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Our arrival at Zululand Yacht Club in Richards Bay on Saturday coincided with the club fun day (races, tug of war, singing competition, food stalls etc). A boat met us at the entrance to the marina and asked if we could make a loop in front of the lawn and wave to the crowd, which we did. It was quite a welcome to arrive to a crowd of cheering people! When we docked the welcome was crowned by the presentation of a bottle of bubbly from the yacht club and a pennant from the dinghy racing club for being the first boat to arrive in South Africa.
The Zululand Yacht Club has been a great place to make our first stop in South Africa. It is a nice location with good facilities and friendly people. All the visiting yachts were welcomed at the club's weely braii (barbecue) on Monday, where we got to meet the local members, drink beer and eat large quantities of prime rib.
It has small touches that are the first things you encounter to make you realize you are actually in Africa. Rather than cats or dogs, it is monkeys you find hanging round the garbage cans here. The tree in the car park is filled with weaver birds building their nests.