Folks,
Finally got out of Eshowe - a very nice place, and a rousing sendoff with the third (now official) shebeen trip. We decided that it took only three minutes this time to go from closed shop to a rocking party. This time we took the president of Rotary, who I am sure was very glad nobody was taking pictures as he danced …
Up the Natal coast, to Amazulu lodge, another backpackers lodge near St Lucia, a wetlands conservation area on the coast. The golf club bar had someone there to take me to the Dungeon - a vast underground disco - mainly, but not exclusively, white. An extraordinary find in such a remote part of Natal - with no expense spared, and live music, though it was all cover songs from the seventies - the staple diet of White South African Music.
St Lucia is a seaside resort town, full of motels at prices I did not want to pay. However, lunch was very nice, and the scenery magnificent. They also had a good line in well-made african wooden toys, of Taxis, Buses, aeroplanes and even motorcycles.
Another 150Km (at 11,000 total this trip) found me at Pongola, a border town with Swaziland, growing sugar. I stayed at the rundown Pongola Hotel, and resisted the temptation to steal the Hotel towels as a souvenier. The bar there was almost closed, but the closing crew took me to the Why Not disco, another huge, black, disco, with crummy music and great atmosphere.
Cheers, Andy!