Town of the year

Description:

Kwazulu Natal town of the year is St Lucia. Situated on the North Coast and is looking to be voted as the most popular town in the South Africa.

In becoming town of the Year in KZN St Lucia won beat towns like Utrecht and Vryheid and made it through to the provincial finals of a competition run by DStv's Afrikaans channel, kykNet, to determine the most popular town in South Africa.

Now St Lucia has to compete against the other winning towns such as Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga, Potchefstroom in North West, Springbok in the Northern Cape, Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, Graaff Reinet in the Eastern Cape, Thabazimbi in Limpopo, Clarens in the Free State, and Heidelberg in Gauteng.

Voting for your favorite town SMS to 33175 and up to 100 SMSes may be sent from one SIM card with the final date for voting on July 30.

People in St Lucia have really got behind the competition and urge the rest of KZN to get behind us as well.

The prize for the winning town is R1-million in TV marketing as a tourism destination, and the lucky final-round voter wins a holiday valued at around R60 000, The prize is two return tickets to Mauritius, transport to and from the airport, seven nights for two at a five-star resort, dinner and breakfast daily, one spa session for two, and one activity offered by the resort for two.

Winners will be announced next month on kykNet on August 4.

St Lucia is a very small town, with only around 450 permanent residents, but it has a lot to offer. It is the ideal place to bond with family and connect with nature.

The 54 accommodation establishments in St Lucia range from five-star luxury lodges to self-catering units and camping sites. Basic necessities are available from the town's two supermarkets.

St Lucia has 13 restaurants and is one of the few towns where leisurely strolls through the streets after dark can be enjoyed.

The town is very safe, with very little to no crime. The only problem one could encounter is of the wildlife kind as hippo are also known to stroll through the town at night and several people have reported seeing a leopard in the streets.

Two years ago the bank in the town changed from operating only a few days a week to opening full-time. The first pharmacy in the town opened three years ago.

St Lucia is surrounded by a game reserve, but you don't have to go into the park to see wildlife as there is an abundance of birdlife, insects, frogs and chameleons in the vegetation around the town. On a walk through town one will easily spot a honey badger.

St Lucia has been a haven for fishermen, but the drought, now in its ninth year, and the natural closing of the St Lucia mouth have meant fishing in the estuary is no longer viable. Deep sea fishing remains a draw card for anglers.

Unfortuantely, the number of domestic tourists took a steep drop when driving on the beaches was banned

All those tourists moved to Mozambique for their holidays, but restrictions are starting up there, too, so hopefully they will come back.

Controlled access may be an option and a possible business opportunity, but is up to the authorities to decide.