As most of you the world-over are probably well aware, our beloved city and province were plagued by unrest during the course of last week. Protests started simmering two weekends ago, and escalated to unprecedented levels last Monday and Tuesday, leading to some very disturbing scenes of lawlessness and thuggery. Incidents of looting and riots are not unique to South Africa by any means, but we are a country that cannot afford further loss (to property, infrastructure and jobs) and disruption, in the midst of our third Covid wave, and on top of the 18 month of the pandemic to date.

The good news is that the dust has literally settled on the unrest, and that Umhlanga Rocks and surrounding neighbourhoods were left untouched thanks to the incredible work of communities rallying to protect their family, homes and businesses. We have been amazed at how quickly things have started to return to normal, and we have hustled to make sure that we are well stocked with food and amenities to continue accommodating guests with no disruptions or inconvenience at all. Our staff members are, thankfully, all safe and keen to resume work to help their families recover from this period of loss.