Great water quality for South Africa canoe marathon adventure

20th January 2010

Natal canoe club, the organisers of the worlds biggest canoe marathon, the ‘Dusi’ report that all has gone well in preparation for the event in 6 hrs!

"Our initial concerns were water quality, water quantity and the water Hyacinth in the rivers. We are very happy with the water quality at the moment thanks to 24/7 sterling work by the city. The Umsumdusi municipality have a special task force to handle any sewer breaks.
Compared to last year it has improved dramatically with far fewer paddlers reporting the dreaded Dusi guts whilst training in the River” said organisers.  Great news!  The initial cautionary announced by the organisers has been lifted.

This is all great news for the local ecology, which makes the apparent use of crop sprayers to control the hyacinth by The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) the more regrettable.

Nearly 1800 canoeists are expected to paddle this January 21, 22 and 23 from Pietermaritzburg to Durban with two overnight stops, the first at Dusi Bridge below Cato Ridge and the second at the Msinsi resort at Inanda Dam. The race finishes at Blue Lagoon in Durban.

One of the great features of this epic event is the charity angle. Last year Over R500,000 (£ 400,000) was raised for the SPCA, Starfish and DUCT and the organisers expect this to be a larger figure this year.

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