South Africa: Beach and Shark Dissection (Tuesday 20Nov12)

I woke up this morning and the sun was shining which put me in a good mood. I'd had a bit of a lie in which I think also helped. I only just got up in time to wish Sally a good day at work. After an hour long session in the gym I got ready to go to the beach. from my bedroom window I could hear a very strange moaning sound and when I went outside to investigate the male tortoise was on top of the female! It did make me laugh though. He was very vocal.

My first stop was Umhlanga beach for a couple of hours so that I could top up my tan. It was my first trip to the beach since arriving in Durban. The weather has been so bad here. I noticed that it was much more cosmopolitan than anywhere else I had been in Durban. Hotels line the beach front and there are a lot of younger people hanging around on the beach and the bars/cafes on the front. Everyone looked like they were there to be seen, complete with designer sunglasses and bikinis. It was actually quite fun just to people watch for a bit. Although I only had a couple of hours on the beach it was enough time to get a tan. I watched the surfer's and people playing volley ball on the beach and out to sea the big container ships sat on the horizon line. I didn't want to leave but I wanted to go and watch the Shark Dissection at the Natal Sharks Board so I packed up and walked back to the car in the surf so that I could paddle my feet. It was a beautiful day.

At the Sharks Board we first watched a short film on it's history and what they do on a day to day basis. It was interesting to learn that the Shark nets don't go down to the sea bed but simple act as a fishing net with one net in front of another and a bait line which reduces the risk to the sharks getting caught up in the nets. There are a few that get caught and die and these sharks are used in the Dissections to educate people on sharks and their behaviours. The shark we had was quite small but it's lungs were twenty five percent of it's body mass. They were huge! The heart, however, was tiny. There were no number plates or anything in the stomach but the lady talking us through it told some really funny stories about car number plates and other rubbish found in different shark stomachs. They eat anything so we really should be more careful about what we put into the sea.

I had to make a pit stop at the shopping mall on the way back Sally's a as my flip flops had broken so I was a bit late back. Jacqui came round with a Bunny Chow for me to try which is basically half a loaf of bread with the middle taken out and then stuffed with curry. I ate this whilst booking my flight to Jo'burg ready for my safari trip to Kruger. I quickly had a shower and got changed before heading out to the Heritage Theatre to watch the "Going Out With A Bang Show" again. It was so good Sally had decided we should go and take Jacqui as she knew Marion Loudon, the female vocalist. This time everyone got up and danced which was good and I got to meet Marion at the end of the night.

The Beach