Umhlanga

I’ve sprained my ankle. Completely own fault - in Sandton on Saturday, I wasn’t looking where I was going, and walked full pace into a metal bollard. The sprain has worsened over the past day or so, to the point that I suggested I sleep in the second bedroom in the cottage, to save Vicki from kicking it in her sleep. I’m a little discombobulated when Vicki wakes me at around 04:00 to let me know there’s *something weird* flying around the other bedroom. I briefly consider putting my brave boy pants on, and going to investigate, but determine that ultimately, that’s a much later job. We’re up by 07:30 for breakfast, which we eat in a deserted and eerily quiet dining room. There’s a persistent drizzle in the air. By the time we walk back to our cottage from breakfast, it’s become rain. The sky broods, and we both make sure our waterproofs are readily accessible should we need them. There’s a bit of a chill in the air as well. I suspect we’re not going to be doing a lot of outside stuff today…

We check out at 10:30, and head South towards Pietermaritzburg to meet my v old friend Jooj for lunch. It’s been fully 18 years since we saw each other and sooooooo much has happened in that time. We stop at Howick Falls on the way, a beautiful 100m and powerful waterfall on the Mgeni river. It’s mizzly overhead, and the spray from the falls contributes to an overall sense of dampness. We head off the southbound N3 at Hilton, and cruise down into Maritzburg, through some places that jog deeply seated memories. One brings back a particularly haunting flashback of a crushing hangover the day after the Rugby World Cup Final in 2003. I considered myself fortunate that most South Africans wanted England to win more than Australia (just) so I had a lot of folks with whom to celebrate. That was also the night I learnt that ‘Double Spiced’ is not the name of a rum, and that I’d been drinking double Spiced and Cokes all night. Ouchie.

Meeting Jooj is amazing. We fall back into an incredibly easy sibling-like patter. She’s just great fun to hang out with. I tried to describe her to Vicks the other day, and the best I could manage was a bundle of crazy fun energy… She doesn’t seem to me to have changed at all from the teenager / young adult I first met 20 odd years ago. All too soon, it’s time for us to continue on down to Durban. This is the shortest, and yet most stressful drive we’ve taken thus far. The highway south of PMburg is properly busy, and contains more like the proportion of dickhead drivers we’re used to in the UK. Happily, we’re only an hour from our overnight stop in Umhlanga Rocks.

Checked in and settled, we head for a wander on the beach. It’s windy, overcast, and trying to rain. We decide to cut our losses, and head to a cool little beach bar called Sunsets and Mermaids for some wine… A lovely bottle of Vergelegen later, we realise time’s getting on a bit. We hustle back to our hotel (it’s all of 15m away) via the Pick N Pay for a bottle of wine, and get ourselves a bit freshened up for dinner.

We eat at a new place called Mitera. Greek influenced Mediterranean menu, very reasonably priced, very tasty. The rain is really coming down now. We’re seated on a little outdoor but not outdoor terrace, so don’t get drenched. I commit a bit of a FUBAR by accidentally ordering Pastitsio (a carb and protein laden, heavy, pasta based meat pie type thing) as a starter, when I had meant to order Spanakopita (a feather light, filo pastry pie containing spinach and feta). It’s very tasty, but I suspect is going to leave us whatever the opposite of light on the loafers is. Our mains are sensational. I have some amazing grilled prawns, while Vicki wades into a lamb shank Kleftiko. More than sated, we waddle across the road back to our hotel, and briefly discuss watching a movie before falling into a deep, food-fuelled coma…Read more