Page 69 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

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KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCE

• The Comrades Marathon is among the premium ◊ From top to bottom:
list of major ultra-marathons in the world and the ◊ Comrades Marathon
approximately 89 km is run annually, alternatively ◊ Dusi Canoe Marathon
from Durban up and from Pietermaritzburg down. It ◊ Kings Park Stadium
mostly follows the old Durban Pietermaritzburg road ◊ Midmar Dam
meandering and undulating through the hilly terrain
and the runner has to negotiate an elevation difference
of about 700 m either up or down. An interesting
statistic once mentioned is that in the middle eighties
almost TEN per cent of the runners who started out
on the gruelling event were ENGINEERS – it makes
one think and perhaps civils think that they contribute
to the inspection of the road every year.

29°36’51.79” S, 30°23’43.35” E

• The Dusi Canoe Marathon is another world-
class event which started in 1951, starting in
Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban. The safety
of canoeists is carefully monitored since this river is
sometimes polluted due to its course going through
various human settlements. The challenge to civil
engineering is to make sure that sewage and other
wastes are not allowed to enter the river – quite a
daunting challenge.

27°37’14.00” S, 30°40’36.00” E

• Kings Park Stadium, the 50 000-seater stadium is
home to the Sharks rugby team which is one of the
top teams in South Africa. It is commonly referred
to as the shark tank possibly owing to the fact that
the pavilions are set at a very sharp angle that un-
like many other stadiums, allow many spectators an
almost bird’s eye view of the match.

29°49’33.71” S, 31°01’46.12” E

• At the Midmar Dam near Pietermaritzburg the world-
famous Midmar Mile is a swimming event of note that
attracts about 13 000 participants per annum.

29°30’47.00” S, 30°10’55.00” E

19. Richards Bay, its harbour and industries are
synonymous with world class facilities, world’s biggest
and world firsts. One can write volumes of books about

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