It is the first of May. And this week there have been two or three (I get confused) public holidays in South Africa. A lot of people have taken the full week off work.
So it is now the beginning of a long holiday weekend here. Gail took us out today on a tour of Durban city. Actually, we started by having a look at the Kloof gorge nearby my aunt and uncle's house. It is huge and very scenic. We then drove down in to Durban but we did not park up and get out to have a walk as "downtown" Durban is not considered white-friendly or safe. Such a shame. We saw the old buildings and shops and the town hall.
Next, we stopped at Ushaka. This is a very cleverly designed aquarium attraction on the newly developed section of Durban's waterfront. By the time we arrived it had started to rain, so I guess it was one of the better places to be - being largely indoors. There are some outdoor things there - including a water park - but we just had a walk round and looked at the various fish and underwater life from the Indian Ocean. The design is like a shipwreck and at some point as you walk round the whole "ship" turns upside down!
We then ran back in to the small mall which lines the entrance to Ushaka and stopped for coffee and lunch at Ninos (which is a coffee shop chain here). Gail's daughters Candice and Caitlin had joined us and we chatted and just generally hung out. Made me feel quite young ;-)
The reason today's blog is named You-Shakka is because of a standing joke with my cousin, her kids and my aunt. Auntie Margaret mispronounces Ushaka. It should be oosharkah, quite a gentle sound. Margaret says YOU-Shakker - a real harsh sound. So we were having some fun with that all day - shouting out YOU-Shakka at various points. I guess you had to be there!
We came back to G&Ms and Margaret had made curry. She makes the most fabulous lamb curry and chicken and prawn, too. With various sambals to accompany. It was delicious - apparently the secret in the recipe is blitzed up baked beans! I must try that one day.
Another early night. We get so tired here - and really, we're doing the least we've done all holiday.
