Tuesday 06 February

The sun returned in full force and by a little after 10am we were heading towards the town of Eshowe situated 135 km north of Durban. Much of the distance can be covered quickly along the N2 toll road, but the remainder of the journey is accomplished along Route 66. Known as the Zululand Heritage Route, this highway passes through magnificent rolling hills of lush pasture land.

First destination on our itinerary was the Dlinza Forrest Aerial Boardwalk which as the title suggests is an opportunity to view the surrounding area from viewpoints high up in the treetops. It was a very peaceful experience and we virtually had the place to ourselves. When we eventually returned to the entrance gate we were warned by a ranger to give a wide berth to a particular bush in which a highly venemous Green Mamba snake was hiding. A minute or two earlier he had witnessed it pursue a Gecko Lizard to the ground where it had quickly captured and eaten the unfortunate creature. He showed us a disturbing video of the incident that he had taken with his phone.

Our second port of call was a visit to Fort Nongqayi Museum Village where our priority was to order scrumptious all-day breakfasts at the renowned Adams' Outpost restaurant. Next up was a guided​ tour of the former fort that was built by the British in 1883 to garrison​ a Zulu peace keeping force which was being recruited and trained at that time. In 1906, these 'peace-keepers' were used to help put down a revolt by their own tribesmen against British rule and taxation.

Co-owner of Adams's Outpost Restaurant