Living Our Sunshine with Susann Deysel
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3 Mins Read

Where is your happy place?

So this is how it feels to know that maybe you are living in the wrong city…

Hubby and I have been in Ballito for almost 2 weeks. We have spent so much time on the beach (I put in 8 hours most days) and I still can’t get enough of being able to hear the waves. I love playing with the sand and attempted to build a sandman…


I have enjoyed every minute of our stay in our tiny apartment with our 3 cats. I have realised that the smaller a place is, the faster it looks full of cat hair. I also realised that you don’t need a huge place to be happy by the sea.


Our 3 cats have adjusted quite well to our little place down here – and the travel. My cat, Mr Genie, loves sleeping on his chair on the patio. Miss Penny usually invites strange cats home just to get upset when they try to eat her food. Miss Mona has unfortunately found her place under a blanket on our bed… Everybody has their problem child – right?


Factory shopping in Durban

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love finding factory shops. I love paying less for labels that I love and Durban is the perfect place to get surf brands a little cheaper.

My favourite brands include Billabong, Lizzy, Roxy, O’Neill and my all time favourite, RipCurl. I shop all of these in Durban – except Billabong. RipCurl Ialways find something – and most importantly they cut to true size every single garment.


Finding the best beach from Salt Rock, Ballito to Umdloti

This trip we explored all the beaches from Tinley Manor to Westbrook. The best beach in my opinion is still Salt Rock.

  • There are no rocks on the swimming beach
  • At low tide it is the best swim
  • At high tide you can still swim, but need to work a little harder to stay within the flagged area
  • The beach is clean

If however you have small kids, this is not the beach for you – unless you go to the tidal pool. Willards, Sheffield or Umdloti offers rock pools or tidal pools that is less intimidating to the small ones.

When Gautengers arrive…

I do have one complaint – as soon as the rest of Gauteng arrives the beaches suddenly become ashtrays. It really is a disgusting habit to leave cigarette buts on the beach – seriously. Disgusting.

All good things must come to an end

Soon we will be returning to Joburg with its traffic and doctors appointments – and I am not looking forward to that.

 

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Moments in life

A few days ago I was on the beach with my husband. We had played in the ocean for about an hour and finally took a break back on our towels when an old man with a kierie and (what was clearly) his daughter and son-in-law.

They first stood in the shallow end and his daughter took his kierie he then grabbed it  and plonked it into the water defiantly. He then shuffled with kierie and unsure strides into the surf. His daughter was clucking around him and then finally when he was in up to his middle he finally sent his daughter back to the beach with the kierie. While her back was turned he made a beeline for deeper waters.

I could actually see how he changed from this old man barely able to walk to a giddy child. It was beautiful.

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Images of Sandy White Beaches in Mozambique

Mozambique conjures up images of sandy white beaches and empty beaches – and that is why South Africans make the drive.

Did I ever tell you I had my “family wedding” on a beach in Mozambique? (My official wedding was at our house in Joburg on St Paddy’s 2010.) It was the best wedding I ever attended – no jokes!

I was as red as Rudolph’s nose from 1 day in the sun and glowed like a lantern in my white dress. We had family from Limpopo, Gauteng and Ireland and we had a big traditional mix going on. The ceremony was performed by a drummer friend of ours that looked a bit like a messiah with his long dreads. We even had the local tribal head and his 3 wives attending. We served pap and vleis with delicious chocolate cake – and as a gift a sachet with pearl earrings and Irish shortbread (all the way from Ireland). Then the party continued for 5 more days…

Getting to Mozambique with its amazing beaches…

Unlike South Africa the beaches have no lifeguards, but with the small waves it isn’t the end of the world. Swimming beaches are mostly accessible from the resort you are staying at. You cannot leave any structures on the beach overnight either.

As far as holiday destinations go, Mozambique isn’t cheap. Quite a number of the resorts are owned by South Africans and charge in Rands (or US dollars).

You can buy fresh fish from the local fisherman as they come onto the beach – most are also happy to accept Rands (or Meticals).

I will definitely add more posts on Mozambique this year as I am feeling a bit nostalgic.

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Ballito Times

8 days into the year and here goes my first post for 2014

My holiday was amazing. I love Ballito and I love the sea. For me staying in Ballito is like being in one of those sleepy towns (if you don’t try to shop). At 7 in the morning you have the waves all to yourself and by 9 you can still venture into “town” for a bite.

The biggest wish I have is to move down to Ballito full-time and get paid as well as a Sandtonite. I would love to open a beach bar with a big screen TV – just like in Barcelona. A girl can dream, can’t she?

My holidays may be amazing, but getting to the point of being able to afford a holiday home wasn’t easy – and it still isn’t with all the work that went into making it ours. On this stay we painted the remainder of the “little apartment” and next time we will have to do paint touch-ups (apparently laziness trumps the will to paint perfectly).

Rainy days at the coast never go to waste either. These days are earmarked as Factory Shopping days in Durban. Thanks to my friends at www.everything4less.co.za I knew where to go for the most amazing surf labels. I dragged my poor husband around Durban for 6 hours. I loved that he hated it…because I am evil that way.

The sad day of finally saying goodbye to the beach and Ballito came far too soon, but 3 days into work and I am settled and dreading the return of peak hour traffic.

Luckily I can start counting the days to Xai-Xai in Mozambique…

Useless fact: I now have 18 bikinis in my closet.

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