and Romeos! Are you wondering about the blog title? For the uninitiated ... OPALS are Older People with Active Lifestyles and ROMEOS are Retired Old Men Eating Out. Most who hear these terms for the first time are ROTFLOL! Hope you are too! Opals and Romeos describe my current life ... and a great one it is! Opal fits me pretty well (although I don't think of myself as 'old') and I'm married to a Romeo (although he's not 100% retired). We hang out with other Opals and Romeos on the west coast of FL. What distinguishes Opals from ordinary 'old people' is the 'active' part. While you may think we sit around all day waiting for someone to call or visit, our lifestyle is about as far from that as you can imagine. We play sports - golf, tennis & pickle ball - take walks, work out, kayak, paddleboard, play games (canasta, mahjong and hand & foot), take continuing ed classes, belong to book clubs, go to plays and concerts, w...
Post a Comment
Read more