A Weekend in Durban

Lakshini and Renzo pick me up at the Greyhound Station in Durban.  My bus is late and it is almost 11 at night on Friday, when I finally arrive!  Fortunately, I have called ahead so I have not kept them waiting.

It is more than 20 years since I last saw my cousin Lakshini and more than 35 years since we were childhood friends and she left Sri Lanka for Malawi with her family.  Our dads are first cousins and our families were (still are) close, so growing up we had spent lots of time at each other’s houses.  I know her parents well and they have visited me in Sydney but it is a long time since I spent time with Lakshini.

Those childhood bonds were soon rekindled though and I felt instantly at home when I met her and her family for the first time.  Her husband Renzo is South African and she has a son, Jethro who has grown up here in South Africa and is now at Uni, studying drama and music.  We spend Saturday morning exploring Durban.  I have been here on a past visit briefly but I have not seen much of the city.  We have brunch overlooking the ocean and catch up on the past 30 years of our lives!  After brunch we visit the new stadium in Durban.  Each province in South Africa hosted part of the World Cup and I think all of them built new stadiums. The stadium in Durban is very impressive and we take the sky car up to the top for a brilliant view of the city and a closer look at this amazing feat of civil engineering!

We drive through the bush in Durban and visit the hills for a look at another part of this city.  As we drive through the bushland suburbs I am reminded of home and feel a pang of home sickness for the first time since I’ve been away. 

On Saturday night I take the family out for dinner to say thanks for having me and showing me around.

We have a lazy day on Sunday and after a late brekkie, we visit a few more local sights.  Lakshini introduces me to the neighbourhood they used to live in.  I have heard about this part of town from her parents, who thought it was a really convenient place to live in when they visited, so it is nice to finally see what its like.  We visit the street where they hope to build their dream house and they hope I will visit them one day when their dreams have become a reality. 

It is late afternoon and time to go.  It has been a short visit but a lovely one and I am really grateful for the kind hospitality of my hosts. I have been re-acquainted with a cousin I had not seen for many years and been introduced to another of South Africa’s wonderful cities.  It’s time to move on though. Cape Town here I come!

 It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.  ~Lucille Ball