Today is our last African port, and we are sorry to see it come to an end. We have really enjoyed all of Africa that we have been fortunate to have seen.
Durban is a rather modern city, but we thought the best part of this stop was the countryside right outside of the city. Our excursion took us to an area called Valley of a 1000 Hills. We were a bit skeptical about this and joked about counting the hills to see just how many there were. 
Well, as you can see, the joke was on us. Green, lush hills everywhere!
The roads that led us out of town were even surrounded by green on both sides – as well as beautiful flowering trees and bushes. Beauty was all around us.
We went to a place called Phezulu, which is a Zulu cultural village that shows how the tribe lived (no one actually lives there now.) Everything is authentic – including the traditional beehive huts the Zulus lived in.
The Gasa clan has lived in the area for over 40 years and have performed (in costume)their tribal dances and songs depicting their ethnic customs and beliefs. One tradition which they still follow is that unmarried girls are bare breasted until they are married. Once married, they wear a special hat and have to cover their legs (the part of the woman the men find most appealing.) They performed a courtship and betrothal dance where the girl shows she agrees to marry by putting a necklace around the neck of the man she chooses after he has wooed her with his prowess. The other dance/skit was about the witch doctor (sangoma) and her throwing of the bones to help diagnose the problem and the cure. She wears many beads in her hair, while her apprentice paints her face and part of her body in white. 
Beads are an important part of the Zulu culture. Each color means something different, and they make elaborate decorations (belts, hair pieces, jewelry) with them.
Both the males and females danced for us. The only music was the beating of the drums. It was very energetic.
Red hat is what married women wore – even when they slept. Guess who is single?!?!
Men dancers wearing their tribal outfits – usually held spears and shields.
At this village, they also have a reptile section to show African snakes and crocodiles mainly. We thought it would be hokey, but it was very well done. A man went into the caged area with the crocs and poked them with a long stick to show how wide their mouths were, etc. However, it was a cool day, and the crocs didn’t want to move around a lot.
Of course, they had a huge gift shop with excellent crafts, so after a quick cup of tea and scones with jam and cream, we spent time there making Zulu purchases!
Back to the ship for lunch, and then out to explore the part of Durban close to the ship. It is a dangerous city. I had wanted to go to the middle of the city to see the spice and Indian market, but after seeing the area surrounding it from the bus coming back, we decided not to risk it. [I heard later that several people from our ship had been mugged in the city – out on their own, not part of a ship excursion.] The market is close to a bridge overpass where underneath it the local people sell all kinds of medicines (including herbs and strange things like goat’s hooves and other parts of animals.) It was jam packed with buyers and sellers – a bit overwhelming.
Back on ship, the evening’s entertainment was a Durban folklore show. It was excellent. Teenage young men (who might normally be out on the streets formed dance groups to earn money to buy soccer tickets and such) were our performers. It was a great way to end our African adventure.
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