WATCH: Welcoming of the Whales Festival kicks off
The Welcoming of the Whales Festival creates awareness of marine and humpback whale conservation.
THE Bluff was abuzz with activity as hundreds of residents made their way to the celebrate the Welcoming of the Whales Festival at the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) Treasure Beach Education Centre on Saturday, June 25.
Although many visitors at the event only spotted the spray of water in the ocean, known as the whale’s blow, others reportedly spotted a few whales from WESSA’s rooftop.
Aimed at promoting environmental education and marine conversation while showcasing the Bluff as a whale heritage site and a tourism destination, the festival, in it’s fifth year, incorporated a rocky shore guided walk at Treasure Beach, as well as a wetland guided walk and bird watching hosted by the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) at Bluff Van Riebeek Park Wetlands.
Attendees were able to park off their vehicles and ride to the various destinations in Bluff with a shuttle, and also enjoyed a rickshaw bus tour around Bluff’s whale watching sites.
The spokesperson for the South Durban Community Tourism Organisation (SODURBA), Suzette Niemand, said the festival is about a celebration of conservation.
“We are pleased and grateful for the support from both the community and tourism stakeholders that attended the fifth annual Welcoming of the Whales Festival. It was a fun-packed family day filled with amazing marine conservation and educational stalls by Sharks Board, WESSA, WildTrust, Green Corridors, SSIOSA Young Adults, and CROW.
WATCH: https://youtu.be/5uUeOEyoDWs
“The community and the Sodurba organisation, with the support of businesses and local government, shows great potential to build and grow on its current initiatives like the Welcoming of the Whales Festival to further educate and drive awareness of marine and humpback whale conservation, while giving the tourism and economy a much-needed boost following the impact of Covid-19, looting, flooding and other challenges.
WATCH: https://youtu.be/DRRjjYTLzk4
“We would like to thank our main tourism sponsor and partner, Durban Tourism, for their ongoing support and effort to ensure the growth and development of tourism, and to drive awareness of our maritime heritage routes and International Whale Heritage Site certification, within the Sodurba Community Tourism area.
WATCH: https://youtu.be/m7vWlvbdfn0
“There was something for everyone on the day with a craft market and food stalls. Audio-Vision, DJ
Happy Girl, and DJ Soxx, the energetic Zulu Dancers from Love World Productions, Step2Stage Dance
studio, and the Durban Tourism Marimba players, Tourism Activation Team, and Real Housewives of
Durban star, Jojo Robinson, kept the crowd entertained. ,” said Niemand.
Sodurba thanks sponsors and event partners for their efforts and support. “We want to acknowledge and thank the volunteers from the community, including eThekwini Municipality, Durban Tourism, WESSA, WildTrust, Dr Simon Alwyn from Sea Search, Tranquil Designs – South Africa, Andre The Nature Guy, Bluff RTL8 Security, Bluff National Park Golf Club, AMSOL, Khubs Tours, Sanitech, Ilse of Capri, Leon’s Bottle Store, Booths Bottle Store, Geochem Chemicals, CNS Foods, Denny Mushrooms, Marshall Capturers, Renegade Imagery, Premier Meat, Spur Bluff, Queensburgh Florists, The Gooseberry Pot, Villa Le View Guest House, and Vodacom CellularCiti. A special thanks also goes out to counsellor Zoe Solomon and her team, eThekwini employment project staff, WildTrust, and every other person involved in the success of the event,” Niemand added.
DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics. To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 084 418 2286.
The Southlands Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – why not join us there?
Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.
(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)
