World Environment Day 4x4 Excursion – Valley of 1000 Hills

Media Release

World Environment Day 4x4 Excursion – Valley of 1000 Hills

Sunday, June 5 is World Environment Day, and well-known 4x4 enthusiast and instructor Travis Duggan, is putting his money where his mouth is. He has gathered a group of 4x4 enthusiasts to join him in assisting Sibusiso Shangase, owner and manager of the picturesque Green Corridors’ Mqeku Picnic Site in the Valley of 1000 Hills to rebuild and clean-up the site left devastated by the recent floods.

Travis Duggan and Sibusiso Shangase at Mqeku Picnic Site in Valley of 1000 Hills

This is one of Duggan’s DO GOOD events in which he leads a 4 x 4 tour through the Valley of 1000 Hills with 50% of the proceeds going towards the rebuild of the Mqeku Site.

“Sunday is World Environment Day, and what better way to celebrate than to help this green space get back to a fun, recreational space where families and  friends can enjoy the outdoors,” enthuses Duggan. “The site is hugely popular with the SA 4x4 community, and we want to help him get it back to the incredibly gorgeous site it was prior to the floods.”

Mqeku - a Green Corridors Pop-Up Camp at the site

“We has been visiting Mqeku picnic site since 2015,” continues Duggan. “Sibusiso and I met and I said I had a 4x4 route in the Valley if 1000 Hills but wanted to have our end point at his Mqeku Picnic Site. I fetched him and he showed me how we could tie the two routes together. We then hired local residents to help maintain these route along the trail. For 7 years I have been enjoying the Valley of 1000 Hills. When I saw his pictures of the detestation of the flooding after all he had put into this site, I knew I had to assist. We have approached Build It to assist with Cement to rebuild his braai’s.”

The tour meets at the Polo Pony Engen Garage Polo Pony (Shongweni/Hillcrest) to depart at 8am and depart for the Valley of 1000 Hills. Then you will climb up to the top of the Valley of 1000 Hills with breathtaking views of Dusi/Umgeni River Valley and Inanda Dam. The convoy will make its way down to Toleni Falls and the Mqeku River and 4x4 down to the Mqeku Picnic Site. At the picnic site you can pick your own place to set up with your family or friends Pack a picnic basket or charcoal and Braai meat and enjoy a fantastic experience with your family and friends.

Tubing at Mqeku

Cost is R 650 per vehicle which includes entry to the site, with 50% being donated to the site to help them rebuild it.

Duggan, will be arranging another event, together with the 4x4 community to help Shangase rebuild the site.

For more information or to book contact Travis on 0832327065.

Mqeku Picnic Site – an Ideal Spot for Family Outings

Mqeku Picnic Site – an Ideal Spot for Family Outings

Head for the great outdoors, enjoy the early-winter crisp weather and discover somewhere new: visit the Mqeku Picnic Site - a magical unexplored playground only 20 minutes from Hillcrest in the heart of the Valley of 1000 Hills.

With Youth Day and Father’s Day both coming up in the next fortnight – families may be looking for interesting things to do together.   

Mqeku offers fabulous birding opportunities (including sightings of the rare African Finfoot); river tubing or “bum-sliding” on a natural rock slide, 4x4 trails; nature hikes and picturesque picnic and braai sites, with a toilet and water – all in a pristine indigenous vegetation. For those who want to make a full weekend of it, there are fully serviced Pop Up Camping options too.

Owned and managed by the gregarious nature-lover Sibusiso Shangase, with marketing and management, support from Green Corridors, a Durban based environmental non-profit organisation supported by the economic development unit of eThekwini Municipality. Sibusiso is a certified South African Tourist Guide, and his qualified team welcome guests to the site and offer a guiding service to visitors keen to know more about the area. The site is on his family’s ancestral land, which allows him to talk to visitors personally and authentically about the diverse fauna, flora and history of the area.

The area is environmentally pristine. Situated on the confluence of the uMngeni and Mqueku Rivers, Shangase and his family are proud to have kept the bush wholly indigenous, with distinctive fever trees framing the meandering rivers punctuated with enormous granite rocks – perfect for soaking up the winter sun!  The more adventurous can explore the river and natural water slide on tubes. 

Mqeku is accessible with a conventional car - but is especially fun for 4x4 fans – offering various trails throughout the reserve – self-drive or more formal 4x4 trails offered by Monteseel Adventures.

For those who prefer to savour nature in a more sedate way, scenic walking and hiking trails are available. Hikes are easy enough to follow unguided, or visitors can book Shangase for a guided walk. Visitors can take a slow stroll towards the old Mfula trading store, something of a landmark for Dusi canoe fans, and still has a small shop in operation. 

Mqeku is a perfect destination for family groups or meetings of friends – also for corporate outings and enviro-themed functions and events.

The site is part of the Green Corridors initiative: an eco-sustainability project which involves collaboration with local communities, creating multiple opportunities for members to participate in the health and welfare of their natural surroundings. Green Corridors partners with a variety of stakeholders, to create open spaces in key local destinations and plays a vital role in improving the quality of the environment within which communities live, work, play and thrive.

Good to Know:

Mqeku Picnic Site about 20 minutes from Hillcrest. 

There is a nominal entry charge which goes towards the upkeep of the site.

Activities include picnic sites, amazing bird watching (including a local African Finfoot), 4x4 trails, hiking trails, MTB rides, rive tubing and local cultural walks. 

River tubes, helmets and lifejackets can be hired from Green Corridors 

Info and map: https://durbangreencorridor.co.za/mqeku-adventures

To find out about these and other things to do in the area – visit The Valley of a 1000 Hills Community Tourism Organisation website at https://www.1000hillstourism.co.za/

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