WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2007-03-22 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
By Bronwyn Gerretsen
Dolphin Coast businesses are bracing themselves for a huge financial setback as most beaches will be closed to tourists for at least the next four weeks after being battered by huge waves this week.
The livelihoods of holiday destinations such as Ballito are likely to come under pressure after some of the worst damage in living memory.
And with one of the biggest holiday seasons of the year less than a week away, businessmen are concerned that the damage and widespread publicity it has attracted could hurt them financially.
| ‘It is just one of those things, it’s nature’ |
Property owners who rely on letting out holiday flats and homes are also wondering “who on Earth” would now want to rent their properties.
Some property owners from outside the province were trying to salvage remaining items still in one piece on Tuesday.
KwaDukuza Municipality spokesperson Adrian Barnes said it was difficult to estimate the damage to the coast, but said it would affect tourism.
“I am telling people who are planning to come to the Dolphin Coast in the next four weeks not to,” he said.
Barnes said a decision would possibly be made today on which beaches, if any, would be opened for Easter.
Barnes said all the beaches along the Dolphin Coast would be closed for at least the next four weeks, after which another assessment would be made. This decision had been made for health and safety reasons, and to get services running again.
Ballito restaurant owner Gavin Kuiper said many holidaymakers would be turning around and going home this Easter. He said the restaurant’s “second busiest season of the year has gone to the dogs”.
Kuiper said that if his restaurant did only half the usual business for this time of year, he would be looking at a loss of R200 000 to R300 000.
He said although there was no threat from dangerous sea conditions, the area had become a health hazard because sewer lines were damaged. There could also be water cuts.
Kuiper said swimming options were now restricted to a few tidal and rock pools as there were no beaches.
Bloemfontein resident Louis Jonker, who owns a Boulder Bay flat, which was not damaged, said its market value “must have dropped by about R500 000”.
Barbara Shingler, managing agent of many buildings in Ballito, said there was little question that the immediate impact on tourism was “going to be big”.
However, she believed that Ballito would be able to survive the destruction.
“There are people booked in for Easter and there are no sewerage systems. The place is a health hazard. So yes, there will be an impact on tourism. But we’ve been through something like this before and we will pull through it again,” she said.
Shingler said another positive point was that the peak summer season had passed: “I’d like to think that by the July holidays we will all be up and running and that we will be fine by the December holidays.”
She added that the cost of the damage would more than likely be “in the millions”.
Pretoria resident Walter Blackbeard, the owner of a demolished Boulder Bay flat, also tried to remain positive about the ordeal. “It is just one of those things, it’s nature. What can you do? I’ve seen the photographs of my apartment and they are frightening. There is basically nothing I can do,” he said.
However, people who relied on letting their flats would be affected as they usually charged between R300 and R500 a day, he said.