Umhlanga. A great holiday destination in KwaZulu-Natal

Lighthouse at Umhlanga
Travel need not always be about getting on a plane and flying off to some exotic destination. There are also some really great local travel destinations in South Africa! After my trip to South America, my wife and I  decided to visit the son and his partner in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. This is on the East coast of South Africa. After finding a great place to look after the birds (a place called Fetch -  www.fetchk9.co.za) ,  we can now travel a bit more as a couple. So off to Durban we went. Durban is about 600 km from Bloemfontein on very good roads, so driving is pretty easy.
A mouse in my room!
After the very bad drought in the past 2 years and the rains which had started to fall, the Free State was looking beautiful. Long green grass and lots of wild flowers, including cosmos was seen along the way. How beautiful to see green grass again! KwaZulu Natal pretty much always looks beautify and is always green. The Drakensburg mountain range stops most of the clouds from getting to the Free State and KwaZulu Natal has much more rain then the interior of the country. I had forgotten the many massive aloes which can be seen along the route. Traffic was light and the roads were good, although there was quite a bit of road maintenance alone the way.
We stayed in a great hotel in Umhlanga. This was the Protea Hotel by Marriott  in Umhlanga. The location of this hotel is great. Right on "The Strip", which is the main street for restaurants in the area. Also a beautify view from the hotel overlooking the sea with the city of Durban in the distance. The hotel is also about 400 meters from the sea, the Umhlanga peer and the famous Light house.
The order of the day was eating, eating, eating! As I mentioned, the hotel was on The Strip, which is literately wall to wall restaurants. Some great places to eat. One of the best places I have eaten at in a long time was a place called "Little Havana". They have been rated as one of the best steak restaurant in the Durban area and after eating their food I can see why. I was advised to order the fillet on the bone. This I did and it was one of the best meals I have had in a long time. This is basically a thick cut T-bone steak, with the sirloin cut off and just the fillet on the bone. This was beautifully tender and really well cooked.It was accompanied by smooth mash and a marrow bone. A perfect meal.
Fillet on the Bone at Little Havana

There is also a great Thai restaurant, called "Siam" which serves very authentic Thai food, and this was my choice for the first meal in Durban which Hardy and Natalie, as it was my birthday! Great evening out. They make a very special ice cream at this restaurant. It is made on a VERY cold plate. The ingredients are added to the cold plate and this is mixed until in freezes and the ice cream is then scraped off on beautify rolls. My wife (Marie) and Natalie are both vegans.They were delighted to find out that you could get Vegan ice cream (guess you cant call it ice "cream") there. The basis of this vegan ice cream is either coconut milk, or a mango puree. We went back for more ice cream during the stay!
Vegan Ice "Cream"

Non-vegan Ice Cream
There is also a new Mexican place called "Salsa" on the strip. This is a great concept. It is basically "build your own Mexican dish". You first pick the base, followed by your selection of toppings (all with a good Mexicans flavor) and they your dish arrives. Great when you are eating out with a vegan. She can pick what she wants.
All to soon the short stay was over and it was time to head on back to Bloemfontein. We were left wanting more, and we can't wait for our next visit - not only to see the family, but also to eat great food by the sea!  
Do it yourself Mexican meal
Another healthy meal at Turn n Tender

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