Many people think travel is synonymous with a holiday. In most cases, it isn’t. Going overseas is always stressful: will my cases get broken into? Will I lose my passport and documents? Will I miss my connecting flights and trains? Will I be able to drive on the wrong side of the road? Will people understand me? Will there be a hassle with my visa? Will I get sick? Will I get lost in a strange city? Will I get mugged? Will I have enough money at the ruinous exchange rates?
In addition, going to a foreign destination for the first time means a tsunami of new information will flood your senses… sights, sounds, tastes. That can be, and is, pleasurable, but it is also tiring.
Often, people get back from overseas travel in need of a holiday to recuperate.
Travel inside the country can also be stressful, although less so than going abroad because the known is comforting.
At the end of the year, many South Africans head away from home for the true holiday, where they can kick back, relax and de-stress. Many of us up here in Gauteng head for the beaches, either in the Cape or KwaZulu-Natal.
Some years ago, I had one of the best holidays of my life in a self-catering flat in Umhlanga over the New Year period. It was the typical family holiday and although the kids were young and needy in terms of having to be entertained, it was nevertheless an opportunity for me to vegetate and re-charge the batteries.
I would get up around dawn, go for a run along the promenade, come back and have breakfast and immediately pick up a book. Down to the beach with kids (and book) about mid-morning and then back in time for lunch. On to the bed after lunch with the book. One of the most luxurious things in life is being able to fall asleep whenever you want, without worrying about patterns and deadlines. I did this with alacrity.
When the sleeping veered towards being overdone, it was in the car and off to somewhere like the nearby Gateway mall, where there were restaurants, cinemas and many ways to keep youngsters occupied.
Best of all, though, were the late afternoon and early evening powerful thunderstorms, which crashed and rolled in from either the hills behind Umhlanga or from the sea. The lightning shows were spectacular. Also, there was little chance of being disturbed by neighbours because the crashing of the waves was so loud.
All in all, a little piece of simple heaven.
A couple of weeks ago, I jumped at an invitation from the Lighthouse Property Group to experience that typical Umhlanga holiday in one of their quality sea-facing apartments. The group has more than 100 apartments for rent in Umhlanga across the price range (cheaper than in Cape Town, guaranteed) and more in nearby Ballito.
And even though we could only spend a few days there, because I had a commitment in Joburg, it was everything my previous holiday was… or even better because the apartment at the Oyster Rocks complex, next to the Oyster Box Hotel, was five-star.
With a view over the bay which greets you as you walk in the door, the apartment was perfectly situated. Parking and security were also top class. With my book and DStv supplied, there was little I could ask for.
Even nature co-operated, producing another spectacular display of lightning over two nights, while on two early mornings we had the privilege of watching schools of dolphins meandering up and down the coast and playfully surfing in the waves just offshore.
Another positive about Umhlanga is the UIP – Umhlanga Improvement Project – which has seen a general sprucing up of the entire beachfront area (damaged in storms earlier this year) and deployment of stronger security. I understand that Umhlanga is also tightening up on allowing matric students to run riot, as they do every December. Many hotels and apartment complexes are not accepting bookings from teenagers unless they are accompanied by adults. Lighthouse is one. And the cops in the seaside resort have been briefed to be ruthless on things like drinking in public.
Umhlanga itself has changed quite dramatically since my last visit, with more sophisticated high-rise apartments now lending the area a more classy aura, much like the Gold Coast in Australia.
The people at Lighthouse, who know the property game in the coastal area, say a number of wealthy foreigners have bought apartments in the town – testimony to its international appeal and good value.
KwaZulu-Natal is still cheaper – and closer – than Cape Town as a holiday destination for Gautengers. And there is plenty to do in and around Durban. Mind you, the suggestions in the local magazine about places to visit proved difficult to follow because, generally, signposting in the province is appalling. We tried to get to two local dams, giving up on one and finding the other only after a long struggle… but weren’t sure where to go (no signposting again) so headed back to the apartment.
Over the end-of-year holidays, there is plenty to choose from in terms of beaches and entertainment in the vicinity of Durban and Umhlanga.
But don’t forget to take books. And you have my permission to doze off. - Saturday Star
l The Lighthouse Property Group offers a slick, sophisticated range of flats and apartments and, because a number of its staffers have made their way up through the hospitality industry, service is of a high level. See www.lighthouse.co.za or phone Nicolas Dekker on 031 561 5838 for letting in Umhlanga or Bronwyn Booth on 032 586 0154 for letting in Ballito.