The photos below are the last of my January batch, which were looking for a post to feature in.
They show the Morningside “cube” view over the CBD and harbour, Brighton Beach, uShaka Beach, Umgeni River and bridge.
I just hope they don’t make the overseas squad: Larry, Nicki, Jason, Wendy, Tania, Emma, Megan, Shannon, Justin, Cheryl and a few others too homesick.
This post is the follow-on of “Why we love Durban: The Bluff – 2“.
It has an unnamed addendum “Why Durban confuses us”.
I previously threatened to let the “photos do the talking” about this series.
However, I am scratching my brain (head) about the old Addington Children’s Hospital shown above in two of the photos.
In November 2011 a local newspaper reported: “Reconstruction of the dilapidated historic KwaZulu-Natal Children’s Hospital is to start in January (2012) with an initial tranche of R50 million injected into the project by the provincial department of health”.
If you look at my photos (end of December 2012) above and the newspaper’s photo here (November 2011) you, like the blogger, may struggle to spot the difference the initial R50 million reconstruction has made in 11 months.
In addition, we have the “parent” hospital, a hundred metres away, also undergoing a refurbishment to the tune of R142 million and suffering problems of its own (while the patients struggle in less than favourable conditions – I visited a relative there a few weeks back).
In its day, it was a top Government Hospital – not the “Admin failure ruins health system” now reported by IOL.
While the architect’s envisioned result looks appealing, I believe that both hospitals would be better suited and positioned elsewhere.
I have a sneaking feeling that the underprivileged who use the parent hospital would have preferred something something “closer to home” in more ways than one.
I am not one to promote the rich & famous and their exclusive use areas, but having two hospitals looming over an area of spotless beachfront, that the City has refurbished a number of times in recent years, seems odd.
Both hospitals could surely have become hotels or fancy residences that would have further enhanced the area and helped its upliftment.
But what do I know, I am just a photographer and the promoters of both projects must have (should have) done their planning well and investigated all options to care for the interests of the City and its people.
I’m planning to run a “series” showcasing some photos of my hometown (Durban, South Africa).
Durban is a lovely and interesting place to live. It’s mostly warm, vibrant and diverse.
No comment is therefore needed – the photos will hopefully tell a story of their own.
All the messages, wishing others well and showing an intention to make good, over the past 24 hours had me thinking that this should really be a daily, weekly or monthly exercise; not something limited to once a year.
This post from Karma Tube rocked my boat:
“Look back on the year with gratitude, focus on your learnings and your growth”.
I also enjoyed:
“Concern yourself with the present only. Do not look back upon the past or worry about the future” ~ Swami Sivananda.
The photos were taken at Anstey’s Beach tidal pool, Bluff Durban.
For more information on this beautiful area of South Africa, visit Ansteys Beach Backpackers.
I will do another post with some more photos of this fairly unspoiled golden beach, where the waves are top and fishing great!
Going to the beach previously involved long walks, swims, different smells and meeting or at least seeing other dogs.
This was done at a time of the day when it was warm.
Roscoe therefore did not seem entirely impressed when we left for Brighton Beach Durban at 04:20 in the morning, when it was still dark and a little cold, and I then set about taking loads of photos for a couple of hours while he patiently waited.
I was more interested in holding my Canon 550D and tripod than doing anything else.
If we walked a short way, it was just to setup camera and tripod elsewhere for some more non-smelly and boring photography.
I thought the following photos especially # 1 captured Roscoe’s mood – he was very bored and not impressed!
My faithful companion…
My dear friend Allan Maclean ambled over to the Ghost House at Westbrook Beach, South Africa and took some lovely photographs (one shown below).
Now I am sure he visited Beach Bums Restaurant which is next door.
We recently had a work event there; and I will post some related photographs in due course.
But for now, click right here to view Allan’s other photographs.
Andrew Harvard Photography 