Cruise Port 4 – Durban, South Africa

by Ed · April 28, 2023

Imbuliso! Molo! (Xhosa for “Greetings! Hello!”)

It is April 22nd, 2023, and we arrive in our first port in South Africa, Durban.

In this part of South Africa the top four languages are Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, and English. Afrikaans is derived from Dutch and German and other foreign languages and is considered the language of the oppressors, so it is not used widely.

Today’s agenda is to go to the Tala Game Reserve and see some of the Big 5 animals! “Big 5” changes definition depending on where you go and who you are. For us, Big 5 includes the elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, lion, and hippopotamus. For game hunters it is elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, and water buffalo. Let’s see what we find today!

We awake to find the pilot boat approaching. I am surprised to watch the pilot have to pull himself up with two ropes, one in each hand, to get into the ship!

We arrive at our berth in front of the relatively new Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal! It is a beautiful structure, and features smooth marble and granite floors that our friend, Steve Selka, loved to zoom at full speed in his motorized wheelchair! We go inside to perform our face-to-face immigration check, then come back on board to relax for the morning. Our tour is at 2 PM.

Once on the bus for the tour we have a 1 hour 15 minute drive to the Tala Game Reserve. As we leave the city we pass a huge cemetery. Commanding the view is this large mausoleum in the shap of a mosque at the far corner of the cemetery! I wonder if the tall tower has speakers for the usual calls to prayer that are broadcast by the Muslims.

A highway extension runs under the N3 freeway we are on. I am surprised to find both lanes of the extension are covered with vendor stalls! The far end of this extension stops, and a steel walkway has been erected to give people access to the far end of the vendor stalls!

We then pass the regular market, which is the green roofed structure at the far left of this image, and see make-shift market tents stretching underneath the highway overpasses! The ingenuity of the people here is amazing, and their industrial resourcefulness in claiming these ill-used spaces to make a living is applauded! Our tour guide, Dominic Maidoo, tells us unemployment in Durban is 26%!

On our long drive through the country to the Tala Game Reserve I am enthralled by this scene of a woman waiting for a ride. Who knows how far she had to walk just to get to this highway? She is wearing a beautiful yellow print dress and her hair is wrapped in a soft blue scarf.

We arrive at our destination!

Almost immediately we see our first animals, and we haven’t parked yet! A zebra is standing in the road, and more are to our left. An ostrich is crossing, and there are also more of them on the left!

Our group is transferred to three vehicles. Just about everyone has an outside seat, even though these are set up for four across! We are instructed to keep arms and cameras inside the vehicle, not stand up unless we get permission, and to stay quiet so we don’t startle the animals. The animals are very accustomed to the truck’s sounds, but not to people.

As we leave the lodge this cute little guy pops up. This is a rare grey crowned crane.

Our first rhino sighting comes quickly! This is a mom with a young one by her side.

I should note that the Tala Game Reserve intentionally removes the rhino’s horns to protect it from poachers who would kill the rhino to remove the horns for the black market.

Around the corner there is a pair of rhinos!

We find a male nyla (nyah-lah) in the grasses. They are distinguished by the strap across the nose, the light vertical mane, and the light stripes down the sides.

Then we spot our first blaesbok! The horns are similar to the nyala, but the face has a large white patch, sometimes separated near the eyes, no mane, and no stripes down the sides. The face is marked by staining from nasal glands that secret a fluid that attracts flies. The flies lay eggs inside the duct and the blaesbok are often heard snorting to drive out the flies.

Our guide places his forearm to his mouth and blows, mimicking the snorts of the blaesbok. Interestingly enough, his snort triggers a similar snort in the blasebok! The power of suggestion?

Then a beautiful impala appears! Again, the horns are similar to the nyala and blasebok, but the face has a dark brown patch. One other distinctive mark is from the rear the black marks on the impala’s rump for the letter “M”. The guides like to say this stands for McDonalds – an impala is fast food!

We head over a hill and find a huge watering hole. At the far end are the creatures we seek – hippos! We see four floating in the water, keeping themselves protected from the sun. Here are three of them, including a juvenile.

They finally turn to face us!

Meanwhile, a flock of Egyptian geese fly across the waterhole.

We head out in search of giraffes. The guide calls out a rare long-crested eagle! I am fortunate to capture this shot before it flies off, but it is black and it is tough to see any detail against the white sky. The red eye is visible though.

Shortly after we are entertained by a group of giraffes! A dominant male was even trying to mount a female, but a lady cried out, “Oh, my!” and that interrupted nature. So much for being told to stay quiet!