DPHS Tour Tradition Continues
On Thursday morning 30 January, 125 very excited Prep Boys met in the car park, early at 05:30am, to board the buses for our bi-annual Sports Tour to Durban. After encouraging some concerned moms off the buses, doing team checking, roll call and bus allocation, we hit the road at 06:00 am. The queues at the One Stop bathroom in Harrismith were fairly impressive and once everyone had emptied their bladders, and then restocked, we made our way down Van Reenen’s Pass and into KZN. After arriving at DPHS (Durban Preparatory High School), our boys were introduced to their hosts and host parents for the weekend, and then all the cricket teams prepared for a round of 10 over cricket. It was evident that 8 hours on a bus, with 8 Energades and 16 packets of Jelly Babies combined, does not make for an ideal warm-up for a cricket match!
On Friday morning, all the Saints boys other than the golfers who had teed off at 06:30, made their way to the beach and after an hour of building sandcastles, swimming in the sea, dodging boogey-boards and blue bottles - boys were given a bracelet giving them access to Ushaka Wet ‘n Wild Park. Much excitement! It was a close tie as to who had the most fun – the boys or the coaches, with it being noted that Mr de Buys did struggle to disentangle his baggies after going down the steep water slide!
The tennis players made their way to Mitchell Park, where there were some fiercely competitive matches. DPHS managed to squeak a narrow win 6⅟2 to 5⅟2, the final game going down to a tie breaker. Our water polo players were then in action at Durban High School and Clifton School, where the polo too, was competitive.
Saturday morning dawned hot and steamy, with our cricketers seeing action again, this time in longer format matches. Most games were fiercely competitive and very exciting but played in a wonderful spirit. It was a huge learning experience for our boys to play in the heat and humidity of Durban.
It was with a tinge of sadness that our boys said farewell to their host brothers and parents, who looked after them wonderfully well the entire weekend. Many of the DPHS parents were most complimentary of the Saints boys’ manners and politeness. After a long bus trip, we were all relieved to be back home in Johannesburg late on Sunday afternoon. This was a wonderful learning experience for all our boys.
Our sincere thanks to Mr Michael Dick (Director of Sport: DPHS), Mr Barry Wilson (Head: DPHS), Mr Elias Tlhabanyane and the staff of both schools for their meticulous planning, wonderful hosting, and warm hospitality, to ensure that our boys had a great trip. We look forward to hosting DPHS in February 2021, when they will be celebrating their 111th year!
