Author: Nina Blättler
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South Africa, The Port of Durban and Durban Marina
I have mentioned that I had two reasons for visiting Durban last October, and one of them was to visit the port of Durban, where my brother and I learnt to sail in a tiny Optimist amongst giant tankers and cargo ships, and Durban Marina, where Scally was moored before she left at the end of 1981, with my father, mother and brother Manel on board. The port claims to be the largest natural harbour on the east coast of Africa, and it’s where all the ships needing repairs or re-fuelling call en-route from the East to the West. The port, like many, is dirty, smelly, cluttered with floating debris, and oil slicks slinking on the surface of the water. You’d never want to fall in.
From our hotel veranda, about ten kilometers away from the entrance to the port, you could see between ten and twenty huge ships at anchor on the horizon, waiting for entry into the harbour. Durban Marina is home to about a two hundred yachts and boats of all sizes and this is where we spent many a weekend from when I was about twelve, visiting Scally and getting her ready. I wanted to walk on the jetty, but, like many marinas, the entrance was padlocked, for crew members and owners only. I tried to get a sense of where Scally was moored.
What I did remember, was that it was here that my youngest brother fell off the side of Scally into the water below at the age of two and also here that my middle brother stabbed his toe on a rusty nail on the sand, giving him his manky toe.
Dates: I was in Durban in October 2025.
The port of Durban 
Looking back at the marina in Durban 
The marina in Durban where Scally was moored 
The entrance to the marina in Durban 
Durban Marina -
South Africa, Returning to Durban
Durban is located on the east coast of Africa, on the Indian Ocean. This is where I was born, went to school, lived happily and contentedly with my mom and dad, brothers, our maid Lizzie, grandparents, dogs and cats, and friends. We lived in a beautiful house in a very hilly and verdant village called Kloof about 25 kms inland from Durban. Durban is located in the province of KwaZulu Natal, where the Zulus, South Africa’s largest tribal nation, are from.
We all left permanently in 1982, when I was fifteen. I have been back twice as an adult, the most recent time in October 2025, to celebrate my thirtieth wedding anniversary. We stayed at Umhlanga Rocks, just north of the city of Durban and fell asleep every night to the sounds of the Indian Ocean pounding the shore. It is the most stunning and beautiful place.
Thanks to my mother, we connected with her cousin Joy, my second cousin, who also grew up in South Africa and her lovely son Myles and daughter in law Ali, whom we met on the day her first baby was due. We had tea and sandwiches together on the veranda of the hotel overlooking the ocean. “What are your plans for your sabbatical?,” asked Joy, curiously.
It’s a question I’ve been asked multiple times over the last half a year, but, apart from very few people, not really answered in any depth, till now. “I’m planning to revisit all of our ports of call from our trip on Scally forty three years ago,” I replied, with my carefully rehearsed answer. “And, write the tale of the journey.”
Dates: I was in Durban in October 2025.
the beach at Umhlanga, looking south 
The beach in Durban 
North Beach in Durban 
A rickshaw on the esplanade in Durban 
North Beach in Durban 
The esaplande in Durban 
The esplanade at Durban -
Switzerland, The Final Planning Stages
It’s only two days left to go until my sabbatical starts. I’m so excited and cannot believe it’s finally here. There’s been so much planning and organising. But, oh, what a privilege. When it was approved by our Dean eight months ago, 2026 seemed far away and it felt as if I had lots of time left to plan. I did plan, but only the very basics. Things like, flights, hotels and rental cars for a start. But also old friends and acquaintances had to be contacted, mainly via my mother, who has kept in touch with so many over all the years. Insurance and health cover needed to be organised (including evacuation from remote islands and archipelagos), foreign currencies bought and placed into different purses, tourist cards loaded with currency for islands that struggle with Mastercard, tour guides and tours. Luckily for me, the places I’m visiting do not require visas or vaccinations.
I have travelled and still travel quite extensively, for work, for pleasure, alone and with others, and so would consider myself to be an experiebut this trip and its planning seem entirely different. For the past few days, over the Christmas break, I’ve been planning my daily schedule as soon as I land in Cape Town. I’m hoping I’ll adapt quickly to the freedom of not checking work emails, work schedules for the day, preparation for meetings, and all other work-related tasks.
Dates: December 2025
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Switzerland, Announcement of my sabbatical
I am extremely fortunate and privileged in having been granted three months’ sabbatical at the beginning of 2026. Most of you will know that I lecture and also head a small administrative team in International Relations at a local University in central Switzerland. A sabbatical is typically a leave of absence, relieving lecturers from regular teaching and administrative duties to focus on professional development activities, including travelling or writing. I will be doing both.
For me, what this means is a deeply personal journey into the past, starting in Southern Africa. My sabbatical will take me back to my roots, to where I was born and raised on the eastern coast of South Africa, where I lived till I was almost sixteen, to a story of a long and epic journey on the Atlantic Ocean with my father, mother and three brothers, ending with where I am today. I am thankful. I am filled with gratitude.
Dates:
I applied in late May 2025 and was lucky to be approved in June 2025.