Durban

Africa is the land of the bungalow. It’s extremely rare to see a two storey house here, never mind a block of flats. Villages are made up of various types and styles of single storey houses, ranging from mud huts with thatched  roofs  up to substantial dwellings of modern bricks built in an architectural style broadly based on 1960's Worthing or Eastbourn. 

It's quite a shock therefore to arrive in Durban at the Oyster Box Hotel. This is a proper old school Victorian five star hotel, complete with uniformed porters wearing pith helmets, a 'Chukka' bar for post polo snifters and an Oyster Bar overlooking the amazing beach and foaming Indian Ocean. There's even a daily and legendary curry buffet for dinner. 

Whilst the Oyster Box only runs to five floors, it is surrounded by blocks of luxury flats and along the beach front is a very fine and immaculatly clean paved walkway used by joggers and dog walkers. This is the first pavement we have seen, theses are the first joggers we have seen and the dogs in leads are the first pets we have seen. Is this really Africa?

In the distance lies Durban proper, a huge collection of tall steel and glass buildings. An actual real city - quite a shock to us after so many miles through open countryside. 

In the future will the rest of Africa start to look more like Durban and less like the sprawling villages that we've seen elsewhere?  I'm not sure. Durban has a magnificent port that connects it to the rest of the world and especially to the middle and far east. Most of Africa is remote and difficult to get to. My guess is that African towns will continue to be a mixture of mud, markets and minibuses and that the Durban world of millionaires and Martinis will be as alien to most Africans as it is to the residents of Worthing or Eastbourne. 

For now however we can enjoy a sundowner to the sound an smells of the sea, anticipating the very good dinner that is to follow.