Hunting the Endangered Species under the African Sun
I was a tourist in my own city once again, this time on a postcard hunt, the type you pop into a red postbox to travel via snail mail.
Did I find this rare species, and if so, will it find its way across the waters to a very special Hivian?
I went to various stationary stores at a large shopping mall, then started calling curio shops at some of our tourist attractions, but none of them sold postcards!
The truth dawned that we now have a new endangered species in this techno world of ours!
My last hope was Ushaka Marine World, one of the largest and most popular tourist attractions on everyone's itinerary when they visit Durban.
The Village Walk @Ushaka has many little curio shops, so I called 'All Africa Curios'. They did not sell postcards, but the super helpful manager told me that there is a curio shop right across from them, and they have a postcard stand and post box right outside their shop entrance.
Hubby and I happily hopped into the car; any excuse for gallivanting after a rocky end to 2022 and an even more rocky start to 2023!
As you can see as one enters Ushaka, all roofs are thatched, and many buildings are styled like rondavels.
A traditional rondavel is a circular building with a conical thatched roof.
Why is this attraction so popular with families, especially the little ones?
Well, of course, there's tons to do, so if you ever come to Ushaka, make sure you've had a good night's rest, and arrive early, or you may end up missing out on all the attractions:
Penguin Rookery
Ocean Walker
Rope Adventure - not for the silver-haired
Snorkel Lagoon
Seal Stadium
Shark Dive - not for me, I'm too much of a sissy
Aquarium - housed inside what looks like a big ship, called the...
Cargo Hold on the Promenade - houses restaurants as well
African's Highest Water Slide - not for me thank you!
Dolphin Stadium
...And much more as can be seen on the map further down.
This is a replica of the Megalodon Shark's jaw - these were ancient sharks that are believed to have grown up to 16 metres in length!
I would not have liked to encounter one of them in the deep blue, as they could have swallowed more than one person at a time with those big jaws!
All Africa Curios
This little outlet offers a platform for talented Africrafters who design and make colourful handmade goods onsite - decor, clothing, jewelry, bags, shoes and sandals, hats, etc.
I will give you a peek at the work of talented bead artists.
They say birds of a feather flock together, and here one finds many of the beaded feathered kind.
The artist was quite happy to demonstrate his beadwork and have his photo taken.
Heritage Afrika
This shop sells more upmarket African artwork and I just took a peek from the outside, as I was afraid I'd miss the elusive postcard stand!
Gift & Collectibles
As we arrived at the most wanted postcard stand, my cellphone died!
I chose a couple of postcards, before they become totally extinct, and was chuffed to see an old red postbox outside the store.
They're also becoming extinct in our city as more and more post offices close down.
The days of handwritten letters and postcards sadly are a thing of the past.
Hubby took out his phone and started snapping inside the little curio shop, but totally forgot to take photos of the postcard stand in all the excitement of spotting this endangered species!
All Africa Curios manager to the rescue again - he had offered to take photos of the postcards when I initially enquired, so when I called him from home afterward, he happily agreed and sent me the images of the postcard stand and the postbox.
We don't see many postboxes around do we? Well, not functional ones at least!
As you can see, they mainly cater to foreign tourists, advertising prices in various currencies.
Thank you, Ananias, for these images!
Note: all other images are my own.
They had some really nice gifts and clothing with wildlife designs for all ages.
Mission accomplished, well almost!
We were a tad peckish, so stopped by the...
Ocean Basket
We found a table on the balcony outside this popular seafood restaurant and ordered some small bites, so I could write my postcard and pop it into the quaint old postbox.
We enjoyed our little outing and watched the gigantic MSC cruise liner from where we were sitting. Passengers were boarding for a weekend of merrymaking on the high seas.
Durban is one of the harbours that these cruises depart from, so we occasionally have guests staying at our BnB the night before departure, and again on arrival back to terra firma, before driving or flying back home. Recent guests went on a midweek cruise, had a ball, and sent me over 50 photos of their cruise!
A trip on a cruise liner is on my bucket list, something Denise did recently, and just like our guests, it sounded like she had a whale of a time!
