Port Edward
In 2009 I was dating a South African.
Christmas time came around and we decided to join his family in South Africa
for their celebrations. We spent some time in Cape Town which was beautiful and
did all the touristy things. We saw Table Mountain and did so much shopping
(The things there are so cheap when the exchange rate is just right!)
We then embarked on an 18 hour driving trip across South Africa
to Port Edward, a small coastal town in Durban where all the extended family
meet at their family’s beach house and stay for the Christmas period. The roads
were long and winding around and sometimes through mountains. My favourite part
of the road trip was seeing all the cheeky baboons getting into mischief. Some
were playing on the side of mountains and one was sitting atop a “Don’t feed
the baboons” sign – Drinking out of a Coke bottle!
What I noticed first about the family beach house was how similar
my Christmas was going to be to an Australian Christmas. They too had Christmas
in summer, and their main ingredient for Christmas food was also seafood. Instead
of having a cold seafood platter however, they ate paella, a traditionally
Spanish seafood dish made in a giant pan over a fire consisting of seafood,
rice, vegetables, and aromatics. The other main cultural difference I notice
was the security levels. All day and night the family had hired guards that
would patrol the perimeter of the house to ensure no thieves got in. Trying to
sleep when you can hear someone walking around the house is one of the hardest
things I’ve ever had to do. His Family also had a maid who would come over
every second day to clean up after us which I’d never experienced before, I didn’t
particularly enjoy it.
New Years’ Eve was a bit or a blur. There is a big BYO party
in Durban on one of their main beaches. People bought tickets to gain access to
the area and just drank. This is a tradition I am very accustomed to.
Unfortunately as I was nervous about all of my then boyfriend’s family, I did
what every self-respecting girl shouldn’t do. I drank so much I’m surprised I
could stand. After midnight it’s a rush to get off the beach and back home because
apparently after midnight the gates all open and everyone rushes the beach. We
got home safely and I don’t recall these events but apparently at a point my
boyfriend had to hold me up on the toilet because I needed to relieve myself,
but couldn’t manage to sit.
I strongly recommend giving South Africa a visit. It is a
beautiful place filled with beautiful people.
Until Next time!
Holly J
xx
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