Help Amanzimtoti win the Kwêla Town of the Year competition. Toti has been selected as a semi-finalist for the competition and voting lines are now open.
The winning town will receive R1 million in marketing value from kykNET, and a 45 second advertisement about the town, Visit… 2020’s Town of the Year, produced by Homebrew Films for broadcasting in kykNET’s advertising time. The KIA Makietie will also be hosted in the winning town.
Sapphire Coast Tourism’s (SCT) Romy Wenzel touched on what winning this competition would mean for Toti. “We are excited that our home town has been selected as one of the semi-finalists for Town of the Year. This media campaign will further SCT’s objective to publicise and market the region as a prime tourist attraction. As much as each and every town is experiencing challenges, we encourage the public to appreciate the many attractions that Toti has to offer.”
SCT thanks the photographers who provided Kwêla and the community tourism organisation with stunning images of the town.
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Toti’s number one resident, Cllr Andre Beetge said he felt flustered with butterflies in his stomach and had to pinch himself to ensure that it was not a dream when he watched images of town, taken by Toti’s DroneDad Photography and others, flash across the screen during Kyknet’s Kwela programme on Sunday evening.
“As images of other contender towns in other provinces showcased, I realised that I had visited every single one: George, Oudtshoorn, Swellendam, Fouriesburg, Gariep dam, Villiers, Haenersburg, Hazyview, Tzaneen as well as Port Edward and Mtunzini, but at the end of the day, I remain confident that we settled in the best… Amanzimtoti!
PHOTO Gerhard Britz – DroneDad Photography
“Possibly different from others and given my 21 years as a resident of a coastal holiday destination, 13 years serving on the local tourism body and nine years as a public representative, I consistently view my surrounds as a tourist, constantly making comparisons and yet without fail, am always elated when returning to our little part of heaven.
Let there be no doubt, our town is certainly not perfect and should one endevour to find fault, one has to go no further than the snake in paradise. Yet with that said, and while not wanting to tarnish or be over critical of contenders, much the same (if not worse) situations apply across (most of) the country and then to much larger extent.
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We can, however, either choose to debate the obvious negative effects that deteriorating government service delivery has on the town that we call home, constantly pointing fingers at a system that does not necessarily meet in the expectations of everyone, or face the reality that it is only us, the citizens and residents who love our town, who are willing to do everything in our power to preserve it come what, to make a meaningful difference!
PHOTO: Paul O’Neill
Let us for a moment envisage a scenario and the spin-off what winning a competition like this could mean for ‘our village’. People who have only heard, never heard or maybe heard of the town could just for the fun, decide to come sniffing around to find out what all the fuss is about. They will obviously require accommodation, they have to eat, who eats without something to wash it down, a set of traditional holiday clothing is a must, despite three bathing suits the ladies will need another, little Johnny just has to have a bucket and spade, why not try body boarding while we here.
Suzie takes a horse riding lesson along the beach, dad dives into the surf with his new snorkel not realising its not the same as the pool at home, resulting in the local lifesavers testing their skills, the emergency services get to test out their equipment, everyone is so elected that he’s okay and they make a family evening of playing ten pin bowling.
PHOTO Gerhard Britz – DroneDad Photography
A bit of unexpected tropical rain and hitting the mall is the order of the new day, deep sea fishing while the ladies hit a spa, full moon walk along the beach, more eating and a bit of drinking and sharing stories of the big one that got away, the break of dawn over the ocean, morning parkrun for mom, while dad rolls through the course on his mountain bike, sundowners in the grasp of a sub tropical afternoon, looking down on a green rugby field studded with grazing cattle, dad leans over and says: This is where we need to buy… voila, another residential property sold. Starting to see the picture?
Let us ask ourselves: Do we really want to lose to Port Edward or Mtunzini. Do we really, by implication, want say that theirs are better, longer, friendlier, tastier or whatever else could cause us to be second best. Certainly not in my vocabulary, so pick up that phone, send that ‘Amanzimtoti’ SMS to 33157 before noon on Friday, 13 March. Let us be proud – vote for our town, yours and mine, the one that we call home to be the best, the number one, the crown in the jewel. Let us make Amanzimtoti not only ours, but everyone’s town of choice!”
How to vote:
SMS the word ‘Amanzimtoti’ to 33157 at a cost of R1.50 to cast your vote before noon on Friday, 13 March. Up to 30 votes per number is permitted.
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