#Wednesday Walk - Enjoying Beautiful Views in Cloudy Weather.

This post is for the #wednesdaywalk challenge and the #makemesmile challenge collaboration. This collaboration initially took place once a month, but due to its popularity, @tattoodjay (of the #wednesdaywalk) and @elizacheng (of #makemesmile) decided to make it a weekly thing.

If you want to know more about the rules, visit this week's post by @tattoodjay where you will find all the rules at the bottom of his post after you've enjoyed his beautiful photos from his walk.

Sometimes we happen to visit places that don't necessarily provide the opportunity for a proper walk. Yet, the views you get from these places can be beautiful. Today I would like to share two such places with you.

A View of Inanda Dam.

The first place is not even an official viewpoint and there is no hiking trail either. It is merely standing at the edge of a suburb, Crestholme, in the Outer-West Area of the Greater Durban. From there you get a spectacular view of the Inanda Dam.

Way back in 2004, we met a couple who were living there. The guy was a working colleague of mine. We went out there to visit them a couple of times and I can remember the most beautiful views of the dam below from their property. Even standing in their lounge, you could enjoy a breathtaking view of the dam.

They have since moved inland, so we haven't been out there for a very long time.

A few weeks ago, my wife had an appointment at a hair salon in Waterfall. Seeing that you have to pass through Waterfall to get to Crestholme, I told my wife I would drop her off at the hair salon. Then, while she was getting her hair cut, I wanted to go to Crestholme and see if I could find a spot from where I could see the dam to take some photos.

According to Wikipedia, "Inanda Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on the Mgeni River, near Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was established in 1989 and its primary purpose is to serve for domestic and industrial use".

After driving around and searching for a spot from where I could see the dam, I found an open lot between two houses. I parked the car and took a walk to where I expected to have a view over the dam.

But, before we get to the dam... Another interesting fact about the dam is that it is also associated with the Dusi Canoe Race.

The Dusi Canoe Race takes place every year.

It is run along the Msunduzi and Umgeni Rivers over a total distance of 120 kilometers (75 miles). The race attracts between 1600 and 2000 paddlers each year, making it the biggest canoeing event on the African continent. It is organized by the Natal Canoe Club. The clubhouse is located on the banks of the Msunduzi River, at the exact start point of the race.

The Dusi Canoe Marathon is held over a period of three days, with each day having a defined beginning and end. The average finishing time for top teams is under nine hours.
(Source: Wikipedia)

According to the same Wikipedia post mentioned above, the second day includes an 11km (6.8 miles) flatwater paddle across the dam.

My first photo is focused on the Umgeni River coming into the dam.

Looking to the right is the beginning of the dam.

As you can see, it was a very cloudy and chilly day.

In my last photo of the dam, I zoomed out to give you a better idea of the view that was in front of me.

A View Point Just Below Bluff, Durban.

The following photos were taken last weekend on a different outing.

We went to Ansteys Beach, in Bluff, Durban (I'll share those photos in my next post). It is a suburban area just south of Durban Harbor.

But, I wanted to find two other spots/venues that I have spotted on Google Maps.

1. The Durban Bluff Lighthouse, and
2. A spot only indicated as a "viewpoint" just below Merebank.

So, after spending some time at Ansteys Beach, we set off to see if we could find these two spots.

Again, it was a very cloudy and cool day.

First, we found the Durban Bluff Lighthouse.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get closer to it. Although we could see staff in a little office next to the lighthouse, the gates were locked. So, unlike the lighthouse in Umhlanga, you can't really get closer to it.

From here, we went to the viewpoint.

On our way there, we passed two points which are indicated as paragliding launch points...Durban Bluff Paragliding Launch, and Durban Merebank Paragliding Launch. But there was nothing going on there.

Shortly after passing these two points...

The viewpoint.

Looking out over the ocean, just offshore was an oil tanker busy doing its thing at the SAPREF SINGLE BUOY MOORING Pipeline.

With the next two photos, I was actually having fun, showing how small man is compared to the ocean. I always say this, but seeing it from this angle...wow! Can you see the ski boat on the water?

And this one? Can you see it? It's right in the center of the photo...

And with that, we come to the end of today's post!

Thank you for reading my post! I do appreciate it!