Greeting from Richards Bay, South Africa. Whilst we sit in this little corner in the Tuzi Gazi Marina one is aware that this port town is a major coal hub with the big tankers entering and exiting 24 hours a day. Thankfully, they keep the coal to themselves with little dust finding its way to our white fiberglass vessels.

Time has been spent trying to get repairs going for Shearwater but without luck. So I am now in a 'weather window watch' and will try to take the first opportunity to get to Durban...only 90 miles from here. But even considering that short distance, one has to be quite careful as the winds shift diametrically in a matter of hours. And it is indeed true - 'gales shoot through every 3-4 days'. Much more on that later....

But my greatest treat so far on this great continent was my all too brief visit to the St Lucia Estuary and then to the famous Hluhluwe Game reserve. My friends Renata and Dieter who I met in Cocos Keeling and with whom I crossed the Indian Ocean never much more than 100 miles apart invited me along and I jumped at it.
Suffice to say, the reserve was indeed a place of peace and tranquility and as one gazed at the undulating green hills as they disappeared into the hazy horizon, I was cognizant of the fact, thankful, that these sanctuaries exist such that the magnificent animals can continue to grace the earth with their presence.