The highway, they say, would cut through pristine, spectacular, sensitive and biologically diverse areas and would require the building of a great many bridges over deeply incised river gorges at enormous cost; long established communities on the existing route from Kwa Zulu Natal to the Cape would be bypassed resulting in serious social and economic hardship.  They also speculate that the toll road could serve the interests of mining on the coastal dunes and insist that mining on the coastal dunes of that spectacular coast would be a travesty. "Imagine this on the Wild Coast!" Paul Dutton says of the pictures he took while flying Rehana Dada of 50/50 over Richard's Bay Mining.

The Bateleurs have so far flown three missions to enable decision-makers and media to get aerial perspectives of the areas.
The first was for Cathy Kay, WESSA's director of conservation who asked us to fly her and a 50/50 cameraman to get video material of the coastline just south of Port Edward, from Mazamba to the Mtentu River.  This area has been designated as the future Pondoland Marine Reserve, wrote Cathy.  Bateleur pilot Louis Smit flew them and they got great footage which was shown on 50/50 on December 8th 2002.

The second mission was requested by Dr. Ian Player who wanted to see for himself the areas being talked about and under threat - "I can't take a stance until I know what I am talking about" he appealed.  Avroy Shlain flew this mission for us on May 28th 2003 and to guide it we were fortunate enough to get Keith Cooper, director of the Pondo Park Project and a man who knows the area intimately.  Intrepid Bateleur pilot and environmental consultant Paul Dutton accompanied them. (Ian Players' report follows.) 

And then our third mission: Paul Dutton flew David Rogers, photo-journalist for Africa Geographic over the same route in his Super Cub but also dropping in further south on Conrad Winterbach, owner of Wavecrest Hotel where the forest clad coastal dunes and a largely pristine estuary are also under threat from Titanium mining. After the flight David wrote;  "I had a successful flight over Pondoland with Paul Dutton and we got some great pictures for the Africa Geographic feature. Paul flew me all the way to Wavecrest and we will tackle conservation issues affecting the entire coastline in the photo feature.  Paul proved to be an extremely good pilot -and also a fabulous cook."

Those of our members who feel strongly about the Pondoland issues can express their concerns, either way, by contacting the media or participating in the EIA process.
The Bateleurs will continue to fly decision makers and stakeholders over Pondoland and the Wild Coast to allow for informed decision making.  In fact, we have another hi-profile mission lined up for early September, so watch for our next newsletter. 
We encourage you to 'click here' to read and see more on this issue on our web site.
We have flown some other exciting missions which we also have for you in this newsletter but we start with Ian Player's report.
Nora Kreher

On Wednesday the 28th of May I flew in a Bateleur sponsored aeroplane piloted by Avroy Schlain over the Pondoland coast to look at the proposed road and the potential mining site.

I was accompanied by Paul Dutton an old colleague from Game Ranging and canoeing days. Paul is an experienced environmentalist and has his own consultancy with Sheila his wife.  The other companion was Keith Cooper a former Director of the Wild Life Society and a man with long experience of the Pondoland and Transkeian coast.

The weather was perfect so we were able to get a clear view during the entire journey and to my mind the whole idea of the road does not make sense. In the first place it would cut across the proposed Pondoland Park and literally create an ugly scar on what must be one of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. The beaches, the estuaries, the rivers and the forests are a stunning sight, beauty beyond compare.

What is it in the mind of some people that they would want to deface this work of God.

After fifty one years of working in the field of the protection of natural resources, I am tired of hearing that most trite of phrases " You can't stop progress." This proposed road is definitely not progress and the cost is going to be astronomical. The gorges and rivers that will have to be crossed will require millions upon millions of rands.

Why can the present road not be upgraded or the proposed road be moved further west so that it does not impinge on what could be a Park for the people of Pondoland. Tourism is proving to be one of our most important exports and people in the eastern cape like Adrian Gardiner have conclusively proved what a money spinner it is."  If he can make money out of an old degraded area, just imagine what could be achieved with a pristine place such as the Pondoland park. It is imperative that there be a re-think and some proper environmental planners brought in, people with experience and sensitivity?
Many thanks to the Bateleurs for letting us literally have a birds eye view.
Yours
Ian

Piper Super Cub ZS-DLI Spirit of the Wilderness piloted by Bateleur member Paul Dutton accompanied by SABC's 50/50 presenter Rehana Dada flew from La Mercy airstrip to Richards Bay Mining's (RBM) coastal dune mining operation north of Richard's Bay up the southern boundary of the Greater St. Lucia Park. 

This is the second aerial survey flight supported by Bateleurs - Flying for the Environment in Africa of the RBM mining area. The duration of the flight was 3 hours.