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Monday, November 27, 2017

Durban (South Africa) - Swinging in

DURBAN (South Africa)
27 November - 30 November 2017

It’s only a 2hr flight from Cape Town to Durban, but, you notice straight away the difference in climate and the environment shifts into something altogether different from its southern cousin. I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise,  when you think that two hours flying time out of Melbourne will put you on the doorstep of Brisbane, an altogether different experience, then the Cape Town to Durban difference is perfectly in alignment.

Warm and temperate, with a significant amount of rainfall during the year, you immediately get that hint of humidity in a subtropical environment upon arrival. The vegetation here is lush, abundant and very different in look to that of Cape Town. In fact Durban is known to be a hotspot in terms of being an area that has some of the richest and most threatened collection of plant and animal life on earth. To extend that even further, South Africa is considered to be the third most biodiverse country in the world after Brazil & Indonesia, and Durban, provides in itself, 2000 plant species, 82 terrestrial mammals and 380 species of birds. 

As for the urban part of Durban, well, it’s not an overwhelming inspiration.

Inga & I booked into a hotel on the beachfront. An expansive area at the eastern edge of the city that has one of the city’s busiest concentration of restaurants but somehow doesn’t quite seem to be pulling it off. To me it felt as though this strip of abundance was a long way past its glory days. A little run down, disheveled and uninspiring. Sure, it still draws its share of locals and tourists alike, and its kitsch and surfeit family entertainment areas make utilisation of space, it appears, for the sake of it, resolved without thought or reason. It’s a bit of a hodge podge and mismatch of things that serve to negate that value of a reasonable beachfront area. Not that it’s a mess, and not that its so completely underwhelming, but certainly the potential here has not been realised. Not even close.


South Beach - Durban - South Africa

South Beach - Durban - South Africa

South Beach - Durban - South Africa


Many times I heard Durban referenced as encompassing  gritty urbanity. Many I believe use this term interchangeably with having character, but to me just seemed to  typify the distinct schism there was in the cultural distribution of the city.

The South Beach area, where Inga & I were hanging during most days, had a distinctly African and Indian feel to it. A mix of small shops, restaurants and basic bars that were culturally distinct. Interesting in their own way but you could see that in comparison to other areas, this part of the city had been rather neglected. With that said, all major cities have areas like this, but to underline my point, most cities have areas that are like this because of the distinct cultural and wealth divide.  Racism in South Africa, whilst now societal, was for many years a component of government policy where institutionalised racial segregation was the norm.  It’s going to take centuries for that to be resolved, that type of hatred and bitterness ends up becoming part of your DNA. How Africans can ever lift themselves above the dehumanizing nature of their one time oppressors is not a discussion for here, other than to say the challenge will be colossal and additionally to say that these divides in cities such as Durban are distinctly obvious.


North Beach - Durban - South Africa

North Beach - Durban - South Africa

North Beach - Durban - South Africa


Our evenings were spent on Florida Road,  an area in the north of the city that had a wonderful mix of restaurants, galleries, bars and boutiques. Without question, one of the trendier areas of Durban, the energy, vibrancy and interest here makes it a compelling area to head to for a night out. This was also where we were introduced to the famous South African dish known as bunny chow.


Florida Road - Windermere - Durban - South Africa


Not to be confused with rabbit food, bunny chow, is a dish consisting of a hollowed out loaf of bread that’s filled with a curry, be it lamb, chicken, beef or vegetable. Not a culinary extravaganza but one that could be both tasty and desperately filling. No surprise that there appeared to be quite a strong demand for bunny chow in most pubs.

This part of the Durban experience now brings me to THE CHALLENGE.

Since that day we arrived in Durban and the moment that I picked up the pamphlet in our hotel room advertising the BIG RUSH experience at MOSES MABHIDA stadium, I had been goading Inga into doing it.  To get an understanding of what this form of insanity this is, you can either take a look at their website https://www.bigrush.co.za/ or just read a few facts about it here;

-       The Big Rush Swing,  officially named as the tallest swing in the Guinness Book of World Records since 14 MAY 2011

-          The launch bridge stands 80m+ above the football field – you are effectively jumping in from outside of the stadium

-          The swing provides you with a massive 220m arc


Moses Mahbida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Moses Mabhi Stadium - Durban - South Africa


Every time I read the details  however and saw photos of people taking their leap of faith, my palms got sweaty. The pictures are you see online seem unbelievable. Standing high above the canopy style roof of the stadium and looking out to the Durban beaches and the Pacific beyond,  there you stand, tethered to a piece of fabric, only some 5-7cms in width. That’s all that's going to be in the way of you plummeting 80mtrs to the field below.

