Day 163, The Secret World

Day 163, Why is that exclusivity is often a prized quality? People pay more for exclusive holidays and sports channels, want exclusive rights, parents want to send their children to exclusive schools and here we get our exclusivity in the places we have access to.

By the very definition of exclusivity, one can infer that there are those that are being excluded from it. It seems astounding that as innately social beings we should get so much pleasure from having that which is denied to others. Sometimes this may be vindictively so, but at most times it is simply to have the feeling that an experience is special, private and unique. In the Umkhanyakude district, of which Mseleni is a part we are lucky to have exclusivity in the stretches of coastline we can access.

This doesn’t mean that anyone else is turned away but there are some areas of the coast which are difficult to access and only allow a handful of vehicles through every day. As part of the holiday weekend I went to another desolate part of the coast where we shared a magnificent bay with only three other vehicles while the rest of the country was cramming the well known haunts.

Warm waters lapping up against the reefs meant it was the perfect conditions to snorkel. Swimming in and through the shallow rocks I was lucky enough to find brightly coloured starfish, spiky sea urchins, camouflaged sting rays and octopuses hiding away. Not being a diver this was the closest i could get to so much sea life outside of Billingsgate Fish Market.

Of course the exclusivity doesn’t only extend to beaches but also in illegal (ish) markets. Just on the other side of the border fence to Mozambique is the bi-weekly Puza market. This is a traditional market where locals bring their wares and produce to be sold to South Africans who traverse a hole in the barbed wire fence past the machine gun wielding army patrol. There is no need to have a passport through this international border crossing and your rewards can be anything from the locally brewed palm wine to cell phone covers and ANC flags.

Restaurants are set up with wooden benches where freshly grilled chicken, deep fried fish and curries of different variety are served up. When one can get past the question of food hygiene the experience becomes quite pleasant, though the palm wine does have a distinctively regurgitant flavour to it.

Being a local here, like in every part of the world, means you get to experience parts that others would have no idea how to ever access. Though we don’t guard these secrets jealously, partaking in these experiences almost feels a privilege and a reward for taking the time to come and live here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyCP05ABbJE