Durban - It didn’t matter that it was one of the coldest, most miserable weekends in Durban this year. That the icy wind was howling in our ears.
Our six-year-old, Leo, was squealing in absolute delight as he swam in the chilly sea, fully clothed.
We couldn’t stop him.
And seeing the pure joy on his excited face, we didn’t want to.
He was having the time of his life, throwing himself into the cold water, laughing as the waves pushed him gently, grinning with delight as he slurped up salty water.
“Mom,” he shouted, pointing a finger gun at the waves. “Look at me! I’m shooting the waves! I’m fighting the sea!”
Our two-year-old daughter, Iris, was equally mesmerised by the sheer enormity of the ocean – it was the first time she’d seen it.
Although there were huge swells, she ventured to dip a little toe into the ocean, and then another, playing bravely in the shallows with her brother.
It was our first family holiday to Durban. Leo had been counting the sleeps for 21 days, even waking us up in the middle of the night, asking whether today was the day we werefinally heading to the coast.
However, this wasn’t the hot, tropical Durban we had promised our kids – instead they would be bundled in jackets – but he didn’t seem to let the cold affect his dreams of his holiday.
Any family who know getting to Durban can be an epic adventure on its own, will be aware that driving with children for six hours and more on a road trip is not for sissies.
My husband, Michel, and I tried to interest them in the flat farmland scenery, sang songs and played games, but we couldn’t stop the fights and squabbles that inevitably erupted on the back seat.
And the endless nagging of: “Are we there yet ? When are we going to be in Durban?”
Then there were the pit stops we had to make until we finally, thankfully, reached Harrismith.
By then, we were all tearing our hair out.
But after an hour at the Wimpy, where we had lunch and the kids used the play area and the outside trampolines, they had sufficiently expended some of their energy and were in good spirits.
We had decided to stay over in sleepy Howick for a night to break the journey and spent the night at a charming, self-catering country chalet at a place called Hillside Farm, overlooking Midmar Dam. For the children there were plenty of places to explore and cows to befriend.
At night, we lit the fire and enjoyed country life.
By the time we hopped into the car the next day, the kids didn’t nearly mind the remaining drive to Durban.
Finally, we would be at the beach. For Leo, 22 sleeps later.
We were booked into the striking art deco-themed Protea Hotel Garden Court Marine Parade on Durban’s Golden Mile beachfront.
It’s a comfortable, centrally positioned, family-friendly hotel and the rooms are lovely, with a splendid sea view.
All of the establishment’s 346 rooms and facilities have been refurbished.
Our beds were comfortable – although our standard room felt a bit of a squeeze for the four of us – the hot water supply was excellent and there was plenty of free wi-fi to go around. But there were strangely no cupboards in our room, which made it messy to store four people’s clothes.
As it was freezing outside, the best we could do to entertain the kids was to head to the hotel’s rooftop swimming pool. It offers panoramic views, with two glass portals on the pool bottom that stretch terrifyingly to the street below. It is unheated and Michel and the kids couldn’t last longer than five minutes in it.
With little left to do, we headed for the SunCoast Casino – feeling like Joburg mall rats – for supper. After a good night’s rest, Leo tore open the curtains early in the morning, and watched the surfers ride the waves. “Guys, wake up, we have to go to the beach!” he implored.
But the weather was so bad, we decided to mull it over at breakfast.
Then, while Michel was revelling in a wonderful park run on the promenade, the hotel was hit by load shedding for two hours! We thought we were escaping the disaster of load shedding in Durban, but here it was, breakfast served in the dark!
Still, the food was plentiful, reasonably varied and tasty enough – although I do think service levels need to be improved as there were far too few waiters. After braving the icy cold rain pounding North Beach, we decided to head to Ushaka Marine World, 2km away.
Then, it was load shedding for two hours! Staff explained that we would be able to view the aquariums that were naturally lit – the shark, turtle and ray enclosures, which the kids loved. Everything else was pitch-black. Luckily, the Dolphin Show was a hit.
Tired of the cold, we stayed in on our last night, ordering room service pizza, and watching movies.
Although the eThekwini municipality has ploughed more than R300-million into the beachfront promenade, outside our hotel it seemed to be in a state of disrepair, while many parts of the beach were disappointingly litter-strewn and the sand black and dirty.
It would be great if nearby businesses could contribute to keeping the beaches clean for tourists who flock to them to surf, swim and be baptised, as we saw.
As we prepared to leave Durban, we took Leo to collect beach sand and sea water to bring home to show his teacher, although the sun was finally emerging, it was still cold. We urged him to pull his jeans up to his knees and not get too wet.
But he was having so much fun that he stripped to his undies – being six, he is ordinarily shy about his body – frolicked in the waves and rolled on the sand.
He needn’t have been ashamed, there were adult men in their undies too!
Seeing our children enjoying the beach, no matter how briefly, was by far the highlight.
Today, Leo wore his shark-tooth necklace to school. And the first thing he asked me when he woke up this morning: “Mom, when are we going to Durban again?”
Sheree Bega, Saturday Star