Each time I thought about completing this task I would stand up against the window of our hotel room in Durban, look straight down from the 18th floor and imagine myself stepping off the edge. The only problem of this style of visualisation was that I needed to double the height in order for that feeling to be accurate. There was much further to fall than just the 18 floors.

As our time drew to an end in Durban, Inga kept prompting me on when we’d go and do the jump. I found excuses of course. Somehow attempting to visual the jump was the perfect method of talking myself out of doing it.

On our final day in Durban I hardened up a little and committed to Inga that we would go  to the stadium and at least have a look.  But even before that, we decided to commence our day by taking a 30km drive down the road and doing a cage dive with sharks.


Shark cage diving - 40kms south of Durban - South Africa

Near Durban - South Africa

Near Durban - South Africa


Now for Inga this was the bigger challenge. Being in the water, which was not a comfortable environment for her, and then floating around with these beasts within touching range, well, there was a certain amount of anxiety involved in that scenario.

On the morning we went out the water was calm and the sky slightly overcast. We took a dingy ride a few kilometres of the coast with a group of shark enthusiasts. I say enthusiasts, I mean this was their business, but I think their love and somewhat warped view of the nature and mentality of sharks, in some ways, made the experience a little disconcerting. When people start talking about ‘sharks being our friends, and asking us to ‘spread the word on the placid nature of sharks' all I wanted to say to them was ‘Dude, but their teeth!!’.

Truth be told however, the real threat to our experience wasn't to come from the sharks but rather, appeared in the form of sea sickness. For me personally I’ve never had it in my life but being in the water, a few kms off the coastline with the incessant rolling of the waves and I was a goner, I produced my own fish chum for the sharks to discover.

As an experience it was pretty good. We didn’t encounter any Great Whites and truth be told, I think everyone would have completely shit themselves if we did. But to be in their space for a little while and see them up close, well, that was pretty damn cool.

So the Shark Experience was the start of our final day in Durban. After returning home, packing our bags and leaving them in storage we headed out to Florida Road again in order to discuss our destiny for the afternoon.

A few drinks in and after a bit of lunch I was almost ready to leave the BIG RUSH  experience behind, but Inga to her credit, talked me into doing the walk to the stadium at least, if for anything, just to have a look.

Now, as you approach the stadium the fantastic arch, all 105mtrs in height, 305mtrs in span, tower proudly high above the ground. If you focus more intently towards the southern side of the stadium then you can actually see the platform from which these idiots jump off, and you can see the tenuous lifeline that ties you up to that are….F***!!!!


Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa


In all honesty, prior to arriving my mind was made up, I was going to be satisfied with walking away from this one. It just looked to insane for me to capably handle. But yet again, Inga just pulled me within her sphere of inspired confidence and said, ‘lets have a look what times that have available’.

Not surprisingly it was quite easy to rock up and book in. Inga was just ready to go, no fear, nothing even close to looking like the idea was affecting her. She locked in her time whilst I stood in the reception area, choking on my own fear.  From memory I paced back and forth for some 10 mins, forcing myself to just go to the counter and pay up, at least that would commit me to actually having to do it.

What I also know about myself is sometimes I need to step over the line where mentally I just say ‘F*** it, lets go’. I recall the moment that happened and it was when I was standing in front of the guy at reception like a complete wimp still deliberating about taking this on. I just handed him over my card and said ‘OK, lets do it’.


Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa


For the unlearned in all things World Cup related, this was the stadium where Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup (8th of July, 2010), to earn their first spot in a World Cup final. I recall that at the time I was with my parents & Janelle in Barcelona, watching that game in an Irish bar. Who the hell would have thought that 2702 days after that semi-final, some 7 years and 5 months, that I, Henry Elisher, with my wife Inga Kelpe, would be jumping into that same stadium from above the roof. Strange revolving universes.
The arch of the stadium starts at ground level and is effectively a giant staircase to above the roof. Now whilst this type of walk is not particularly taxing, the anxiety I was feeling was obviously ripping through my levels of oxygen more than anticipated, I started puffing within about 20 steps.


Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa


Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa

Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa


Without question, the view on the way up was incredible, and I tried with all my might to appreciate what was going on around me, but still, the thought of impending doom within minutes hit me like a tonne of brings when we got to our drop off point.

From the arch there’s metal ladder that you climb out onto, clipped in at all times of course. This then leads to a grated metal bridge that spans the width of the stadium. It’s all incredibly exposed. It’s the openness that catches you completely off guard at first.

