Michael Mbanjwa (Gallo Images)

Chris Ndaliso

The 59th annual Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon is in full swing and organisers and paddlers are upbeat about the event which starts at 6 am at Campsdrift on Thursday.

The finishing line for the three day event is the Blue Lagoon in Durban.

Concerns about crocodiles and water quality proved to have little effect as more than 1000 paddlers have registered to take part in the race.

As a way of giving back to the community, the SPCA, Starfish and Dusi Umgeni Conservancy Trust (DUCT) have been nominated as the official beneficiaries of this year’s race.

The event will see two extreme adventure canoeists Andrew King and Devlin Fogg attempting to become the first competitors to complete the 120km race carrying their kayak all the way to the finishing line.

King told The Witness yesterday that this was part of a ground breaking initiative to raise awareness on the ecological challenges facing Umsunduzi and uMngeni rivers.

“We hope to focus attention on the challenges facing the environment along the race route, highlighting the work being done by the DUCT to deal with those challenges. This will also form part of awareness of the pollution hotline (033) 345 7571 which communities and paddlers can use to report any damage to the environment along the rivers,” said King.

Paddler Michael Mbanjwa said he and partner Ant Stott are ready for action.

“We’ve done all what’s needed to be done and we are ready to go. We are prepared for the win and that’s what we will be focusing on,” Mbanjwa said.

He said crocodile sightings were the least of their concerns.

He said there will be no rapids in areas where the reptiles were spotted and that makes it unlikely that they will pose any trouble for the paddlers.

Organisers spent last weekend doing a recce of the full Dusi course to establish what late work needs to be done on Hyacinth blockages which have now been cleared.

The organisers appealed to paddlers to their best in making conditions for residents of the rural area near the track as pleasant as possible for both parties.

It is reported on the Dusi website that 30 hours of television coverage of the event was secured and Supersport has the broadcasting rights.

Police have made an appeal to all participants and spectators to be cooperative during the event.

Provincial police spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said contingency plans have been developed to make sure that all the participants, their property and even the spectators are safe during the race.

Close monitoring systems have been put in place to ensure that criminals do not have an upper hand.

“People must not keep lap-tops, equipment, cameras, etc. lying in their cars as this attracts criminals.

“Police visibility has been increased and it is important for spectators to report any matters that appear to be suspicious to them,” Mdunge said in a statement.