I hope all my #marketfriday friends enjoyed having a little taste of Africa from the Ushaka Marine World's Village Walk where I eventually found the endangered species :)
Why not take a peek at the post by the Market Friday community's @dswigle - Texas Roadhouse for inspiration and share your shopping experiences with us!
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Post cards really becoming a rare find, let alone post boxes most post offices gone with one or two centralized larger buildings still standing.
Leaves one pondering where they all went, being solid metal I assume into scrapyards one by one someone made money off them.
Your find does not look full size to the originals which were same size as those in the UK both boxes and telephone booths.
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Yes Joan, it's really becoming a thing of the past. 2 post offices in our area closed down, a lady who used to work there, now has to work at the Pinetown post office in an unsafe area.
Yes this is a smaller postbox, quite battered with age. The store owner takes the cards to a post office daily. I'm just holding thumbs it arrives at its destination🤞
All our small town post offices are now dismantled, only one left is in Amanzimtoti also not a safe area being the old CBD. Winklespruit, Warner Beach, Doonside, Athlone Park post offices gone in the last 5 years
Shopping malls killed off the small town vibe, small post box is better than none!
Is Durban still looking clean and neat and tourist friendly? I hear bad reports about the decay there.
Very few people probably still use postcards, as nice as they are. I haven't had an address that will receive snail mail for years.
Best wishes from the Garden Route.
Hi @julianhorack, don't even ask! Sad to say Durban is not looking good at all, I won't even go into detail. The privately run tourism attractions are well maintained but the city and the central beachfront is not looking good.
There's been sewerage spills from time to time into the sea ever since last April's landslides. Most roads have not been repaired - there's no money, so they say. The list goes on...
We mostly have guests coming for events or business, expats come to see family, but leisure guests are declining. We're small so our overheads are low, but hotels and large guesthouses are really feeling it.
There's still some really awesome places to visit but not the beachfront which used to be the main attraction.
Our municipal bills are posted even though we get it via email🙈
Enjoy the Garden Route, you are very fortunate!
Thanks for the visit 🤗
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When I have read your catchy title, at first I was worried about hunting the endangered species under the African Sun. But then, after I clicked and read about it, it was a relief and I was really so surprised of all the stuffs there my dear friend.
I see that you are enjoying and just like you, if given a chance to stroll there, surely I would buy the precious souvenirs and the shirts. I so love places like this and bazaars too.
Happy Friday Market my dear friend. Have a great day and take care. Much love from Ph.
Thank you for the nice feedback, glad you enjoyed the curio shops.
Postcards and letters sadly are becoming "endangered"😉
Enjoy the rest of your weekend @pinkchic 🤗
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Post cards are definitely on their way out! It's sad really, but electronic convenience has killed many industries.
!PIZZA
Yes it is sad, I still treasure some old cards and letters. It's just so different having a hand written letter!
But times have changed not so!
Have a good weekend @thebighigg.
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Thank you for this visit to the other side of the world! I loved the colours, the round roofs of the huts are so reminiscent of childhood I don't know why, as for the postcards they don't fly fast enough to be attractive anymore I think :) Good day to you
Hi @bnbsc, nice seeing you again, I'm glad you enjoyed the visit. Rondavels always look so quaint not so!
Yep, I wonder how long it's going to take for that postcard to reach its destination, will be interesting.
Have a wonderful weekend 🤗
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Three different cruises, one trip = 7 weeks
I saw that Durban was on the MSC list now. Yay! You never know!
7 weeks on the open seas, with entertainment and menus like, heaven indeed! It that must have been very difficult adjusting to RL Denise, beautiful memories to treasure forever ❤
It was tough, but, someone had to do it! All kidding aside, there were different legs, different ships, and different parts of my family on each. As everyone works, not everyone could get together at once and it was a scheduling nightmare (mine) to get everyone together this way, but, it was fun. :)
I love postcards! I used to get some really cool ones, I even poke into antique shops now and then - looking for old postcards. Most of them are written on and the messages are sweet and some very direct! :) It was one of the ways people connected before phones were the thing!