Inga had decided that she wanted to attack the jump first. She tells me that the fear didn’t really catch up with her until the point in time that she was standing on the bridge……WHAT!!!????? From my vantage point, as #2 jumper, I watched as my wife was clipped in and took nervous steps towards the edge of the ladder. Talking to her assistants I could see that she was asking them to triple check everything, and that she herself was looking at everything possible to ensure a safe outcome,  although I think she would admit all too readily that she didn’t really know what safety elements she was looking for. Perhaps ‘frayed’ rope lines or something.


This for me the descent down to the bridge was freakin' hair raising

This is the part where you think, 'I really hope my wife will be safe but thank God I'm going second'

Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa
Inga doing her own safety checks - doesn't the site just look surreal, you are literally jumping into the stadium!!



That first tenth of a second when your heart exits your mouth!
Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa


The moment Inga launched, it was like the world stopped turning for a second. I could see that the breath was completely sucked out of her. I guess when the ground rushes up at you from 80mtrs above the ground with just a rope to hang onto, that’ll do it.

As Inga swung completely through the arc, safely to the other side of the stadium and back again, I knew what it meant. I NOW HAD NO CHANCE OF BACKING OUT, ABSOLUTELY NONE.

Climbing down onto the metal ladder my hands and legs were shaking. The ladder is literally 40cms wide and on its right hand side is your 80mtr drop, which of course you’re about to encounter in the next 5 mins in any case. Passing Inga on the bridge was a lesson in visual extremes, exhilaration and relief from the person who had survived and mild terror from the one about to encounter their fate.

Again, something I do know about myself is that mental point of no return where my mind takes the logical step to the other side. Usually when I hit that point there’s a fair sense of calm. This happened to me the moment that the assistants clipped my harness into the rope from which I was going to be swing. At that point I was set. I looked around the stadium, looked at the roof, the empty seats and just thought ‘Wow, this sh*t really is bananas’. What caught me most of all was when I moved the edge and the complete emptiness in front of me. The jump was a literal leap into the abyss.

With my feet on the edge and me positioned to jump, I got counted in.  

Five, four, three, two, one…

….and then free fall


Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa
Your Australian Ninja!

Big Rush - Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban - South Africa
I'm holding onto the rope for dear life, 'like' its going to help me now!?


That first second was literally the most breathtaking experience of my life. For a moment I felt suspended, that was before gravity took over and started reeling me in at an alarming rate. In those moments you're surprisingly conscious and aware of the surrounds, actually falling below the line of the roof and noticing the stadium seats rushing into focus was something I was certainly aware of. For me, in the moment, I particularly focused on the goal posts a little in front of my feet, which was directly in my line of vision.

Then from absolutely nowhere I let out a guttural type of scream that was completely unexpected. There had been no plan in the 'hero pack' for that.

The arc of the swing and its smooth transition was actually surprising. As the rope started to take more of my weight and it became taut, my brain equated it more and more to reaching a position of safety. When the harness completely took my weight then I knew I’d made it. So by the time I’d reached the opposite end of the stadium, suspended some 10 mtrs above the turf, I was just laughing hysterically. Laughing from the complete exhilaration, laughing from surviving something so stupid…laughing because the rush was just so intense and amazing.

One of the most difficult parts of the experience was actually getting hoisted back up to the bridge. Unexpectedly that end of the ride doesn’t take place by them dropping you off on terra firma, but rather, they hoist you up, agonisingly slowly, all the way to the bridge at the 80 mtrs mark, allowing you to encounter a minor sense of fear once again.

The question, was it worth doing?

Hell yes! The rush more intense than anything I’d encountered previously and for that Durban will remain in my memory for a long, long time.

For that I’d like to thank Inga for being the driving force on the day, for pushing me just enough to know what I’d take on the challenge and for knowing somewhere deep inside me it would have been a major disappointment for me to simply walk away from.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Cape Town (South Africa) - Day Zero

CAPE TOWN (South Africa)
21 November – 24 November
25 November – 27 November

Cape Town was a wonderful place to have been based for an extended period of time.
During the periods where we weren’t heading to Stellenbosch, we were discovering such areas as the historic Bo-Kaap neighbourhood. An historic, colour and culturally distinct area of Cape Town, located under the shadows of Signal Hill.  We took a tour to discover the wonders of this little neighbourhood, supported by a distinctively Malay community, whose roots lie within the foundation of this fantastic city.

It was the Dutch that important slaves from places such as Mozambique, Madagascar, Zanzibar and especially the Indonesian islands. A number of the descendants of these slaves remain in the Bo-Kaap area have brought to Cape Town an area of diversity and unique vibrancy.


