Travel, Zulu Culture, and more travel!

After a very hectic and trying week, we got a much deserved day of rest. On Saturday we traveled to the town of Stellenbosch and got a tour of the University there. We also took a tour of a local winery where we partook in wine tasting and ate lunch there. Afterwards we went to a cheetah farm where we got the chance to interact with adult and baby cheetahs.

Saturday night we went to dinner at a restaurant in the township of Langa, where we had the opportunity to eat local food and enjoy live musical entertainment. There was an incredible large selection of food, which gave us the opportunity to try many new and interesting foods. Many Afrikaans often dine at the restaurant as a symbolic means of showing their good faith efforts to rebuild relationships with various communities after the dark and grime past that have plagued South Africa since the Apartheid public policies that begun in 1954 and ended in 1994. Despite the Afrikaans good faith effort to visit the townships restaurant, we noticed that they displayed impolite behavior towards our group, particularly we were stirred at and when they came in contact with us, they did not utilize sayings such as “excuse me” instead they used abrasive behavior and just rudely pushed their way pass us. This interaction with the Afrikaans at the township restaurant leaves us with many questions about the intent of the Afrikaans visit to the township and whether this interaction with normal for their population or whether there were some discontent with us. In spite of our interaction with the Afrikaans, we enjoyed a night of fine dining in Langa.

Sunday morning we had to depart Cape Town, and leave behind some great new friends and colleagues, namely, Shireen, Sean, and Toni. We already miss the fun and exciting interaction we have had with them and hope our paths will cross again. As we woke up bright and early, we were informed that our flight was delayed to Durban, so we didn’t arrive until 1:30pm. Although, we were tardy, we drove two hours to the Zulu Homestead directly after arriving at the airport.
The Zulu homestead is similar in our opinion to a Native American Reservation were indigenous people live in ways that are consisted with the traditions of their culture. We learned some aspects of the Zulu life and saw an example of how a Zulu village would be set up. We also ate a traditional Zulu lunch and went into traditional Zulu huts. The Zulu’s put on a dance for us, which was quite interesting and entertaining.

After a great day of enjoying the Zulu culture we headed for Hotel Tropicana, which is located on the South Coast of Durban. The views from our 10th floor hotel rooms were breathtaking and splendid. We had a great view of the Indiana Ocean and a beautiful waterfront walkway.

Today, Monday, June 02, 2008, we had the opportunity to sleep until 9:00 (and if you have been keeping up with our blog you would know this is very late for us haha). After enjoying the hotel breakfast, we are in route to Zulu Nayla Heritage Lodge, which is approximately a 4-5 hour drive from Durban. Upon arrival we will enjoy the nature, outdoors and prepare for our visit to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park (Safari) and St. Lucia Estuary tomorrow.