February 6 - 11

February 6

We drove  to dinner at 19:00, it rained. On the way back we found we had a flat tire.

Next morning it was a fantastic sunny morning, almost no winds. We got out 08:30, and did much better than the day before. The wind picked up the last 9 holes, but it did not stop us. We got back in time to change the tyre.

February 8

 

 We left Princes Grant Golf - but we will come back and drove to Zimbali Golf Course 40 km. north of Durban. We played it in 2000, but although the course is the same, it was changed. Houses all over . Trees had grown up between the houses, and surrounded the course, that before was an open course. But it was a good experience, rated 25, no wonder!
 

 

 

 
We drove on, and passed by Avis in the airport to get the punctured tire changed.

We arrived at our hotel Beverly Hills in Umhlanga 15 km north of Durban direct to the Indian ocean. We enjoy the view from 5^th floor. And we enjoyed being old. A special senior escape package make us stay on this 5* hotel “demi pension” (the dinner we could choose from the menu)  and free round of golf at Mount Edgecombe for 200€ per day - and the kitchen and the service is 1^st class.
 

 View from our room - 503 - at low tide

 

Nice breakfast view

Next day - Saturday - we went to play golf at Mount  Edgecome but there were so many players and the humidity was enemous so we decided to use the practise and had lunch.

The rest of the day was pure relaxing.

We felt a little bit home because right out in the sea we had a big Maersk Container ship - the day we left we counted 21 ships which anchored outside Port of Durban  - probably waiting to be unloaded. The day we left we saw 2 Maersk Ships in the port.
 

  The port of Durban handles the greatest volume of sea-going traffic of any port in Africa. Containers handled at Durban represented 62 percent of the total number of containers handled at South African ports.
    
February 10
The next morning it was Durban Country Club, the old renowned club from 1922 listed as 11 of of Top 100 golf courses in Golf Digest. Durban CC was the home for 2013 Volvo Golf Champions.

 

But it was a strange atmosphere. No smiling welcome at the caddie masters house as we are used to. It was the same at the pro shop. We were starting on hole 10, and after a couple of holes Anne asked if it was started as a nine hole course, and the back nine had been added later. We think so.
The holes were very close to each other, the only view was to the Moses Mabhida stadium which was completed in late 2009 for the worldcup. There was no signs to help you round the course. We went well, but did not feel really comfortable. We dropped the halfway house; the food looked like junk food. Hole 1 to 9 was different. It was a nice lay out, long difficult holes, but disturbed by a motorway running just besides the first holes. Not the fault of the club, it surely was not there in 1922. The golf was fine, Anne couldn't play at all so Niels won.

BUT the view to the stadium was great.
 

The Moses Mabhida Stadium has a seating capacity of 70,000 and was designed to be a multi-purpose venue and amphitheatre. This stadium features a massive 350 m long free and 105 m high span arch which holds up the roof. The top of the arch rises to 106 m above the pitch. The arch consists of a 5 x 5 m steel hollow box which weighs 2,600 tons. Visitors can be carried from the North side to a viewing platform at the top of the arch by a funicular and enjoy breathtaking, panoramic views of the nearby city and ocean

The following day (February 11)  we should play the other course of Durban CC - Beachwood - but on the way back we drove by, and decided to play another course laying an hour’s drive from the hotel, a new course Cotswold Down. We arrived late as the route was not updated on the new Garmin map, but the old paper map did the job in cooperation with common sense and spotting the clubhouse on a hilltop. A fantastic course with spectacular views of bending hilly grassland with long holes, sneaky at places, but fair.  Anne got hip problems, and had difficulties to turn the body when swinging, so she could not win today, but we had a fine day on a course to return to. And by the way it cost 20€ incl. buggy and water each. Normal price 30€!! Ranked 45.
 

         Anne at the tee, she must hit over the trees, or it was a drop zone! She made it and a good bogey.

On return to the hotel we had English 5’oclock tee with scones etc., we picked up our laundry from the local laundry shop, so we can be ready to go on tomorrow.