Bo-Kaap - Cape Town - South Africa

Bo-Kaap - Cape Town - South Africa

Bo-Kaap - Cape Town - South Africa

Bo-Kaap - Cape Town - South Africa

Bo-Kaap - Cape Town - South Africa


The wonders of Cape Town can also be experienced from the water, which when viewed provides another fantastic aspect. We were lucky enough to take an afternoon cruise from V& A Waterfront, and admittedly, whilst the harbour, if it can be called that, is not dramatic, the supporting scenery of Table Mountain, its ‘table cloth’  like cloud cover, and the rich colours of the Southern Atlantic, makes for a stunning scene.


Cape Town - South Africa

Cape Town - South Africa

Cape Town - South Africa

Cape Town - South Africa

Cape Town - South Africa


As an interesting side note, our stay in Cape Town coincided with a very drastic water crises in the Cape Peninsula region. The peak of the crisis was probably early 2018, several months after our stay, when water levels in dams hovered around the 15%-30% levels. There was so much talk, even during our stay, of a Day Zero, a reference to a point in time where dam levels would reach below 13.5% capacity and the taps (access to running water), in the city would be turned off.


Cape Town - South Africa

Cape Town - South Africa

Cape Town - South Africa

V&A Waterfront - Cape Town - South Africa

V&A Waterfront - Cape Town - South Africa


The severity of the water shortages are a stark reminder of the type of world we live in and the reality that will become more pervasive with known global trends, specifically population growth, diminishing resources, global warming and changing weather patterns.


V&A Waterfront - Cape Town - South Africa

Cape Town Comedy Club - V&A Waterfront - Cape Town - South Africa


There are major cities around the world where shortages may cause chaos and disruption. Cities such as Chennai, Sao Paulo, Bangalore, Cairo, Jakarta and Mexico City, as well of course Cape Town, are amongst those major cities where water could potentially become critical. Who, and also, how groups will be held to account for such catastrophic failings will be interesting, and then, how countries choose to react in light of dire circumstances will also be telling.

Monday, November 20, 2017

Stellenbosch (South Africa) - Into the new world

STELLENBOSCH (South Africa)
20 November - 21 November 2017
24 November - 25 November 2017


The new world in terms of wine is any wine growing region that stands outside of the old guard European elites and Middle Eastern countries. In this sense we're referring to countries such as Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, USA, and of course, South Africa.

Groot Constantia, opening its doors in 1685, is the oldest vineyard in South Africa, and is an example of the first trade in wine going the other way,  from the New World to the Old World. 

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa


Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

South African wines are well known globally, especially for their production of such varietals as Cabernet, Pinotage, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay. Stellenbosch itself was probably the first locality in the country that also sparked to the marketing potential of the wineries in their region and cottoned on to marketing their wine route some 50 years ago, and although it accounts for only a fraction of the total wine producing area in the country, it is by far the most well known both internally and externally in South Africa. Additionally, considering its only a 50km drive from Cape Town, the accessibility is fantastic and makes for easy day trips from the big smoke.

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa

Groot Constantia - Constantia - Cape Town - South Africa


Tokara Wine Estate - Stellenbosch - South Africa


Arriving in Stellenbsoch we found a wonderfully quaint, idyllic small town, that fully appreciates the niche it has. Also, as a university town, it also understanding how to make use of its student population, so its a wonderfully symbiotic style of relationship where the tourists numbers supports the industry which gainfully employs students at student rates.

Tokara Wine Estate - Stellenbosch - South Africa

 Stellenbosch - South Africa

The famous Duck Parade at the Vergenoegd Low Wine Estate - Stellenbosch - South Africa
A flock of 1200 runner ducks take part in this activity - it's actually part of a pest control scheme where the ducks are utilise in the vineyards...they sure are excited to get there!

The famous Duck Parade at the Vergenoegd Low Wine Estate - Stellenbosch - South Africa

Spier Wine Estate - Stellenbosch - South Africa

Spier Wine Estate - Stellenbosch - South Africa

Spier Wine Estate - Stellenbosch - South Africa


It was very easy to fall in love with Stellenbosch. Beautiful oak tree lined avenues, Cape Dutch architecture, filled with restaurants and bars, whilst also being surrounded by some fantastic wineries, there's a lot to like about this part of the world.

Our intention was only to spend a day here but found it so intoxicating that we came back for another hit a few days later. Thankfully on both occasions we drove to Stellenbosch, and I say thankfully, for the fact that Inga's initial idea was to ride the 50kms from Cape Town.

...that would have been a bite that not anyone could have properly chewed.