Durban is a two hour flight north of Cape Town, east of Johannesburg on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Weather is a constant 75 degrees year round and the city is known for its laid back lifestyle, great surf and warm water (in contrast to the cool water of Cape Town on the Atlantic Ocean).

I was invited by my new friend Lloyd to spend a getaway weekend with his girlfriend and seven other friends on his private game reserve in Phinda, located about three hours north of Durban. Obviously my answer: Yes, a no-brainer! I met Lloyd through my friend Emily who visited back in April. They sat next to each other on her flight from New York to Johannesburg and apparently connected instantly…no, she normally does not pick up strange men on planes, ha. He joined us on a couple adventures in Cape Town while visiting his brother who lives there too. Long story short, we kept in touch and he is now a great friend who is also planning on visiting us in New York in September.

Another friend of mine Erica also lives in Durban so I decided to leave early and stay with her for a day. I know Erica through a mutual friend in New York and hungout with her last summer while she was taking classes at NYU.

Erica picked me up from the airport Thursday night. We arrived at her home and let me say it was palatial! She is staying with her Dad until the end of August when she moves to San Francisco to get her Masters. Her Dad is the general physician for South Africa’s President Zuma, wow. I’m sure he gets a lot of insight on the life of Zuma, who is very controversial and interesting character to say the least (e.g. he spent 10 years in prison on Robben Island, has gone to trial for corruption, fraud, rape and has three wives given he is from the Zulu tribe and practices polygamy. That night we had a nice casual dinner and didn’t do much except talk and catch up on each of our lives. The next morning we met Lloyd and one of his girlfriend’s friends at brunch at a beautiful ocean front hotel called the Oyster Box. We ate a lovely brunch outside overlooking the Indian Ocean. Afterwards, I said goodbye to Erica since she was going on a long yoga and meditation retreat for the weekend and could not join us.

Lloyd, Amy and I jumped in the car, picked up Lloyd’s girlfriend Allie and another guy Luke on the way and began our three day adventure in the bush!! The car was packed to the rim, not because we over-packed but because the boys loaded it up with boxes and boxes of food, wine, alcohol and freshly made brownies that Luke baked that morning. We drove for almost three hours, each mile more and more desolate. Paved roads turned into dirt roads, the shrubbery and bush got thicker and the temperature hotter. We finally arrive at his house, which was situated in the heart of the Phinda Game Reserve right on a lake. Unfortunately, no swimming in this lake…it’s full of fish, hippos and crocodiles oh my! The house had four huge bedrooms all adorned with safari amenities, an expansive deck and infinity pool.

While we luxuriated on the deck, Lloyd and Luke were busy in the kitchen. With Lloyd owning and restaurant and Luke as an Executive Chef at another restaurant, they were in their element. But before we could even get settled, we were off!! We hopped in Lloyd’s massive open air game driving land cruiser and hit the bush. From here on out, Lloyd was referred to as Ranger Dan. Since he grew up visiting the bush, he had a sixth sense out there. He was able to spot animals hiding in the bush, behind trees and way off in the distance. Of the course of the weekend, we made our way through different territory and came up close and personal with giraffe, white and black rhinocerous, elephants, lions, crocodiles, warthog, buffalo, zebra, kudu and springbok. The adrenaline rush hit when we were leisurely viewing an elephant when all of a sudden three lions jump out of the bush to chase a herd of Impala. Luckily for us, or me, we avoided witnessing any attack.

After every evening game drive, we would drive to a secluded area in the bush and enjoyed sundowners (aka South African for cocktails at sunset) and snacks like roasted nuts, biltong (similar to beef jerky) and dried mango. We were definitely spoiled by Ranger Dan and Luke the entire weekend. They also cooked us gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m not talking ham and cheese sandwiches and spaghetti. More like fillet mignon, roasted chicken and Italian sausages on the braai (South African for barbeque), rigatoni with pesto chicken roasted vegetables, linguine with garlic shrimp and mussels, grilled pork tenderloin, and unlimited amounts of delicious wine and cocktails…unbelievable, boys!!

Although it was incredible staying in the bush and seeing National Geographic come to life, the best part of the whole weekend was meeting new friends. This group was so much fun and definitely entertaining!! Thank you Erica and Ranger Dan for your generosity and hospitality….I definitely have a wonderful impression of Durban and am looking forward to coming back one day!

For more pictures, see http://picasaweb.google.com/nicolenys/DurbanAndPhinda