JOURNALISM DURBAN TRIP 2016

It was Wednesday the 7th September 2016 when I woke up at around 4:00am. I was very happy and enthusiastic at the thought that the day I have been waiting for had finally arrived-the day for the Durban trip. I bathed and at exactly 6:00am I was entering the TUT North campus gates.

The buses were set to depart the campus at 7:00am, and indeed at 7:00am the buses took off. The excitement began to show immediately after the bus I was in left the campus. We were singing, dancing, laughing and screaming joyously. The trip was estimated to be approximately eight (8) hours long and after four (4) hours the mood in the bus slowly became sombre and sombre. The students were tired and some visibly sleepy. It was not long until most if not all fell asleep. I also took a nap, a long one to be precise. Long story short, we arrived at the Bluff beach hotel at around 17:00pm where we were going to be sleeping for two days. We were warmly welcomed by the hotel manager and she also showed us our rooms and we slept.

At around 6:00 in the morning I was up and ready for my first day in Durban. I took a shower and at around 6:45am we were served breakfast and we left the hotel at 7:30am. Our next stop was at Umhlanga Lighthouse, where Dr Steenkamp and Dr Odendaal taught us about the hotel (Umhlanga Lighthouse). Among the many things they taught us about the hotel was that it was built and completed in November 1954 and began to operate in 1955 and it was built because the Bluff beach hotel lighthouse (where we were staying) was not functional anymore. And that it is very expensive, as a one-bedroom apartment costs R1.6 million.

After they were done, we went straight to the beach, which is the highlight of the trip for me. I knew deep down that I could not swim, but I was not prepared to let that stop me from going inside the water. After approximately an hour forty minutes. We left the beach and went to Ushaka Marine World, it was not one of the most enjoyable moments for me, but I got to learn a lot about the marine creatures and how to protect them from facing extinction.  And then we went back to the Bluff beach hotel, I took a shower and ate super and went to bed early as I was tired from activities of the day. Day one was fun, to say the least. 
 

On day two, it was the 9th September and I woke up early and took a shower. We were served breakfast before 7:00am. We left the hotel and went to KwaMuhle Museum and Old Court House where we were taught about the history of Durban and how it got to be what and how it is today. One of the valuable facts I picked up includes the fact that the Durban Municipality encouraged the brewing of the African beer (Umqombhothi) in Durban where people would gather and exchange ideas to defeat colonialism and oppression in the past. Shortly after this, we went to the harbour, and the Isle of Capri boat cruise where I boarded a boat for the first time in my life. It was such an awesome experience for me. I took lots of pictures in the boat and outside the boat too, can you blame me? At around 17:00pm we left the harbour and went back to the hotel. I took a shower and dressed up for the "Gala dinner". It was amazing. Everyone looked great and joyful. We were served dinner and I must admit, I have never eaten so much meat in my life before. Dr Odendaal thanked everyone who helped in making the trip to be a success and Dr Steenkamp conducted a quiz about all the places we visited since our arrival in Durban and prizes were given away to the winners. Sadly, I could not get any answers correct, but I am happy for everyone who did-we are family.  The singing started, I would be lying to say I saw people drinking alcohol, but almost everyone was drunk. It was evident that going to sleep was not on many people's agendas that night, I decided to go to sleep, plus I don't drink, so there was nothing left for me to do really.
 

At 6:00am on Saturday the 10th September, I was up and ready for shower. The thought of leaving Durban was not one of my favourite things at that moment. But I knew it was time. I ate breakfast and at 7:30am we walked out of the hotel. It was sad-I wanted to cry. We were supposed to go to Nelson Mandela Capture Site before returning to Pretoria, but the buses could not pass through the tunnel that lead to that place. It was too low for the buses to pass, so we were told.
 

We headed straight to Gauteng (Pretoria), instead. It was quiet in the bus, fatigue was taking a toll on many people. I took a long nap and when I woke up, we were in Pretoria heading to Soshanguve. I knew from that moment that we indeed left Durban. At 17:00pm we arrived at the campus. I took my bags and went straight to my place. In a nutshell, Durban was fun, Durban was adventurous, but most importantly, Durban was educational.