Karin, Cat & I woke up early yesterday morning: picnic packed, walking shoes laced up and headed out on the coastal road from the Southern Peninsula to Stellenbosch. We arrived at Spier early enough to register for our 6km walk in what has to be one of the most beautiful settings in the world.
The global event was organised by the Wildlands Conservation Trust to raise awareness of the scarcity of water in rural areas around the world.
The message they are driving home is that the average distance people in rural areas have to walk just to get some water is 6km, and even then, the water they use is unlikely to be clean enough to drink.
The Cape Town event was extremely well organized, with 3 fruit stations along the way (no water – you had to bring your own, to emphasize the cause!)
Some athletes took the race seriously and ran the whole way. The rest of us took a more leisurely stroll, soaking up the environment and just enjoying being outside on what turned out to be a perfect day.
At the end of the walk, we picked a spot on the lawn and waited in anticipation for our favourite SA rock band and SAMA award winner, The Parlotones.
Their performance was brilliant, as usual and they again they stayed behind to sign our T-shirts, pose for photographs & chat.
