Ballito on the Indian Ocean

The last leg of our journey - Coco de Mer Boutique Hotel at Ballito, on the Indian Ocean.  This was a very 'trendy' upmarket hotel one street back from the ocean, in a lovely area of Ballito.  Our room was large and well-furnished, with a balcony from which we could catch sea views.  The gardens and swimming pool area were lovely, and very tropical.

We had three nights in Ballito, and ate twice at the in-house restaurant, La Fiamma.  I have to say, the food here was absolutely mouth-watering, and again service was excellent, and very friendly.  Dinner was accompanied by a very nice wine:  Zevenwacht by Tin Mine.  It was so good we had two bottles!  We had quite a bit of seafood here on the coast, and they certainly know how to cook calamari - it just melts in your mouth - no sinewy, chewy bits!


The morning after we arrived we went for a walk on the boardwalk which extends all the way along the local beaches.  As this is obviously a holiday spot for both South Africans and overseas visitors (a lot of English people, I suspect) some of the beaches were quite busy.  

The area is well populated, but high-rise buildings have been kept to a minumum.  One of the things that surprised us was how much security (as in high walls, alarms, electric fences and barbed wire - even razor wire!) was in evidence around the majority of homes and resorts.  I asked our receptionist about it, as I found it quite disturbing - she said that basically it was a very safe area, but a lot of security had been installed 10-15 years ago when things were more unsettled.  It had now become the norm to have such a lot of security, especially as many of the homes there were holiday homes and unattended for a lot of the year.  But crime rates were relatively low, with the occasional burglary and car thefts.  She compared it to Johannesburg, where she had lived for a couple of years, and said there was still a lot of violence and crime there, and that living in Ballito was much more comfortable.

We had late lunch/early dinner at a pub/restaurant overlooking the beach, and again the food was fantastic.  My crumbed mushrooms were lovely, followed by steak and calamari (surf'n'turf) which just melted in my mouth, Trev had an entree of snails in garlic cheese sauce (which was also excellent) and a fish & chips dish.  We also had a couple of drinks with lunch and the total was less than $30 - good value.


We decided to hire a car for a day, as it was a 20 minute drive to Durban, buses did not seem to be around, and the only other choice was a taxi.  So off we went to Durban, where we had been told about some markets that were on that evening.  We eventually found them, but they were very disappointing - not a lot of stalls open, and nothing I really wanted to buy.  That kept Trevor happy, but wasn't so good for me!  So we decided to take a drive into the waterfront area.  Probably wasn't the best idea, cos we really didn't know where we were going or what we were going to do when we got there.  We found the waterfront, and I was hoping that there would be some markets or activity going on, but the stalls that were there were already closing up.  So it was a bit of waste of time really, but we did see a bit of Durban, which looks like a very cosmopolitan place and would be easy to live in.

The next morning we drove up to Ballito Junction and Lifestyle Centre to do a bit of shopping, hoping to find some souvenirs to bring home.  But it wasn't really a souvenir type of place, more like a general shopping centre back home.  We then drove to Shaka's Rocks and Salt Rock and checked out the beaches up there - all very nice and the countryside was beautiful.  We stopped for lunch at The Waterberry Tea Gardens, and again had a lovely meal at a very reasonable price.  Service was a bit slow, but they tell you that when you read the menu, so you can't really complain.  It's a place where they serve good 'slow' food - exactly as advertised!

We dropped the car back, then made our way back to Coco de Mer where we had a refreshing swim in the pool, followed by dinner again at La Fiamma for our last night in Africa - just beautiful.

We had a lovely time here, but my only comment is that Ballito could be a coastal holiday area anywhere in the world - I didn't get the feeling that I was in South Africa at all.

Bright and early next morning we were picked up for our transfers to the airport - heading home via Singapore.

We have had an absolutely amazing time in Africa.  We stayed in three very different lodges/hotels in three very different areas and saw some incredible sights.  Each one was fantastic in its own way, and I'm glad that we chose to do it this way.  It gave us a little taste of Africa and left us wanting more.  

Overall, we were surprised at the quality and low prices of food and the excellent service at all the places we visited - Australia could certainly learn a few lessons from Africa.  We found that in Ballito we could buy a large 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with sea views, swimming pool in the complex, garage and carport for around $180,000 - what a bargain, compared to Australian prices!!  And sea views included - unbelievable!


Our trip was put together by Catherine at Go2Africa - over several months and many changes of mind, we ended up with a memorable African experience, and I can certainly recommend this company if you're thinking of venturing into the dark continent.