Environmental trail walk raises R60 000

NIKKI Williamson has labelled her mammoth trail walk from Durban to Mtunzini, on the KZN north coast in just seven days a resounding success.

Williamson, along with 280 others walked the KZN coastline in an effort to raise awareness of the province’s pristine coastline while also addressing the threat the oceans are facing with plastic pollution. Williamson, who came up with the initiative, called her walk the Philocaly Trail (‘Philocaly’ meaning The Love of Beauty) and also raised funds for three organisations championing the environmental cause.  In all, more than R60 000 was raised and will be shared between KZN Beach Clean Up, Wild Oceans and Breathe Conservation.

“I was incredibly pleased at how everything turned out,” said Williamson. “When I came up with the idea I wanted to do the walk with 10 friends and I ended up with more than 200 participants who joined on different days and some who walked the full seven days with me. The fact that we managed to raise so much was just wonderful and I think the trail set out what I wanted it to achieve.

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“It was a very new experience for all of us, especially experiencing the natural beauty of our coastline. I’m astounded at the endurance and drive of all those who walked the full week because it was jolly hard. Everyone who contributed and walked with us were absolute champions and they all made it work. Crossing the finish line some 150 kilometres down the coast was a huge achievement for us all,” she said.

Williamson said she couldn’t have achieved what she did without the help of Mike Gahagan and Carol De Matteis. Buoyed by the success of the trail walk, she has already set her sights on June 2020 for the next event.

“Just watch this space. I’ve chosen June because it will be cooler and the conditions won’t be so challenging. The wonderful thing about the Philocaly Trail was having renowned swimmer, Sarah Ferguson swim the distance between Durban and Mtunzini that we walked. However, due to the rough conditions at the time, she had to reverse her course and go from Mtunzini to Durban instead. So next year we’d love to have Sarah alongside us while we walk the coastline,” she said.  

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