We actually went on the early morning game drive this time because the ranger (Michael) was so good. Usually I've been skipping the early morning safaris when I have to drive but it was only three hours to Durban.
It rained heavily at some point overnight, but had stopped by 4:30am when we got up. (Yes, 4:30am). At 5am we left to find the elephant herd we had seen yesterday. Michael had tracked them to a grove of eucalyptus trees, and sure enough, they were still there. There's no nutritional value in eucalyptus trees to the elephants - they use them as scratching posts. It also made an interesting background for pics.
We went down to the docks and saw a rhino on the beach, as well as lots of birds. We finished at a viewpoint over the Narrows.
Breakfast was waiting for us when we returned at 8am. We packed up the car, which was quite full with all the souvenirs we bought in Swaziland. Heather and I had handed in half our packs to be laundered, it was good to have mostly clean clothes again.
We saw lots of game on the drive out of the park, including a white rhino! They've cut off the horns on all the rhinos in iSimangaliso to protect them from poachers. The horns are made of keratin, it's the same as cutting your fingernails. The downside is the rhinos don't look as good in pics.
It was three hours to Durban, pretty much just following the N2. It was a toll road on the latter half, which was a nicer highway, two lanes each direction and divided. We ran low on gas (there's no gas stations on the toll roads) but Garmin led us to the nearest one, a few kms off the N2. (Actually, the first one we went to had lost power (or "no lights" as they posted) so we had to find another one).
The GPS was much more useful in the city. We had booked at The Benjamin on Florida Rd, a hip street with lots of cafes and restaurants. Parked in the secure lot around back, and checked in.
I was starving and it was after 2pm so we just went to the KFC next door for an quick bite.
The rest of the afternoon we relaxed. At 7pm we went out for drinks on Florida Rd. It's patrolled by private security and safe for walking. Marissa wanted to try a different place from dinner, we ended up at a club called the Velvet. It was empty so the bartender had some time to chat with us. Apparently it gets busy from 11pm - 5am. We looked very unhip showing up at 7pm.
We had made reservations for 8pm at Butcher Boys, a steak house rated highly on TripAdvisor. Heather and I had the ribeye, which was pretty good. (Not Argentinian good, but not bad). We also split two sides, a dessert, and the most expensive wine bottle on the menu. Total cost for us including tip was $66 CAD.
After we continued our bar hopping at another restaurant, where I had a tipped (= draft) Castle Light, nice and cold. The street life was picking up as it was after 10pm.
Our hotel was right across the street so we bumbled home and called it a night.
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