It was cloudy and cool this morning so after dipping my toes in the Indian Ocean (three down, one to go) we drove to Eshowe in Kwazulu-Natal. KZN is a center for Zulu culture and the site of a British fort during the Zulu wars.
We set up our tent in the yard of a backpackers’ hostel at the George Hotel. The George handles all the excursions in the area and provides transportation for those who arrived without cars. Although it rained throughout the night I think our tenet was still better than the dorm rooms and much cheaper than the hotel rate.
We walked to the museum at the British fort where we learned a lot about Zulu culture and the war years, culminating with the Brits v. Boers. They also had a section devoted to local flora and fauna and an entire museum for baskets. While clay pottery was important much of the food and even beer was stored in woven baskets. The designs are similar to some of those in the US southwest and like the US, a few skilled craftsmen (and women) have preserved this art.
We ended the day with a walk in the Delinza Nature Preserve with its’ aerial boardwalk. It is real rainforest with giant trees and climbing vines. After a stop in town for some provisions (mainly contact lens solution and crappy wine) we went back to our tent. Being a hostel environment (not hostile) it has a kitchen which saved us from cooking in the rain. The price we had to pay was cleaning up after the others who left it a mess.
