Today is #MarketFriday, a project initiated by @dswigle, and this post is my contribution to this project for this week.
To learn more about this project and participate, visit today's post by @dswigle.
About a month ago, I did a post about my idea to rent a pedal boat and went for a nice pedal boat ride on the water canals in the Point Waterfront in Durban.
Well, last weekend, I decided it was time to do so...before the peak holiday season arrives in December.
The choice we had to make was between a 30-minute ride and a 1-hour ride and we decided to start off with a 30-minute ride.
The rate for a 30-minute ride is R100.00 ($5.73) to rent the boat for 30 minutes.
The exchange rate for the USD/ZAR pair at the time of writing this post was R17.45 for $1.00.
In my first photo, we have just started our ride and this was the view, looking out over the canal ahead of us...
Some youngsters having fun in the park just above the canals, with some typical architecture for this area being visible in the background.
Approaching a canal that goes out to the right...or shall we carry on straight...well, slightly to the left?
Following the canal to the right, we'd have to go around on the outside of the canal. In the next photo, you can see one side of the canal (to the right) being cordoned off.
These canals are actually a nature reserve with over 30 types of sea fish that can be spotted.
I recall on a previous visit, just coming out here for a walk, we were standing on the walkway next to the canal at this exact spot. Within that cordoned-off area, some fish appeared just below the surface of the water. The next moment they disappeared quickly just before a little hammerhead shark made its appearance...
Anyhow...back to the present... We decided to pass through underneath the bridge and see what was on the other side.
One of the bigger (motorized) boats - meant for bigger groups or families - came passed us just before I turned the boat toward the "side" canal...
It happened to be just a little side canal with a dead end, but we went ahead and pedaled to the end just for the fun of it...
We then turned around and came back toward the main canal, where I took this photo just before passing through underneath the bridge again...
Back on the main canal and we were approaching this very prominent building along the way...
But before getting to that building, we first had to pass through underneath another bridge...
Oh yes, my wife made sure that we would remain hydrated while pedaling our way through these canals...lol.
This friendly guy passed us from the opposite side, probably on his way to pick up his next couple for their gondola boat ride.
Yes, these gondola boats are motorized, but you barely hear them...
We were approaching the area where we would be surrounded by more buildings...
We then went past the home of Radio Holland in Durban...
Some oncoming traffic approaching us from ahead...
Another typical scene along the canals as we pass some of the buildings...
Only having paid for 30 minutes, we didn't go all the way to the end. To make it back in time, we started heading back.
Approaching the building again where we saw Radio Holland a few minutes ago...
It became darker as the clouds were getting lower and thicker as we were heading back to the starting point.
Passing another pedestrian bridge (to our right) on our way back. This canal, going out toward the ocean, is clearly marked as a no-go area with clear "No Entry" signs under the bridge. It was also pointed out and we were requested not to turn into this canal before we left the starting point.
We were clearly not the only ones heading back. But I don't think these people went out as far as we did within the 30 minutes as this was the first time we noticed them...
I found the architecture of this building quite interesting, with one side of it almost looking like a staircase leading to the top...
The starting point (now the end of the ride) became visible...
There was definitely more activity now than when we arrived 30 minutes earlier...
And with that, our pedal boat ride came to an end. It was really fun doing this and we would definitely go again.
Thank you for reading my post! I do appreciate it!
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