The rotunda at Mariner's wharf If you look for it, you’ll probably miss the rotunda. I know I did. Several times in fact. It’s hidden between moored boats, boats often filled with laughing, loudly talking fishermen. But it’s there, if you take your time and see past the visual chaos of masts, brightly coloured boats, larger-than-life fishermen and fences and gates.
Durban at dawn from the harbour Behind the city’s hotels and apartment blocks that line the beachfront, and at the southern end, is the busy harbour port that underlies Durban’s commerce and importance.
At the corner post, that's where you'll find me. Signs, they’re everywhere. Directing you here, directing you there … helping you find your way, if you’re looking.
They “see” us before we see them. Yet we become aware of their presence almost immediately on entering the water. Despite the near twenty-metre visibility, their whistles, burst pulses, bubble trails and chirps “inspect” us well before they come into view.
Mother, daughter and son sift the tidal wash for sea lice and similar crustaceans to sell as bait to shore fishermen. Dugongs are slow-moving, large, cow-like creatures that like to spend their days munching on sea grass while occasionally luring ancient mariners to their doom by pretending to be mermaids. In Mozambique, and especially during the civil war, dugongs were hunted for their meat, much as the Australian Aboriginal population does. After all, a dugong can feed an extended family for many days, even weeks.