November 30, 2011. From the Green Hub at Blue Lagoon, to the Bay of Plenty, Centrum Site, Durban ICC and old drive-in site, Durban has a distinctly different feel to it this week.
The first thing I noticed at Durban’s Green Hub at Blue Lagoon was the frenetic activity, including workers erecting large tarpaulins and tents to provide protection from the elements for events. Then there were rows and rows of bicycles (a scenario I also saw at North Beach), which, hopefully, environmentally aware souls will use to pedal up and down our beautiful promenade.
See picture gallery below.
All around the beachfront area and in town there are buses and shuttles, either parked at the side of the roadside, waiting to spring into action, or ferrying visitors around the city (although I must say, when I was on the scene around 1pm, the people movers were rather empty as usual as they buzzed around). I’ve never seen so much public transport in this city, Soccer World Cup included.
One of the highlights, for me, was the activity around Bay of Plenty and North Beach: Here curious onlookers were staring at the spectacular Baobab Tree (which I suppose really comes into its own in the evening), where cyclists can power up the lights on the tree with their pedal power. The Greenpeace Solar Cinema and expo was also impressive, with plenty of volunteers around to assist with information, or add your little memento to the tree of protest (see pictures).
Around town the traffic flow was rather impressive, there were plenty of police officers and Metro Police on duty to offset the rush of delegates as they moved from section to section. Movement by car was fairly unrestricted from the beach side until you came right up to the Hilton Hotel and ICC.
The Moses Mabhida precinct was also busy enough, with plenty of COP17 visitors popping in to buy a memento, enjoy a light meal or tour its impressive icon, The Moses Mabhida stadium, and the activities on offer. – Ridge Correspondent