08 March 2010 – Monday

We had planned to go to St Lucia and take the hippo boat ride but I just was not in the mood so instead we finished the puzzle and then headed out to do some errands and some exploring. We went to Meer en See where we took some of my clothes to the cleaners and got money from the ATM. A quick stop at the Rhino Club to see how we could get into the bird watching area was nonproductive because the young man who was there was new and did not even know where the gate was. So we crossed that off our agenda for the day. We then went to our post office box where we managed to find 4 bills and a couple of drawings from Olivia and Charlotte to add to our fridge.

We then drove out to see where the road through Mzingazi went. We followed the paved road until it became dirt and then continued through a thick forest until we came out onto another paved road that was not on the map or in the GPS. It was strange to emerge from the jungle to this paved road that was really in better shape than the regular one that ran past Richards Bay Minerals huge plant.

We followed the road for just a few Ks until it dead ended at a large turn-around that over looked what appeared to be an old slurry pool and in the distance the ocean. After taking a couple of pictures we headed back the way we came and then went to see where the road went the other way. We found it ended very soon at looked like RBM’s dump for old liquid tanks and other equipment.

All in all it was an interesting experience and we wondered why there was such a good asphalt road that basically went from a dump site to a cul-de-sac. Especially since the only way to get to is seemed to be on a dirt road through the coastal jungle. Maybe at one time there was a working mining operation and it was used to move the slurry to a railroad spur that then went to the main plant is the only thing I could come up with.

We drove back through the jungle to the main road to Meer en See and then onto the mall where we had lunch, paid some of the bills we picked up earlier, and did some shopping. Mary needed to go to the pharmacy for her monthly re-fill of her prescriptions before we returned to our boarding.

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, reading, and for me catching up on the blog. Pictures are much more time consuming than they should be but once they are on the blog I feel good.

Although we were away from the house for 4 hours or so, Mary was not overly tired when we got home and that is a good sign. It means we will soon be able to go out and spend a full day of service – the first time in almost 2 months.