South Africa - Land of the Opposites, Klaus Metzger, Jutta Hartmann-Metzger [if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt] 📗

difficulties with our touring coach and the nightly power failures at our Protea Hotel (A) in Hluhluwe. We were spared from further disturbances on the further round trip. In the courtyard of the hotel, I experienced numerous weavers who sought access to their typical nests.

 

 

 

The weaver bird and its typical nest.

 

Even on arrival in the evening I noticed that only female staff helped with the unloading of our luggage from our bus. This process was repeated in the morning after our extensive breakfast. I felt a strange feeling.

 

 

Female staff on loading

 

Now we were very curious about the events of the day, because we had so much gigs, which would be offered to us in KwaZulu-Natal. In any case, we were up early enough to see the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park (B) at about 9 o'clock.

 

 

This oldest national park in Africa is located 280 km north of Durban (our daily destination E). It covers 960 km² of mostly hilly terrain and is located in central Zululand in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The abundant nature provides habitat for numerous mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, lions and leopards are also present in the park, as are cheetahs, wildhounds, giraffes and Nyalas (South East African antelopes). Hluhluwe and Imfolozi were founded as separate reservoirs in 1895, when the population of these animals was endangered by excessive hunting.

 

At the beginning of the 1960s the broad-mouth nash (Ceratotherium simium) was threatened with extinction. The last known occurrences existed worldwide in Imfolozi. In Rhino, carried out by the KwaZulu Nature Conservation Service, specimens were taken and sent to reserves and zoos all over the world, which has meanwhile restored the world's reserves. Today, similar efforts are being made with the pointed mulnashorn (Diceros bicornis).

 

In 1999, a project was started to conserve the lion population, which suffered from inbreeding so that the stocks were supplemented by new animals. In the course of time, the parks were assigned to other areas, protected areas were erected in 1964, and in 1989 the two main areas (Hluhluwe and Umfolozi) and the separate corridor to the present park were united.

 

 

 

Our safari vehicles for the wildlife park

 

With this information provided, we went on our 3rd safari in the open jeep. The hilly terrain was much more open and better to overlook than during the two safaris in the Kruger National Park. ("Wild animals - close up in South Africa") Thus the interesting animals were much easier to recognize and could be observed in peace. This was particularly true of the above-mentioned wide-mouth horns.

 

 

Breastmawlashorn at noon

 

Impressive was also the observation of the larger herd of water buffaloes, all of whom had begun to regain their absorbed nourishment into the comfortable recumbent position-only the high-pitched head served to observe the environment. When we returned to this herd after about one and a half hours, the digestion process had ended, and the herd had stood up to continue. Because of the ideal conditions and the rich animal world, this park is much more interesting to me than the larger and much more famous Kruger Park in the north.

 

 

 

Water buffalo during chewing

 

As the name suggests, KwaZulu-Natal is the home of Zulu. They speak a Bantus language. The tribes that lived in the province of the present province were united in the 19th century by the Zulu king Shaka. In memory of this great, belligerent king, the international airport of Durban was named after him: King Shaka International Airport. From there we flew the following day over Johannesburg (where we had arrived six days earlier from Germany) to Cape Town to enjoy the second part of our round trip.

 

In the area of ​​today's KwaZulu-Natal was the short-lived Burenrepublik Natalia, which was founded on 11 November 1839 after the victorious Battle of the Blood River over the Zulu of the Voortrekkern (Buren). It lay on the coast of the Indian Ocean, north of the Eastern Cape. Although the Republic of Natalia was founded by Buren, today the English share in the European-born population minority in KwaZulu-Natal prevails. The Boers moved further north to the area, which later became known as the Orange Free State and Transvall, after the United Kingdom annexed Natal in 1842. As a result, many British immigrants settled in this fertile area. The name Natal is translated as a "Christmas land" as it was discovered on Christmas Day, the "natalis", in 1497 by Vasco da Gama on his journey to India. 

 

The settlement efforts were particularly favored in the surroundings of the Bay of Natal, today's Durban, where the port of Durban has gradually evolved since the 19th century. Since the second half of the 19th century, many Indians have been recruited to South Africa as workers for sugar cane plantations. These later moved for the most part into the cities. They represent most of the Hindus of South Africa, but there are also Muslims among them. Durban is the city with the largest Indian population outside the Indian subcontinent. German immigrants were also settled in today's KwaZulu-Natal. In the area around Wartburg, Harburg and Hermannsburg still live German-speaking South Africans

 

 

 

Zulu women with their art objects for the household

 

What has become of the original inhabitants, the Zulu? Today, there are over eleven million Zulu and these constitute the largest ethnic group in South Africa. They live mainly in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal visited by us. We were able to visit a former Zulu village (C), and several Zulus introduced their craft skills, which they developed more than 200 years ago for the manufacture of their weapons and domestic appliances. Unfortunately, this Zulu village lacked the lively atmosphere, because the uninhabited area is obviously only offered for demonstrations, which are offered to the tourists with little motivated Zulu performers.

