Shifting Sands-Heaven Meets Earth- Cape Vidal, St Lucia Wetlands

Where Heaven meets Earth.
The real Shifting Sands
The vast expanses of Cape Vidal, St Lucia Wetlands.

How about this? A log cabin £25pppn - away from everything by the sand dunes?
Next time!!




Whales?  Well, we had a whale of a time!
Talk about surfing....  I was knocked over and surfed & tumbled up the beach a few times.  Pet didnt - she said it was my buoyancy aides!  See the wave behind us!

Cheeky monkeys up in the trees kept us amused.  They were as quick as lightening down a tree, grab something out of an open hamper, and back up the tree again.

The surf caught us out but at least the Indian Ocean is warm.

Had a leisurely drive back through the wetlands and saw a huge rhino, water buffalo, zebra, kudu and warthogs.

The downloads here are so slow that I'm not putting the photos of animals on the blog!

Was it the surf and the sea

OR Barry's x 3 g & ts??








Only 5 days left                                                                                    

Shifting Sands-OMG A Hippo Lands!!

OMG -  a pregnant hippo saunters up the main street while we were having a lasagne in Alfredo's!  Stops all the traffic and just takes its time munching the grass.  Apparently they come out of the water and wander around the streets at night quite often......  what a party piece!!!!

St Lucia Wetlands is approx 350 miles north of Durban.  It has a unique mosaic of eco systems and is on the World Heritage list because of its remarkable diversity: swamps, lakes, beaches, coral reefs, wetlands, woodlands, coastal forests, grasslands supporting a diversity of animal, bird and marine life.
Amazing area.

We are staying in Umililo Lodge in St Lucia village which has a tropical & jungle feel to it.

 Had to go on the river cruise. Signs say 'do not feed crocodiles'!

Plenty of crocodiles, hippos and wonderful bird sightings.

Local boys put on a musical finale


Nothing could compare to the hippo walking down the high street at night though!!

Shifting Sands - Emerging Faces in Strange Places

Look what washed up on the beach today!!

 Pet & Paul from home

A leisurely breakfast

Monkeys wanted to join us! See baby on right

A Barry's g & t does it!!

Lovely evening meal on terrace overlooking sea- the best fish soup ever!

Lovely evening and super meal- great start to our adventures!

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The pictures below are from yesterdays trip down the south coast below Durban, leaving KwaZulu Natal and entering the Eastern Cape. Wanted to show you how beautiful it is.

Southbroom beach & lagoon



THE WAFFLE HOUSE overlooking the beautiful lagoon at Ramsgate.

What an amazing place South Africa is!

Shifting Sands - WOW what a land

TRULY AWESOME.   The view from the deck of our gorgeous 'look out lodge'.

Another amazing setting.   This land is full of inspirational and courageous people!

Having made an impromptu decision to head South and visit the Oribi Gorge, we just phoned and booked in at Leopard Rock Look Out Lodge.   What a find!!!

Me on Leopard Rock overhanging the Gorge. See river below.
Barry couldnt even come down the path so a gardener took the pic!

View from Leopards Rock

The jacuzzi bath also has the view but is inside

This HAS to be THE BEST SHOWER ever.
Outside with an amazing view

Dinner was served on our deck - lamb curry & complimentary bottle of champagne. Andries & Sue think of
everything to make your stay perfect.

A superb breakfast in the restaurant


Tash had happened to email that night saying if we went South to go and visit the Waffle House & Cowshed.  We managed a waffle even after that breakfast!!

Who said to me that South Coast below Durban was dangerous!  How dangerous was it in the riots in the UK in 2011?  This area was unexpectedly beautiful.  A feeling of lushness, tropical and very chatty people

A delightful two days

Shifting Sands-Sharks Coming Inland

NO SWIMMING - shark nets removed.   Cyclone affecting the sea conditions coming in, so nets removed.  Every beach has lifeguards with a surf boards and buoyancy aids, see below.

Going up to Ballito, north, we saw a seedier part of Durban.  Previously we had been along the Durban seafront with some reasonable hotels and up a wide street with a conference centre and other modern buildings.  This time we went through other streets and realised sadly that the shops and facilities were extremely downtrodden.  All reasonable shops have moved out of Durban into shopping malls.  Such lovely old architecture going to ruin - very sad.

Ballito is a pleasant sleepy seaside town, nice apartments by the beach and a very long wide boardwalk going for 4 or so miles, from one end of Ballito to the other.  It was lovely to stroll along and admire the amazing surf.

Live Inspired - you can always find an inspirational saying wherever you go.

We had met a couple from Ballito when we went to Leopard Mountain Lodge. She said that opposite her shop in Ballito was an antique shop which would have the distressed picture frames I am looking for.  We found the shop and got a frame.  Barry is worried about my baggage weight, coming back with far more than expected!

More retail therapy - visited The Lifestyle Mall - quite delightful for a shopping centre & loved the imaginative garden centre in the middle

Michelle's birthday - one of the lovely managers at Ansteys. 

 

Shifting Sands: Shifting Places: Do You Know These Faces?

Shifting Sands: Shifting Places: Do You Know These Faces?

Look who came out of the bush today?  Travelling from Jo'burg to Cape Town

Its our dear old friends - Clive and Sandie, passing through Durban for a couple of days.

Lovely lunch at end of the pier with Sandie's cousin and wife.

 Clive chatted up the waiter!

This sharks mouth is a replica of the actual size!!  Its a Megaladon - prehistoric shark

Look at the size of the Great White Shark against the Megalodon above

A monitor lizard happily wandered around the shopping mall!  (A special pic for Lars)

Sandie & Clive are 'Shifting On" to Port Elizabeth so sadly it was only a passing visit.

Back at Ansteys - a beautiful afternoon walk on The Bluff

A 'prized find' in the sand - 'A World in a Shell.'!!

 

Look closely & you can see the crustaceans as if it is the sea bed.
The mother of pearl gives the upper part of the shell the effect of the sea and sky.

Just exquisite and conjures up many thoughts on the words "A World in a Shell'