It's Always Summer in Durban

Relaxing afternoon with a glass of wine on the deck.

Kids on the beach - " i wonder how many sharks are out there."

South African kids on their way to the game!

Cool Durban stadium with awesome view of the Indian Ocean

After three days in the wild at Ngala and eight days in cosmopolitan but
cool and rainy Cape Town, Durban was just the thing we needed. On the coast
of the warm Indian Ocean, Durban was sunny and balmy. After the World Cup
promoters finally had to acknowledge that it can be a little cold in South
Africa in June, the phrase "It's Always Summer in Durban" started to appear
in promos. The focus for our time in Durban was to hang out on the beach,
watch Holland play in a spectacular new stadium and find the country's best
Bunny Chow.

As always, Dave found a great place to stay; The Bentley on the
Beach. The Bentley is located north of Durban near an upscale beach
community called Umhlanga (pronuonced "umshlanga") which resembled a
combination of Ft. Lauderdale and La Jolla. Nice beaches, luxury high rise
condos, fancy single family homes and a town center filled with sidewalk
cafes and bars and a ton of TV screens.

On our first full day, we took the park and ride van and bus from a gigantic
shopping mall, downtown to a stunning new stadium for the Holland / Japan
Group Stage game.

The Dutch fans were the highlight of the game. Oranje
everywhere; business suits, clown suits, curly wigs, crazy shades and
relatively tame national team jerseys. Although the Japan fans showed great
costume creativity, they were just no match for the Dutch.

Durban is heavily influenced by Indian culture. A well known South African
fast food; Bunny Chow, was invented in Durban. Bunny Chow is curry in a
bread bowl. Unfortunately, though we ate curry often, we never did satisfy
the Bunny Chow craving.

The day at the beach was just what we needed before heading for our last adventure in Victoria Falls!

Stay turned for the Vic Falls post.