"Filthy river bank"

The Witness: "Filthy river bank"
18 Aug 2009


LAST Saturday morning I took my dogs for a run at Camps Drift for absolutely the last time. I had stopped taking them there about two months ago because of the filthy state of the area and had switched to the World’s View area, but went to Camps Drift on Saturday because of the Capital Climb. It was not long before one of my dogs was happily munching on a pile of human excrement and another was attempting to roll in it. I leashed them and went home.

The Camps Drift area could be such a beautiful place, but it resembles a rubbish tip with litter, human waste, used condoms and liquor bottles strewn everywhere. The river bank between the bridge and the first weir is no better: the vendors near Makro use the bushes as a toilet and the underside of the bridge is also a public toilet.

I suggest that the municipality fence off access to this area so that it cannot be used at night for drunken parties and prostitution. With the 2010 Football World Cup imminent, I would imagine international visitors may wish to visit this area, the start of the world famous Dusi Canoe Marathon, but there are no toilet facilities in close proximity to the riverbank. We are definitely never going back to Camps Drift. And please don’t walk your dogs in Alexandra Park: it is also full of poo.

KEVIN COCKCROFT

Clarendon, Pietermaritzburg