November 21, 2011. It’s been well documented that the city of Durban spent a huge stack of cash on the 2010 Fifa World Cup and associated infrastructure, greening and development programmes. One of those legacy programmes and pieces of infrastructure is the Green Hub situated right at the mouth of the Umgeni River at Blue Lagoon. Go have a look and see that your hard-earned cash has been well spent.
The Green Hub has been developed as a centre for environmental programmes, river clean-up initiatives and many sporting pastimes, events and activities, such as canoeing, walking, birding, trail running and cycling. The centre has its own bicycles, which can be hired out for use . . . the cost depends on how long you use them for and the centre has its own dedicated staff member, Vela Ngcongo, who looks after the upkeep of the bicycles.
My wife, Nerissa, and I headed down to the Green Hub on Sunday morning and hired out some bikes, before setting off on a two-hour adventure along the beachfront, connecting with the new promenade from eThekwini Beach all the way to Moyo at uShaka Beach. At a cost of R160 for two bicycles I think it was well worth the expense, and a great way to see the city from an entirely different perspective.
Some of the highlights along the way were: a) most important, of course, our bikes worked and took us effortlessly (well, other than some huff and puff from our side) along the route, which I’m guessing was around 14km b) Doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it, the Moses Mabhida Stadium still looks darned impressive, especially when you cycle right up to the front door c) Despite a stiff wind on the day, the environment and level of physical output required places this firmly in the enjoyable category; you’re not going to put yourself in hospital doing this ride d) If you pushed yourself, you could extend the ride and cover much more ground e) We met a skateboarding bulldog with a penchant for “dogjacking” other people’s skateboards, that alone was worth the cost of the bikes . . . and he can actually skateboard f) The promenade rocks, no two ways about it. Smooth, spacious, loads of people out and about having fun, taking ownership of their city.
One negative, after a week of rain, the Umgeni River mouth was choking with rubbish, an ugly sight that was a reminder of the challenges we face in keeping the river clean. On a recent walk of the Mangroves it became apparent that this is an ongoing issue. But overall, this negative point could not take away from a most enjoyable day out.
So go on then, what are you waiting for. Get on your bike, or get down to the Green Hub and hire one . . . pronto. Durban will never have looked better. – Garth Johnstone