The past weekend in Mtunzini to celebrate a birthday and to participate in a Round Table night golf event, a first for many. To say fun was had by all was a understatement.
3 balls on the green
Putting time
3 teams of 2 each, one male one female per team hitting alternate shots- freshe’s galore.
Saturday – Participation to celebrate Mtunzini’s 1st birthday of their Park run, and my birthday.
A great time spent with our Zini family. Photos courtesy of Gary, Sharon, Jennie, Dawn.
Saturday down the South Coast in Pennington. Visit to brother Jeff and sister in law Linda along with sisters Belinda and Angela.
Purpose to have lunch and join in watching the photos and videos of Jeff/Linda’s 7 week tour on the Sinfonia, Durban to Venice. Second part of the viewing, Italy tour and Istanbul in Turkey. Fun times, food, drink and laughter.
Sunday- Fathers day, this time north of Durban, to visit son, daughter in law and grand daughter, in Mtunzini. Tour of the Umlalazi mangroves, a game of putt put and then lunch.
Great weekend with family.
One of the Queens of the sea, the Queen Mary 2 docked in Durban yesterday Monday 3rd March 2023. A 7pm departure, delayed by more than an hour, did not deter the large crowd at On Point, to watch the departure.
Exactly 3 weeks ago I wrote about my brother leaving Durban on the MSC Sinfonia. below courtesy of “Cruise mapper” is 2 photos of the Sinfonia travelling through the Suez canal.
The Suez canal completed in 1869 (154 years ago) and altered and strengthen many times since, is 193.30kms long. The canal separates Africa form Asia. The Sinfonia running from south to north into the Red sea along to the Gulf of Suez, holding at the Great Bitter lake before proceeding in convoy north to Port Said and the Mediterranean. (detail Britannica.com).
Monday morning 13th March 2023. Durban blessed by having 2 MSC cruise ships docked at the same time.
MSC SINFONIA – Tonnage 58,625 gross tons – Length 275m/902 ft – Passengers 2340
MSC ORCHESTRA – Tonnage 92,409 gross tons, Length 294m/964ft, Passengers 3060
Reason for the photos – My brother Jeff and sister in law Linda, were about to embark on the Sinfonia, for a 30 day cruise to Venice, stopping in Reunion, Mauritius, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, 3 ports in Egypt, Suez Canal, Heraklion(Crete), Athens(Greece), Split(Croatia) arriving in Venice(Italy) on the 9th April.
The Orchestra only due to leave at 20h00.
Cruising in South Africa has definitely increased in popularity, however there have been far too many reports of ill behaviour on some of the local trips to nowhere and onto Mozambique. MSC who are bringing the even bigger SPLENDIDA 137,936 gross tons and +3900 passengers in November, need to stick to the rules and apply them, so that all may enjoy the pleasure of cruising.
How many times do we travel throughout Durban and take everything in ,at face value.
Take for example, the various buildings in our city. What of the historical value?
Here are a few examples of different architectural designs.
2. Edwardian – generally less ornate Neo Baroque style, early 1900’s.
3. Victorian – relates to Queen Victoria(1837-1901)- commonly known to locals with Broekie lace ornamental wrought iron work.
3. Tudor style– most famous is the PLAYHOUSE.
Fine dining at an affordable price- Restaurant 3603 in Gillitts.
Jennie with her Fillet of beef, red wine jus, mushroom, baby bokchoy and Pommes Anna R200. My Linefish- Red Roman with a medley of melons, asparagus, radish, turnip, sea weed with a hint of aniseed sauce and spices R185.
Followed by a cheeseboard of local cheeses, nigella seed lavash, pickles, preserves and fruit R75. Very friendly front of house staff and excellent service from our waitron Jason.
Highly recommended.- Breakfast and Lunch also served. Tel: 082 381 9737
Limited wine selection. Request ‘ corkage’ when you make a booking.
Rhumbelow Theatre- Umbilo
An intimate evening with Barry Thompson, guitarist extraordinaire. Personal stories and songs performed to match the occasion. Delightful 2 hours getting to know the person in more detail, with brilliant guitar playing. Like a good wine, Barry gets better with age.
SUPPORT LOCAL TALENT
Friends and relatives of Golfari SA, from the United Kingdom, Western Cape, Gauteng and KZN spent the past week at the seaside resort village of Trafalgar, just 14 kms from Port Edward. “Trafalgar’s name descends directly from the missionary relatives of Viscount Horatio Nelson, who arrived in the late 1800’s (Wikipedia)
Beautiful sunrise and moon photos, and photos of Mark and Des, and Alison and Gayle.
The quest to visit Hard Rock cafes, to browse, purchase T shirts and have something to eat started in 2009 when my daughter Jenna-wade went on honeymoon to Greece and the Greek Isles.
I joined the trend in 2012 with her, when we did a month long tour of Europe, with Trafalgar tours(on land) and then a Mediterranean tour with Royal Caribbean. The trend continued-
The T shirts are more expensive than normal shirts, but the quality is far superior. My 2012/3 shirts are still wearable and there is no evidence of colour fade. Pictures above:
2012- Barcelona(Spain), Munich(Germany) and Venice(Italy).
2013- London(England), Edinburgh(Scotland) , Dublin(Ireland)
2016- Florence, Rome(Italy)
2019- Dubai (UAE)
2022- Malta
Jill, Glynn, Mark and Jennie.
This past weekend, a trip to Hluhluwe/ Umfolozi game reserves. The parks have had plenty of rain, so green very green, making the viewing of the animals, rather rare. On the Friday afternoon and all of Saturday, only one the the big 5 seen. Two nights at Mpila and on the way to Hilltop in Hluhluwe for a Sunday stay over, large herds of Buffalo (distance) and Elephants. So only 3 of the big 5 seen(no lion or leopard) however one great shot of a Cheetah walking in amongst a few cars and game drive vehicles.
Professional guided Golf and Safari Tours in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
