Day 7 – Saint Lucia Estuary

The flight to Durban is at 8:00 am and boarding is smooth. The flight is lovely, around 2 hours. We even receive a sandwich of cheese and pickles, a drink and a snack at no extra cost!

Ahem, Canadian airlines, take note!

Durban Airport

We arrive at King Shaka International, grab our bags and meet outside the terminal. We said goodbye to Mike(our driver) in Cape Town, and hello to Surash in Durban.

A large statue dedicated to King Shaka, King of the Zulus towers over us. We are now in Zulu country.

We are not going straight to the hotel, but to the Saint Lucia Estuary in Hluhluwe before we check in to the hotel.

Saint Lucia – Beware of Hippos

Welcome to the tiny touristy town of Saint Lucia where hippos and warthogs roam freely on its streets The hippos normally come out of the estuary late in the day or evening. There are signs warning tourists to be cautious.

Ocean Grill Restaurant

We stop into the Ocean Grill for lunch where we are given a budget for food and a non-alcoholic drink. Anything more is on you. The food is very good. If you like milkshakes, this is the place. They looked yummy.

We are enjoying the fresh air on a veranda with the cooling breeze relieving us from the humidity. It is 30C today.

Colin and Pumbaa

Around the time we are finishing lunch, someone shouts, “Look a warthog!” Sure enough, one is strutting its stuff down the street not bothered by humans. The humans however are excited to see it.

Colin, one of our tour members, is trying to sneak up with his camera attempting to get a closeup. Bending down, leaning closer. “Hey buddy!” He’s singing, a line from the Hakuna Matata song in The Lion King movie. Priceless!

Colin is persistent to get the shot and is not heeding the warnings. Thankfully he wasn’t gored. It was exciting being so close to one.

Cruising Along the Estuary

We board a boat and motor along the Saint Lucian Estuary past swamps and wetlands.

Suddenly up pops a head and we are seeing our first hippopotamus in their natural habitat. Awesome overload!!!

We see about a dozen or more during the cruise. They seem a tad shy with many pointing their heads towards land. We can see their pink ears. I wonder if that position is for making a quick escape or they just don’t wish to be bothered. I will look that up.

The boat vies for a good view of this beautiful animal. Cristiana (our Tour Guru) and I stand side by side on the bottom deck and capture a hippo yawning.

We can only smile broadly. It’s like being in a dream seeing animals we have only seen on television, in books or in a zoo.

Cool Hippo Facts 🦛

• They can run up to 30 km/h on land
• They cannot swim. They walk on the river bottom or bounce up and down
• Their skin secretes a red/orange substance that is a natural sunblock
• They sleep underwater and can hold their breath for five minutes at a time. They surface without waking
• And, yes they face the riverbank on purpose to make a quick exit and protect their territory.

After While Crocodile

A crocodile was spotted and I thought it was a log, but when you zoom in, it’s a croc! 🐊 I’m sure we will get closer to more than one as the trip progresses.

ANEW Hotel

The ANEW Hotel is lovely and welcoming with a hot towelette and a glass of cold passion-fruit juice after this long travel day.

Walking past reception, we collect our hotel keys and head to our rooms. Mine and Shannon’s are on the second floor overlooking the pool. Shannon takes advantage of the inviting pool before dinner.

Dinner has a nice selection of food on the buffet and even had Greek salad. I decided to head to my room and rest for the remainder of the evening to work on this blog. I’m not sure what the wifi will be like once we travel further.

Tomorrow – ZULU WARRIORS!