Better late than never!

I actually made it. After a stressful, boring and miserable weekend of travel, covering everything from disgusting plane food to hoooooours of waiting at the airport on the most uncomfortable seats, I finally arrived to my first accommodation in South Africa, a villa in Durban.

The place had the fluffiest towels ever and was a welcome luxury after a long, dreadful journey. However, to get there was not an easy task – for a local taxi driver. He had quite some difficulties finding the place even though he knew the address, because the street names in Durban have just changed recently. The government decided to rename streets, the famous/important black people from the past were apparently underrepresented. So Fisher Street suddenly became Masobiya Mdludli Street. You can imagine that even blacks find it confusing.

Next day I had to go back to the airport (travelling from and to the King Shaka International with two massive pieces of luggage and another bag in less than a day, feeling like an idiot) where I got picked up by a Dutch family, visiting their son, a researcher, at Hluhluwe – which was my final destination.

The park is beautiful, the scenery amazing and the climate moist and warm. The facilities I’m staying at are a bit less of a sight, but a man gets used to everything. The damp mouldy smell of my room should slowly disappear even though I cannot freely let the fresh air, because cheeky monkeys are just waiting for a chance to inspect your luggage and maybe find a delicious piece of an old cookie. Also, the walls may get decorated by the postcards and cards I will receive over time (just a humble wish), or maybe even by some photos of the endemic grasses, titled by their Latin names, I should memorize.

In the meanwhile, I will enjoy the scenery of the park and the company of the people sharing the common places, such as kitchen, office, open-fire-place and football field. And try to get comfortable in an Isuzu.