It isn’t so much about the swell being large but that it is hitting the land directly from the east so it has just been too powerful to surf. After a huge breakfast that came with the room, we walked around the hotel grounds then spent the rest of the morning trying to decide our long term plans (the next two weeks). We decided to stay at least one more day in the south coast region of the Kwazulu-Natal region in hopes of good surf. However, we moved to the Mantis & Moon Backpacker Lodge up the hill a block or so. It is farther from the ocean and only has a view of tree tops because we rented one of their tree house rooms, but it is half the price and has a more chilled out vibe, which we like.
Bob went to a nearby town to use the Internet and do laundry. I stayed home to get some work done but I took a walk up the hill first, to where the fancy homes with ocean views are, and came upon a family of Vervet Monkeys. I hung out with them for quite a while and was only able to get part of my work done. I ended up getting my fill of monkeys for the day because in the early evening a troop of 20 or so monkeys moved into the trees of Mantis & Moon. Their favorite game seemed to be to drop out of a tree overhanging our cabin, land on the tin roof with a shattering crash, then sliding off the sloped side of the roof only to catch a branch as they dropped toward the ground 20, making a last minute save. I’m sure they were having a great time but it sounded like a war zone inside the cabin. To escape the monkey thunder we drove to a little nearby town about 10 K up the beach and had a good fish dinner. The calamari starter was the best I’ve had yet ($3 for a big serving), but the grilled line fish (catch of the day) was just okay.