Somewhere Over the Rainbow City

It was a dark and stormy night when, after six hours in a combo ride from Gaborone, we pulled into the bus station of Johannesburg (or rather Jo’burg) at 8:30pm to begin our Easter vacation. Months and months of sweating ourselves dry and last Thursday was when it decided to become cold and rainy. Nevertheless, we were in high spirits because we were on our way to Durban. Ani and I travelled with four other exchange students: Nancy, Shelley, and Isabelle from CIEE and a guy named Dennis finishing his masters degree. Unfortunately, though we had booked the tickets we were told that we were a half hour too late to claim them, which left us stranded in the bus station in Jo’burg, surrounded by countless other people all on their way to Durban as well, it would seem, for out of four bus companies we couldn’t find a single one with space. This left us in somewhat of a predicament. One of the first things I’ve been told every time I mentioned Jo’burg is that it is a city of crime and that you should never walk around it at night. Nevertheless when faced with the prospect of a night in the bus station, we promptly broke that rule and wandered into the dark to find ourselves a motel. Wet and hungry, we checked into a roadside hotel and proceeded to make do with what provisions we could scrounge – at this time it was 10pm and apparently even in Jo’burg, a city rather larger than Gaborone, restaurants close at this time.

Our provisions

The combi station, during the day

We then awoke early the next morning (we left the hotel at 5am) to once more walk the dark streets of Jo’burg to the combi stop where, forgoing bus options, we crowded into the all-too-familiar coziness of the tightly packed minivan/bus. Six hours later, we finally arrived at our destination – Durban!

Our trip in red

One shot of the skyline in Durban

Durban is the third largest city in South Africa and substantially larger than any cities in Botswana (compare Bots’ population of 1.8 million to South Africa’s 49.3 million and it’s not such a surprise). It’s also the busiest port in Africa and has a thriving Indian community, so it promised to be quite the change from landlocked, largely homogenous Gabs. We stayed at a charming (as always) hostel named Nomads.

Nomads

By this point it was around one in the afternoon—plenty of time to explore! So we set off on a tramp around the city, walking through many little markets and bus stations until we found Juma, the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere.

The bottom is surrounded by shops.

The mosque is actually hard to find, something that is slightly ironic, given its reputation as the largest. We wandered awkwardly around it until a friendly man in a long white robe on his way in invited us to join him. Turns out we’d hit the 4:30 call to prayer and this man, along with the other Muslims in the mosque, welcomed us into the building and allowed us to sit in the back while they prayed. This seemed very generous to me, as we were a group of almost all women, and while none of us were dressed inappropriately, we didn’t really have on what I would consider mosque-worthy attire. After the prayer, the men explained to us a little history of the mosque, including the fact that the secret to it size lies in the fact that it has three stories, effectively tripling the size. Though we never did find where the women would go, it was a very welcoming experience.

“Hidden” door, where we shown in.

Then, in a rush to beat the setting sun, we hurried back to the hostel before going out for dinner. The seafood lovers in our group particularly enjoyed the cuisine of Durban, where fish and other “fruits of the sea” are in no short supply.

Nancy and Dennis are delighted by their meal

We then got back to the hostel in true southern Africa fashion. Six people do not fit comfortably in a four passenger cab, you’ll note. Unless, of course, two people climb into the trunk, which is what Nancy and I did, lying low to avoid notice. We were apparently over-cautious, because later that weekend we would simply cram everyone into the back seat, the cab drivers unconcerned by the prospect of traffic regulations.

Saturday, in addition to being the day before Easter Sunday, turned out to also be the date of a Hindu festival in Durban known as the Festival of Chariots or Rathayatra. The festival is the largest of its kind outside of India and celebrates Lord Krishna. The festival itself was presented to us as a celebration of all faiths, open to everyone. It began with dancing in front of three large chariots, each carrying a god. Because this is Durban, in addition to the women doing a traditional Indian dance, there were also Zulu dancers performing helping Durban live up to its nickname: the Rainbow City.

One of the chariots

Down the line, a smorgasbord of dancing!

After some speaking, everyone took up the long ropes attached to the chariots and proceeded to pull them down the streets of Durban in a large parade. The music and dancing continued along the way.

Everyone helps with the rope!

One of the best parts for me about this festival was the emphasis placed on free food. As we walked along the chariots, we were encouraged to take orange drink bags.

I think the picture is necessary as my description is lacking

And then later we were welcomed to grab free (vegetarian!) food

We finally ended up at the end of the parade where there was more free food as well as prayer tents and shopping tents. The entire thing was remarkably welcoming and very enjoyable. Furthermore, the Zulu dancers, displaying a level of endurance and energy that impressed the pants off me, continued performing. No mean feat, considering how much effort is exerted in this type of dancing.

Day three in Durban saw us rising to go and enjoy the beaches of Durban, of which there are many. We went to uShaka, a marine park that not only had slides and sandy strips, but an aquarium and dolphin, seal, and penguin presentations. Finally feeling as though I had a chance to visit Sea World, we toured the lot.

It’s a giant turtle!

We caught the sharks at feeding time

Dolphins, an unsurprising crowd pleaser

I was inspired

The seal was part of a cute little skit

Penguins!

And now, some necessary beach photos. Welcome to the Indian Ocean!

Of course there was music!

Everyone goes to the beach!

On our last day, we had a bit of an encounter with the dirtier side of Durban, South Africa, and urban sites as whole when we discovered that Sunday night while we were sleeping two men had broken into our hostel and room and stolen Ani’s purse. The security guard had chased them and managed to reclaim most of her stuff, but she did lose her wallet and camera. Thankfully, she got the card cancelled and our travel insurance should cover the camera. The hostel manager was very apologetic and waived her room fees.

That drama aside, Nancy and I visited Durban’s Botanical Gardens while Ani and the rest of the crew went back to the beach to soak up the last few hours of sea breeze and sun. Back in the gardens, Nancy and I were having some trouble locating the entrance from outside the gates. We knew that it was open because people were walking inside, but how they got in remained a mystery to us. Not to be thwarted by something as petty as a fence, we slithered under through a small gap. That combined with my ride in the back of the cab makes my time in Durban some of the most rebellious moments of my life!

The gardens themselves were lovely – surprisingly diverse for their size, and they had a tea garden.

Nomming bananas

Orchid room

That even we boarded our night bus and headed back to Jo’burg. Our trip, however, was not over. After a hassle-free trip back to the city, we then went to visit the Apartheid Museum. This was one of the few tourist sites I’d been told to visit before even departing for southern Africa, and it was certainly worth the trip. We spent a total of three hours there, but we could have easily done more. For someone like me, whose education on apartheid had been spotty at best over the years, it was not only a well put together museum, but an immensely important one educationally.

To maintain the somber mood, it was raining again

There was a special exhibit just on Nelson Mandela

We finally hopped on our last combi and made our way back to Gaborone. It was a lot of travelling, a lot of cramped sitting, but a fascinating trip from all angles. Now that we’re back, we’re facing the end of the semester. Finals begin in less than twenty days and we have less than a month now until Ani and I pack up our bags and conclude our time in Botswana. Hopefully time doesn’t rush by too quickly!

A cheesy, but poignant marker from the Apartheid Museum