Easter in Durban, South Africa

Doug and I got a last minute cancellation at a B&B in Durban and zipped out of Swaziland for the 4-day Easter weekend (gotta love a 'Christian' Kingdom that recognizes 'Good Friday' and 'Easter Monday' as public holidays!). The weather has turned abruptly towards autumn in Swaziland, so heading south down the coast to the beach and for a dose of 'city' life was the perfect plan. It wasn't our typical vacation as no camping, hiking, or real 'exerting' was done. Personally, I thought it was a welcome change. We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday and checked-in at LaLoggia B&B in Umhlanga Rocks just a few kilometers north of Durban city center. Umhlanga Rocks is the 'Beverly Hills' of Durban and boasted some seriously insane properties. I tried to take pictures as we drove past, but the fortress like gates and speed of the car made it a challenge!

We stayed in one said mansion that had been converted to a guest house.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Balcony

Pool

On Friday night we went down to the boardwalk (about 3 blocks away) and picked one of the Cancun-esque hotels for dinner

The restaurant was right on the ocean so we requested a table outside and enjoyed lots of seafood. I usually eat too quickly and forget to snap a picture, but after living in a landlocked country for 2 years, seafood is a real treat! So, here are the prawns that I had as my main entree. Calamari appetizer didn't last long enough for a photo shoot. Yum.

We had heard about a 'big' mall called, 'The Gateway,' so we ventured over after hours to check it out (and to secretly track down some ice cream - another key food group missing in Swaziland). It was actually kind of nice to be able to visit the mall without having to deal with holiday crowds because it is safe to say that it has been a long, long time since either Doug or I have been exposed to such a shopping extravaganza. I think the whole of Swaziland could have fit inside the mall!

There was a 30 cinema movie theater, 4 gelato shops, car dealerships, a wave pool (as in, you can rent a surf board and ride a wave inside), a multi-story climbing wall, and every shop known to man. Nuts.

Cinema

Climbing wall (dark pillar in the background) and entrance to the wave pool

On Saturday we went to the beach all morning and in the late afternoon headed into Durban proper to see the Durban Sharks play. On Doug's 'bucket list' before we leave Swaziland he had wanted to attend a professional rugby match, so after checking the Sharks schedule and seeing that they had a home game over Easter, we set out to make it happen. It was actually way easier than expected (in comparison to say attending a Redskins game) and we enjoyed watching the Sharks win!

Mr. Price King's Stadium

Doug, day-dreaming about being a professional rugby player

Not your average 'cheerleaders.' They were called the, 'flashers' (and I'm not kidding)

Game time!

On Sunday we spend another morning at the beach and then went out for a 3rd seafood dinner and a movie (Water for Elephants). It was a proper 'date night' and the perfect cap to our 'city scape' weekend as we had to make the 6 hour drive back to Swaziland on Monday morning.

Sometimes a little 'cush' vacay ain't all bad! It's not every time that we need to schlep up a 19,000 foot mountain in a blizzard and in the middle of the night!