AROUND 60 walkers left uShaka Pier on Saturday on an intrepid 150km seven-day adventure from Durban to Mtunzini, on the KZN north coast, to raise awareness of the province’s pristine coastline while also addressing the plastic threat to our oceans.
The participants, who were all part of the Philocaly Trail (‘Philocaly’ meaning The Love of Beauty) joined Berea resident, Nikki Williamson, the force behind the initiative and passionate lover of nature, the ocean and our natural heritage on the epic journey.
Williamson said the pollution threat to the ocean and the devastation caused to the coastline by the recent floods in Durban had prompted her to do something to raise awareness and at the same time raise funds for three charities.
So far more than R60 000 has been raised and will be shared between KZN Beach Clean Up, WildOceans and Breathe Conservation.
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“Earlier this year a friend and I took part in the Otter Trail and at the time we spoke of doing something bigger than ourselves when we got back o Durban. My suggestion was to explore the KZN coastline with a walk that had a charity angle. As someone who knows the incredible work the three organisations I chose do, we decided that each participant who would walk over seven days would donate R250 per day. The two aspects that were important to me was raising awareness plastic pollution and how we can change our mindset and the second was to allow people to enjoy our coastline and appreciate what we have.
“To think we’ve raised so much has been incredible. I’ve been blown away by the response. I thought I would only have around 15 people joining me on this adventure but overall, more than 250 people will join us at different points on the journey. The passion that Durbanites have shown is for all to see,” Williamson said.
