Page 10 - Thola Issue 17

8 uMngeni River Valley
THE UMNGENI RIVER VALLEY:
DURBAN’S HIDDEN GEM
Anna da Graça reflects on how the Durban Green Corridor is acting as a catalyst for positive change by developing an infrastructure for locals and tourists to explore and enjoy the uMngeni River Valley.
Durban’s beaches are well-known for their breathtaking beauty, but few are aware of what else is waiting to be discovered on Durban’s periphery. Picturesque green gorges, cliffs, waterfalls, a meandering river,
a magnificent dam, rolling hills, abundant birdlife and welcoming rural communities bursting with tradition and culture: A place where you can find adventure and exhilaration or simply relax and absorb it at your own pace...
Durban Green Corridor (DGC), launched in 2010 as a project of the eThekwini Municipality’s Department of Economic Development, is managed by a charitable organisation called DUCT (Duzi Umngeni Conservation Trust).
The initiative aims to change the lives
of people living along the uMngeni River Valley through the introduction of tourism and leisure opportunities and thereby job creation. Alongside this are various social development programmes – from environmental education
to sports development and youth programmes – which help to uplift the communities along the valley. Tourism and leisure are the tools used to enable these opportunities and by developing
an infrastructure for locals and tourists to explore and enjoy the valley, Durban Green Corridor is acting as a catalyst for positive change.
The project has a number of established sites including The GreenHub at the uMngeni Estuary, eNanda Adventures at Inanda Dam, and iSithumba Adventures in the Valley of
a Thousand Hills. There are, however, plans to expand the project to new areas in order to develop a Green Corridor Route where people can enjoy driving between stunning view points and sites and take on some adventure, tours and traditional cultural food as and when they choose along the way. The aim is that the more people can
be attracted to the valley, the more demand there will be for employment of local people and income-earning opportunities for their families and communities.
On offer are spectacular (and sometimes challenging) hiking, nature and mountain biking trails; canoe trips; bird watching tours and authentic Zulu cultural experiences that include trips to the sacred Shembe village as well
as the chance to meet Rastafarians
All tours are tailored to visitor’s needs and guided by local people who have been trained as nature site guides and who have a wealth of knowledge about the area.
who worship and stay in caves; and rural Zulu village tours where you
can meet the headman and spiritual healer; as well as visit a shebeen (all within a 45-minute drive of Durban). All tours are tailored to visitor’s needs and guided by local people who have been trained as nature site guides
and who have a wealth of knowledge about the area. Additional services are encouraged by local members of the community such as local homesteads (where the public can enjoy traditional
thola: VOLUME 17. 2014/15