DAY TWO From Johannesburg to Durban

Day two – From Johannesburg to Durban (through Howick Falls)

General hustle and bustle of packing and organizing ourselves before driving.

ZUZANNA WALISZEWSKA:

In the morning we ate our first breakfast and embarked on over ten- hour- long trip to Durban. It was the day when we tried Nando’s. We didn’t know that it will be probably our last chicken in South Africa. I must admit that eating chicken in our van, next to Agata, trying not to get dirty was something that I still recall in my head. It was also the day when we tried  ginger beer. Firstly, we all shared the bottle of Stoney. I have to say that it didn’t sweep me off my feet. We also bought a homemade ginger beer and tried it. Adrian and Michał really loved it and they enjoyed it so much that they bought three bottles for each of them. I remember them walking proudly with those bottles in their hands. I also remember their faces, when I told them that this beer has actually no alcohol. I’ve never seen such a disappointment  in my entire life. At that day we also had an opportunity to see Howick Falls. We were all in a great awe and our Professor just said “It’s pathetic”. We don’t have many waterfalls in Poland and those remaining look more like fountains. That’s why we were impressed by Howick, although it didn’t look the way it should have due to the drought.  What’s more, during our first full day in South Africa we experienced rain that didn’t prevent us from reaching our destination. In the evening we arrived to ATKV resort called “Natalia”. We were welcomed by a really nice couple, with whom we ate a delicious supper. There was a chicken pie, mashed peas and as a dessert- malva pudding. For some of us it was love at first sight. 

From Johannesburg to Durban

ADRIAN PTASZYŃSKI – Miami, here I come!

An early wakey-wakey and the first South African sunray taking a gentle stroll down my skin – delightful! Our first breakfast in Suid-Afrika is not really surprising or revolutionise my culinary awareness in any way – it is your old, traditional eggs and bacon you will get anywhere around the world, and especially in former British colonies, that's for sure. I am trying to get mentally used to the ''Hou links!'' mode of driving, even though I don't drive myself. A series of dissapointments wait for me on the road – the ''dagga'' plant we found was just a poisonous local bush and the ginger beer I stocked up on contained zero alcohol. Well, to be honest, it is quite tasty anyway! However, finally reaching Durban with its stunning ocean view and the tropical palm trees all over was definitely THE thing of the day – I've always wanted to go to Miami, and here I am, in a city looking almost exactly like it! We wind up at the ATKV resort, Natalia, that has kindly offered to host us for some time. We eat a wonderful dinner and then realise how necessary the room air conditioning is in these parts of the world.

Drinking Stoney and homemade nonalcoholic ginger beer on our way to Durban

MICHAŁ MARCINIAK:

It's our first morning in South Africa. We're having our first breakfast, it's not that bad. We are on our way to Durban. Along the way we experience our first rain in South Africa. I would even call it heavy rain. So far, the landscape reminds me a bit of Polish landscape during summer. We were hungry so we stopped at Nando's. It was definitely the best choice ever. Nando's chicken is delicious and the wedges are even better. But before I had it , I tried Stoney. Yes, that beverage remaind my favourtie one until the last day of our tour. It is a great pity that it is not available in Poland. We also tried biltong, I like the flavour but it is quite hard to chew it. For me droëwors is much better, probably because of all the spices, which give amazing flavour. This is definitely a day of new flavors. We also tried a real, homemade ginger beer. However, we are a bit disappointed with Adrian because it turned out that it does not contain alcohol. When we finally get to Natalia- ATKV Beach Resort it was already dark. They were waiting for us with the supper which was really nice. Later we went to our rooms and chatted for a while.

WE ARE FINALLY IN SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!

AGATA LEŚNOWOLSKA:

The morning started with a lot of confusion, since it is not as hot as we’d expected. There were some outfit changes and many, many jokes relating to this issue. Parents informed, headaches cured, bodies refreshed – everyone was ready to experience an adventure. We didn’t know yet (such babies) that there was a lot of driving ahead of us. We stopped at the airport to exchange our money which turned out to be a complicated process. All kinds of information were needed and it took a long time. Conscientiousness of the employees? Not really, just a lot of paperwork filled without much thought, as we could see on the basis of the person who was serving Adrian. He confused his passport with Ilona’s and presented it in the bureau the change, while the person working there didn’t even notice something was amiss.

The first views seen from the car’s window reminded very much the Polish ones. It was only when we were in KwaZulu Natal, did something start to change. 

KwaZulu Natal

KwaZulu Natal

The highlight of the day was Nando’s. Well, it was simply so delicious. I miss Nando’s. South Africa has far more good fast foods, which undoubtedly factors in the obesity problem.

The first drive made me realize how much attention I paid to the last year's cattle cultural studies. For the whole trip whenever I saw a cow there was this thought in my head, emerging with almost programmed-like regularity 'very very important, bantu cattle have nice colours, lobola' but in the first two/three days my excitement about seeing a cow was even bigger than that about seeing my first South African giraffe. Which I now realize was quite strange for a polish girl, because it is a fairly common animal in my country and I would even say that Polish cattle’s coloring is far less diverse but more entertaining. In other words, cattle in South Africa have become rock stars in my head – very, very important.

We also tried our first biltong and droëwors and root beer. All delicious, biltong as chewy as described. Even more. We were also told that Coca Cola is huge in South Africa, an information that we would be discovering to be true for the next three weeks and 8493 drinks.

Howick Falls

Howic Waterfall. We were super excited as it was the first ‘thing’ we would see in South Africa and we weren’t disappointed at all. I refuse to acknowledge it as pathetic even though I know it must be much more impressive when there isn’t a drought.

The dinner in Natalia was absolutely lovely, a fact that I am only now able to see because during it I was too confused and stressed. My lack of life experience told me that such events must be awfully formal and uncomfortable and it took me a few more of them to realize that I was again being a life baby. I don’t remember what the food was exactly but I was surprised that there was a dessert. Now I know that there is ALWAYS a dessert. Not a polish phenomenon and for once I’m happy (so much food, you eat, you’re full, you almost cry and then… a dessert. Known also as the nail in my dinner coffin, the last straw. Please note, at this point Michał still wasn’t discovered as Hoover).

Howick Falls

Happy Chasers with Hawick Falls

ILONA KARNIŁO:

As we have managed to rest after the flight, the next morning there was a 12 hour drive ahead of us. Destination – Durban ATKV Natalia Resort. But first, we had to go back to the airport to exchange our money and buy simcards and airtime. I had to pay 100 rands for the simcard, which I found outrageous, as it is free in Poland. Also, the policy South Africans have with money exchange is very tiring. You need to give all your details and the passport, and the whole process takes ages! (5 to 10 minutes, but that’s a lot). When we finally managed to leave Johannesburg and went south, we were all amazed by the landscape, and that was the moment it got to me – I’m in South Africa! Three things I’ve learned during the trip – Ginger Beer is very tasty, but it does not contain any alcohol, Nando’s is very tasty, and cheap unlike in the UK, and biltong is not tasty at all, but I’ve managed to keep it secret so nobody gets offended. As we reached our destination, we jumped straight to the restaurant at ATKV and we were greeted with a delicious supper.

Howick Falls

KwaZulu Natal