At 0600 on November 11th Matilda pulled into the Zululand Marina, Richards Bay receiving a warm champagne-welcome from fellow ARC boats and marina staff.

The ordeal was over and we had made it across the entire Indian Ocean. We were exhausted and elated. 

Zululand Marina offered us a welcome haven from the ocean. No sooner had we arrived then we were whisked off to the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park to see some of the famous animal residents of South Africa. Such a contrast from being on the ocean one day to a game park the next day followed by a trip to the mall.

We have been doing some major boat work helping Matilda recover from the relentless pounding that she received. The repair list has been long but we are finally ready and anxious to move on to Cape Town. 

Our first stop is Durban a huge city where the world cup 2010 was held in the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Durban is also the home of Durban Country Club, ranked in the top 100 in the world. Sadly, it is under renovation until March 2024.

We are going to leave Matilda here for 2 weeks while we fly to Cape Town and employ a very different mode of transportation – a motorcycle, to ride on the famous Garden Route. When we return we will tackle the Cape.