 

 

Before we went on to Durban, we should take part in an exciting company: a boat trip on the St. Lucia Lake (B, D) in the middle of the crocodiles and hippos. The lake is connected to the Indian Ocean by the 21 kilometer long Wetland Narrows and is the largest of South Africa's. The Wetland Narrows allow for an exchange of water in both directions. As a result, the salt content of the lake, which can take up the salt content of the ocean in the south, fluctuates while the northern part contains brackish water or fresh water. The lake is located about 250 kilometers northeast of Durban.

 

St. Lucia Lake was discovered on 13th December 1575 by the Portuguese sailor Manuel Perestrerello and after the holiday Saint Lucia named. In 1897, the lake was declared a Game Reserve. In 1999 he was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the ISimangaliso Wetland Park. We first visited the homonymous resort of St. Lucia, where we exchanged in the bank there in Euro. This was again a long-drawn-out undertaking in which our passports were extensively examined. As it turned out later, this periodic exchange was more reliable than the uncertain use of banking machines.

 

 

Sluggish hippos in St. Lucia lake

 

On a little trustworthy, flat pontoon boat with outboard motors, we went on a shallow sea, which has a mean depth of only 1 meter and extends over a length of 112 km. Therefore it was also very easy to understand that the hippos were lying in the water on the shore, and only a few of the animals swarmed together. Of the more than 1,000 crocodiles to be found in St. Lucia, we have only one specimen Discovered the sluggish opposite of the boat station in the bank extinguishing the sun's warmth. After 2 hours of unforgettable impressions we returned to the boat landing and our bus was already waiting for the journey to Durban (E).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. The Golden Mile of Durban in South Africa

Durban's six-kilometer-long sandy beach, called "Golden Mile", is undoubtedly the biggest attraction of the city. Due to the warm, subtropical climate, swimming in the Indian Ocean is possible all year round. The beaches are well guarded and secured with groves. When we arrived in the evening after the long bus trip from the St. Lucia lake in Durban it was already dark, so that a beach visit was no longer possible. This would not have been advisable, as we were warned against criminal elements that were scrambling everywhere in Durban.

 

We were looking forward to the Raya Balmoral Hotel and were surprised, as it has come into the years and certainly better days, but the numerous colored women in their colorful clothes were in this hotel a feast for the eyes. We have learned later that after the lifting of Apartheid (1994) the colored people enjoy to move freely in these places, which were previously denied them. This group came from a small, isolated village and were on a "company tour". Our colored bus driver knew a participant of this company. My wife, Jutta Hartmann-Metzger, was so enthusiastic that she asked the older ladies for permission to photograph her after breakfast.

 

 

 

Friendly guests at the Raya Hotel Balmoral

 

This was the best hotel we have ever stayed in. The rooms are very clean, the staff is very friendly and helpful. Otherwise we always had to wait for our suitcases in the hotel room and the receipt with a "tip". This is the more personal and secure solution, but it can take a long time.

 

 

Surfers in the Indian Ocean (Durban)

 

In daylight the following morning the famous sand beach ("Golden Mile") could be recognized. Although the weather was very stormy and partly raining, we decided to take a one-hour walk along the beach promenade. It was worth it, because we saw stormy waves, the solitary surfer challenged. But also busy, colored youths who cleaned the pools of the fun baths (which also belong to the "Golden Mile").

 

 

Colored cleaning staff for the fun baths

 

A larger group of colored in blue work suits were doing to repair damage on the beach promenade to the beach side. It is already surprising how these people, who suffered under apartheid more than 20 years ago, have integrated themselves exemplary into the working life.

 

 

    Colored workers in repair work on the beach promenade

 

Durban (formerly Port Natal) is an important city on the Indian Ocean on the east coast of South Africa. With over 3.4 million inhabitants after the census of 2011, the Durban metropolitan area is the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third-largest city in the rainbow nation after Johannesburg and Cape Town. Durban itself had in 2011 595,061 inhabitants. This metropolis is a major industrial and port city with the largest port in Africa and because of the subtropical