The weekend

Kylie's birthday was Sunday and we decided that since we were going home so soon, we'd stick around Durban and do some of the things we had never been able to do so far. First, we tried to go out with the Natal Shark's Board. They maintain the shark nets that keep us safe from jaws everymorning and they offer boat trips to go out and maintain the nets. We took their boat through Durban's enormous bay and out through the harbor mouth. There we encountered some pretty large, choppy waves and were forced to turn around. No sharks, but it was really cool to see the ocean so big and choppy.

We were back early, but this was a good thing as we got to have one last breakfast with our friend Nupe who was sadly heading back to the states that afternoon.

Sunday, we finally made it out to Ushaka Marine world. This is a huge new water park very near the harbor mouth. Its one of those places you really have to go to at some point while you are in Durban, no matter how much you hate crowds and parks.

I was a little reluctant to take Kylie here on her birthday. Might have worked if she were 7 years old as opposed to 27. But it turned out to be great. We rode waterslides for a few hours. We stood in line with other 7 year olds and it made us act like kids again. We did about every slide they had, and then did our favorite ones a few times. I really love waterslides, always have.
We dried off and headed across the park to the aquarium. I wasnt expecting much, but it was really amazing. A huge aquarium with ceiling to floor viewing windows. They had several sharks, some rays the size of a cow, glowing jellyfish, old sea turtles, and even a Finding Nemo tank with all the characters. We spent a long time at the aquarium staring and laughing at the fish.

We finally made it home in time for pizza and barely stayed awake to watch the Endless Summer, a classic surfing movie that even showcases some of Durban's great waves.

All in all it was a great day, and hopefully a great birthday for Kylie.