The current "Integrated Development Plan" for King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality (Link: KSD IDP 2017-2022) mentions no fewer than 7 times that Hole in the Wall is considered a Heritage Site, but that it is not yet proclaimed. And it further warns of the danger of uncontrolled developments.
Yet despite investigating our complaint about the parking lot overlooking the Hole, DEDEAT takes absolutely no cognizance of the disastrous impact on the "Sense of Place" to the surrounds and view site overlooking the Hole in the Wall. Instead, they've sanctioned raising the road level by approximately 4 metres above the watercourse, and widening the roadway to over 15 metres to provide "bus bays" and parking, so that people can enjoy the privilege of seeing the Hole from the comfort of their vehicles. At what cost?
This past Saturday was the busiest day we've seen since March and the lockdown, and at around 15:00 the glare from half a dozen windscreens, alone, was blinding! And the views from the hillside itself are impacted from millions of angles. The "whole" is discarded in favour of a myopic front-row view of the Hole, only.
Dept. of Transport have apparently instructed that this view site be tarred and completed before the new year. But they have yet to complete the actual road leading there. The far more necessary 10km stretch between Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall has been abandoned for the past two years, after they completed a total of 2,4km of tarring, and left another 1km tarred on one side only. Not to mention the road (DR18031) from Mqanduli to Coffee Bay is in an absolutely appalling state, and should be a FAR higher priority.