Richards Bay, South Africa – Nov/Dec 2008
We spent three enjoyable weeks in Richards Bay. The first week was in the municipal marina (1 month free), the second two weeks we spent at Zululand Yacht Club, against the wall which is free for two weeks. This club is brilliant for children, having a large grassy area, a swimming pool and a playground. The marina receives many travelling yachts and has some local liveaboards so is a very friendly place. Security guards ensure that it is relaxed for all the family.George at 14 months was a liability near water, and tried to climb into it at any opportunity, even when the quay was 8ft up. However we got over this at Richards Bay where we visited two swimming pools and let George fall in to see what it was like. He learned fast that he didn’t want to fall in again and was very sensible from then on. Lisa and George enjoyed lots of supervised swimming though, with their rubber rings.
The drawback of Richards Bay is that although the town is large, it is sprawling and some way from the marinas. Consequently taxis or lifts are needed to do any shopping. We were lucky that some local friends took us out, and we managed to hire a car for a couple of days and go on safari, which the whole family enjoyed very much. We saw elephants, giraffes, wildebeest, white rhinoceros, kudu, zebra etc etc, all up close but in the “wild”.