That is so sweet, going all over looking for a place that sells cards! 😍 You are such a great friend. That old mailbox is awesome! Was that for mail or just postcards? I cannot believe that you had that much trouble finding postcards. I can easily find them, however, I think they are probably mostly for kids collecting them than sending them out. I actually still send them out. :) I have a lot of elderly aunts that love to get them when I go someplace new. I have been doing it for a long, long time and I still enjoy it. How nice that you were directed by that man and then he even took the pictures in the end!
What a kind soul!!
Ushaka is a pretty cool place! The Megalodon is a no-thank you for me. Sweet Jesus! The jaws on that thing are fictional! Yikes! Can you imagine scuba diving and having that cross your path?
The Heritage Shop is another place I could spend time in. Were the large eggs ostrich eggs? How fun! I had a basket of hollowed (and shellacked) eggs that I had been collecting over the years. On one of the moves, they just failed to show up. 😦 It was an interesting collection and fun to do. I loved it, but, it is only a thing and can be replaced. I have stopped fretting over things that I cannot do anything about and in the long run, really don't matter in the big scheme of life. You know what I mean, right?
Your snack looked delicious! I was ready to pop in the picture and share. Seafood really is the best, isn't it? I sent you the menu from the MSC cruise. I was looking at it and I had the swordfish that night... the best I have ever eaten in my life! The ship you showed looks like a floating hotel with all those balconies! Still, I hope you get to go one day, I am sure you would have a lot of fun. You are adventurous, so you would like it. :)
You truly bring your posts to life!! Such a fun place to walk through! Thank you!!
#MarketFriday began as a way to reach out across the globe and learn about different cultures through their markets, especially local markets and farmers' markets, and eventually branched out and evolved over time from straight shopping to a cultural affair as it highlights how we differ and then again, how much we are alike. We have become a melting pot of culture, but it is still the Rituals, Festivals, food, architecture, and even your language/languages that separate us... Along with the fact that these things are normal for us. There are unwritten rules that rule our social behaviors. I see this as allowing for increased tolerance between cultures and nations, and opportunities to come together on an even playing ground. A strong culture can be beneficial to a country as it promotes unity, especially during a crisis, peaceful debate, and open dialogue. I have learned so much about all of you and it has been an amazing experience. I can only hope that learning about each other can help us work together for a peaceful world.
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Hi Denise,
I was also surprised as I expected the stationary stores to sell them, but I think the reason is that our postal service is slowly dying as more and more post offices are closing down. Sadly so, the staff are being shunted around, but I'm not sure what will happen if they close down more as they will then have to cut back on staff, not a good situation!
Yes, those are ostrich eggs, something one finds in most of our curio shops. Sad that you lost your collection of eggs, but you're right, it's just material goods, but they often have sentimental value.
I would gladly have shared some of those fish bites & a mussel or two with you, Yep, seafood is simply the best. Always my first choice when we eat out at a good restaurant.
The gentleman was really so kind, but he wasn't there when we went that day, I will make a point of stopping by again to thank him in person! It is heartwarming that there still are people who will take the time to lend a helping hand.
Thank you for #marketfriday, it always makes shopping a fun experience, although some smaller stores think one is there to spy on their pricing, so they will politely say, no photos please!
And a big thank you for the generous tip, you are a real sweetheart Denise xxx
It gives me hope for the human race when I sww the niceties.
Yes! A spy! LOL They really do sometimes. I have gotten into the habit of asking when I go into the store and I get 95% of them saying that it is fine. It is rate to get a no, although crafty things are afraid you will copycat.
Funnily enough we're busy building our own postbox so that the children can post letters to each other, us, the farm animals. I have such fond memories of snail mail. It's sad that it's so outdated. As for Ushaka....I can't even remember when I was last there. This must've been fun, being a tourist in your own country
It was a fun day, Ushaka is still well maintained, they'd extended tge promenade right to the harbour entrance, so it's a nice walk that way. The ski boat club premises is also there now, really nice as one can have a meal or something to drink a few steps away from the sea sand.
However we never walk towards central or north beach as it's littered and the beggars are in one's face all the time.
I like your idea of post boxes, it used to be so exciting getting a letter in the postbox not so!
I just hope the post office do their job, so many have closed down.