Part XIV - The Royal Hotel in Durban, South Africa

On Monday, November 25 of 1985, it was a rather short flight from Cape Town to Durban in less than 2 hours.

André Bouer did pick us up at the airport and dropped us off at The Royal Hotel in Durban.

We did walk for about an hour in the center of Durban and went to bed.

Picture taken from our room, overlooking the square.

And this is what we saw in the morning...

More to the side as seen from our room.

Google map where you see The Royal Hotel (center bottom) and the building to the right and in top photos is Durban Natural Science Museum, former City Hall and the other building with its steeple to the left, is the Post Office.

From this Google picture for Durban City Hall you can clearly see to the right The Royal Hotel where we stayed and with such perfect view.

We did check out on Tuesday, November 26, by 8:30 and left with André Bouer for visiting the 3 Tongaat farms.

It was a 37 km drive and we visited 2 farms and then went on to the main office for the mushrooms, which is in Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal. 

After lunch, Pieter did do an entire afternoon of teaching.

 By 18:00 we rode with Jim Dicks to Durban and flew with him to Johannesburg in 1 hour = JNB

We had dinner at Jim Dicks' home, where his wife Pat had cooked a delicious meal. 

The other couple that joined us for dinner, did drop us off at the Holiday Inn, Sandton and we went to bed.
We had come full circle, ending at the very hotel where we started...

Next day, November 27, we got up by 8:00 and packed up. Breakfast and one last garden walk while waiting for Chris Richardson who took us to Highveld mushrooms.

Pieter did a farm review. We did have lunch with Chris and Norgan, somewhere out in the country.

Big Aloe Candalabra, where also baboons were eating and we saw a big dam.

That would be the farewell for beautiful South Africa.

Colin Jacobson did drop us off at Jan Smuts airport in Joburg and we met again with Don Needham who will fly back with us to the USA.

Via Kinshasa to Brussels where we landed at 6:30 on November 28.

My brother Harry met us there and we drove with him to my Parents.

A very quick family visit, Pieter's Mom in the nursing home and my Parents.

On November 29, we departed from Brussels by 12:05 together with Donald Needham and via Boston to Atlanta in 11 hours!!

On December 1, Pieter left for his trip to the mushroom division from Campbell, in Reading, PA.

Barely ONE day at home because that same day we left by 10:00 for Atlanta with one of the staff members and their little child for a Dutch Sinterklaas celebration at the Marriott, Atlanta.

Such were the days when travel was the norm!

Thanks for your visit and stay tuned for Part XV about Flora from South Africa

Related links:
Part XIII - Medallion Mushrooms, Stellenbosch, South Africa | previous post by me
Part XII - Cape Malay Wedding in The Company's Garden, Cape Town, S.A. | previous post by me
Part XI - Rhodes  Memorial on Devil's Peak in Cape Town, S.A. | previous post by me
Part X - Cape Town, South Africa | previous post by me
Part IX - BLAAUWKLIPPEN Homestead in Sellenbosch, South Africa | previous post by me
Part VIII - Stellenbosch, S.A. with its Cape Dutch Architecture | previous post by me
Part VII -  Lanzerac Hotel in Stellenbosch, South Africa | previous post by me
Part VI - Interview at South African Broadcasting Corporation in Joburg | previous post by me
Part V - Tongaat Mushrooms in Bryanston, South Africa | previous post by me
Part IV - INDABA Hotel, Spa & Conference Centre in Bryanston, South Africa | previous post by me
Part III - Highveld Mushrooms in Bryanston, South Africa | previous post by me
Part II - Pretoria and Sandton City, South Africa | previous post by me
Part I - Johannesburg, South Africa | previous post by me
My South Africa Publication Around Husband Pieter's Lectures at Congress | previous post by me