MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The holiday season is in full swing, with visitors to Mossel Bay and surrounds making the most of the attractions the pristine coastline has to offer.
Among these, is the world-renowned Dragon Dune, Vleesbaai.
National Geographic named sand boarding on the Dragon Dune among the top must-do activities on the Garden Route this year. Vleesbaai was also featured on the Travel Channel as one of the top beaches in the world.
According to Leon van Rensburg, who has been a sand boarding operator for the past 15 years, holiday time brings with it certain challenges.
When an Italian film crew came to visit the dune on 8 December, the sand was so disturbed by early morning hikers presumably, that the film crew had to abandon their mission.
"The dune is situated on private property and we have ample signs indicating that hikers are not to walk on the dune. The surface, disturbed due to footprints, can take up to 10 days to return to a normal state. Footprints have a very adverse effect on the sand boarding experience," Van Rensburg says. He continues, saying a surface disturbance causes sand boarders not to go the promised distance of 320 to 340 metres, which is what they sign up for.
"It is a great embarrassment when we have overseas visitors and the dune is not in the pristine condition we promised. It often also causes us to be unable to conduct our business for several days, waiting for the dune surface to recover."
He says that the dune is a popular destination for both amateurs and professionals, including snowboarder who practise this form of extreme sport in the Alps.
"Not only does it set us back as a business when hikers deliberately, despite the warning signs, disturb the dunes, but they must bear in mind that they are also guilty of trespassing on private property.
"Hikers acting deliberately must also remember that their actions harm the brand name of Dragon Dune, a world-class destination," Van Rensburg concluded.
Professional instructor Jemin Koen taking on Dragon Dune.
Dragon Dune promises 320 to 340 metres of smooth sand boarding, in normal conditions.
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