Hello peeps! Sorry it's been a while - have been busy in the evenings and Janet uses the computer for work during the day! Still, no excuse really...

Hope you are all good, plus thankyou for your messages! It's so nice to come onto the site and know that you haven't all forgotten about us! hehehe. Now let me think what we have been up to for a moment...

Friday 29th February we left Hluhluwe at like 6.30am (niiiice) and went on a self-guided game park tour - Janet and her friend Carro arrived the evening before to take us back to Durban. Unfortunately we didn't see as much wildlife as last time - still no big cats and not even an elephant this time! We did see a blue wildebeest though which we didn't spot on Thursday! Anywho, we went straight round to Carro's house (after a 4 hour safari & 4 hour journey back to Durban) for a swim in her pool! Veeery nice and refreshing after all that travelling! Went out to a restaurant in the evening and were bullied (no honestly we were...) into trying a traditional Durban shooter called a Sprinbok. OH MY GOD!! Never tasted anything so gorgeous in my life! Cape Velvet (like Bailey's) and Peppermint liquer! So making these when we get home!!

On Saturday we had a lazy morning - well sort of! We both woke up feeling refreshed & revitalising and truly thought we had slept-in for a bit...it was 6am!!! Never mind, our body clocks have already changed dramatically! So we went for a nice early morning swim! (Jealous yet??!!). In the afternoon Janet took us to visit a Snake Park and watched Puffadders & Monitor lizards being fed LIVE mice! Was NOT impressed! But actually found it pretty cool after getting over the fact that they were cute and cuddly creatures! lol. We then had a walk up a few beaches and stopped at a beach cocktail bar! Was sooooo lovely! Drinking cocktails with our toes in the sand and the early evening sun shining down on us!! Plus me and Dan are now addicted to a lovely cocktail called 'Gingerbread Man'- its Bailey's, Monin gingerbread syrup & fresh cream! We sound like right alcoholics don't we... We also tried a Durban beach-front snack on the way back - fresh pineapple on a stick with chilli powder!! Was actually quite nice!

Sunday started bright and early again - this time we went on another 6 hour long walk in a mini nature reserve! Was actually a really nice walk though - practically slid down a vertical slope in the woodland area down into a valley with a gorgeous waterfall at the bottom! Although there was no-one else below the age of 30, we got on well with everyone! Our guides were a bit strange though - they were incredibly interested in the boring plants! Kept stopping at every different variety, taking pictures and chatting about them! Never mind! Had a lazy afternoon I think - swam in the pool and relaxed! (p.s. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all mother's reading this!!)

On Monday, we went into the centre of Durban on our own! It cost about 35p for both of us to catch a bus into Durban City Centre!! We went straight out to the beach front and had fun for the day on North Beach - it is amazing how few people there are on these GORGEOUS sandy beaches!! I would guess there was about 25 other people! Apparently in peak season they are just as packed as English beaches though. Scared ourselves to death when trying to get back to Janet's though! We got to the bus depot at about 5.45pm - thinking we had plenty of time to get back till it got dark (about 6.45pm). so we waited...and we waited...and we waited... until it was practically pitch black and there was no-one around! we tried to phone janet on a payphone (as bekki's phone was running low on battery) but it swallowed our money! Then we used the mobile - and it ran out of battery half way through the conversation!! Luckily we had said where we were so we just hoped janet knew the place!! And she did! but it was quite scary!!

Tuesday was another lazy day really, except for early morning! We went out on a boat with the Shark's board to see the people checking the Shark nets - they are put into place to stop the sharks from eating people at the beach but sometimes sharks get caught in them! Although we didn't see anything (not even dolphins!), it was fantastic! Soooo rough but me and dan sat at the front getting soaked and having a whale of a time (hehehe) riding up and down over the waves! we then swam in the morning and attempted to catch up with our travel journels!! (We are both quite far behind - it's cause we write too much!!) We popped down to the local supermarket in the afternoon to do a bit of grocery shopping - almost getting knocked down in the process (South African drivers are all nutters - they don't stop at traffic lights unless they HAVE too!). had another nice swim when we got back; we were so hot after walking back in the boiling humidity with the shopping! in the evening we went along with janet to her pub quiz night!! Was surprisingly well good! Plus me and dan were experts in the science and nature topic - our a-level biology lessons DID come in handy after all!! Hehehe. We came joint first so our meals & drinks were all paid for!! yay!!

Wednesday we planned to go into Durban city to visit the mosque, indian market, big tourist info centre and the suncoast casino & beach! Well at least we did the last 2! We got quite lost down some dodgy streets while trying to find the first 3 and there was a huge congregation of black people with some women preaching or something so we decided to go straight up to the casino & its beach! Which was quite nice actually! even less people on this beach - about 10!! In the evening, janet and brian have league bowling or something so me and dan came along! After a sprinkbok and cocktail we went across the road to have a bunny chow for dinner! Yes, you did read it correctly!! Lol. It is a Durban traditional food - basically a quarter/half of a loaf of bread hollowed out, curry put inside it, and the lid placed back on top!! Very nice! Apparantly you are meant to eat them with your hands but we are too english so used cutlery! spoilsports aren't we?!!

And now we are onto today... went over to Gateway shopping centre (apparently the biggest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere!). After browsing for a while (we are too poor to shop properly, lol) we climbed up the massive climbing wall they have in there!! Great fun! Plus we saw an imax movie after lunch! Twas about shark island - so amazing we felt like we were in the ocean!

Sorry about the lack of recent photos, the lead computer isn't recognising my camera at the moment so will try again tomorrow or sometime!

love you all loads

Gugu & Sambane

x x x x x x