uMhlanga pier is world’s most beautiful

Yes, uMhlanga's distinctive whale bone pier is the world's most beautiful, say proud tourism experts, from left, Peter Rose, chairman of uMhlanga Tourism, Briony Smith, TKZN manager for Africa and the domestic market, and Phillip Sithole, head of Durban Tourism. Picture: Jacques Naude

Yes, uMhlanga's distinctive whale bone pier is the world's most beautiful, say proud tourism experts, from left, Peter Rose, chairman of uMhlanga Tourism, Briony Smith, TKZN manager for Africa and the domestic market, and Phillip Sithole, head of Durban Tourism. Picture: Jacques Naude

Published Jul 31, 2014

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Durban -

Media giant CNN has just announced what almost everyone else knew all along: that the uMhlanga pier is the most beautiful in the world.

The latest accolade comes hot on the heels of CNN proclaiming that Durban was one of the most underrated cities with a host of wonderful attractions, all-year sunshine and a cosmopolitan vibe.

Now CNN has given the pier the “most beautiful in the world” title after freelance writer Tamara Hinson began researching piers worldwide.

South African Tourism was contacted and it in turn got in touch with Durban and KwaZulu-Natal tourism leaders, who sent in a picture of uMhlanga pier with its distinctive whale bone structure.

The pier has previously won the South African National Award for Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievements.

And, Hinson discovered that the pier was not just an architectural masterpiece and a place for locals and tourists to grab a great picture.

It is also an extension of an underground culvert that helps disperse excess storm water from the land into the ocean.

“This is another icon along the beachfront that complements our other icons of uShaka Marine World and Moses Mabhida Stadium,” said Phillip Sithole, head of Durban Tourism, who has just returned from the US where the city launched its documentary on National Geographic.

“This is an awesome accolade,” bragged Briony Smith, Tourism KZN’s regional manager for Africa and the domestic market.

And, no one was more proud than Peter Rose, the chairman of uMhlanga Tourism, who added: “CNN has confirmed that this pier really is the best in the world.”

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