by David Biggs
Tourism is probably not our biggest money-spinner right now, what with social distancing and all the other Covid-19 regulations.
People all over the world are unsure just what they may or may not do on holiday. I have a relative who hopes to come to the Cape from England next month, but he faces the prospect of having to go into voluntary quarantine for two weeks when he returns home. It’s all rather uncertain. But the coronavirus will eventually be beaten and life will return to some kind of “normal” again.
We need to be ready for that. One of the greatest holiday attractions anywhere in the world is the sea. People who do not live close to the sea have a natural hankering to take their holidays “by the seaside”.
The seashore offers entertainment for every member of the family. Whether you like to swim, surf, sail, fish, kayak, build sand castles on the beach or simply sit in your car and watch the seagulls wheeling ever the waves, the sea offers it all.
What’s more, no two seaside days are the same. The scene changes continuously. Wind, waves and whales are never the same today as they were yesterday.
We are privileged here in the Cape to have Oceanside drives all around our beautiful peninsula.
We need to look after those scenic drives if we are to continue to attract tourists when the world is safe again. Alas, this is not the case everywhere. I travel along Baden Powell Drive quite frequently, on my way from Fish Hoek to Stellenbosch. It’s a beautiful route.
Well, it used to be. I try to avoid it now. Thousands of shacks have been erected along the roadside, some of them right against the road surface.
Children play in the road, garbage is tossed on to the road and people amble about, paying no heed to passing vehicles.
Travelling along that route is no longer a pleasure. In fact it feels downright dangerous. I certainly would not recommend it to holidaymakers.
I don’t know how it has been allowed to happen but I think some very urgent action needs to be taken if we are to offer our visitors a safe and scenic holiday once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
Not many wealthy tourists will travel to visit a slum.
Last Laugh
A Frenchman with a parrot perched on his shoulder walked into a Sea Point pub.
“That’s beautiful,” said the barman. “Where did you get it?”
“In France,” said the parrot. “They’ve got millions of them over there.”
* "Tavern of the Seas" is a daily column written in the Cape Argus by David Biggs. Biggs can be contacted at [email protected]
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Cape Argus