Balcony of the Bay

RESTORED to its former glory as sentinel over Algoa Bay, the Donkin Reserve is fast becoming Nelson Mandela Bay’s top icon and tourist hotspot.

The city locals have responded to the opening up of the inner city space – and this is precisely what the masterminds behind the Donkin revival project, the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), wanted.

“This is finally the real thing,” said Dorelle Sapere, MBDA planning and development manager. “The Donkin Reserve and Route 67 are being appropriated by the public and they are engaging with the public space in just the way we intended. We are so proud of the final product. The Donkin is our gift to the city and the rest of the world – and we are so happy that people have fallen in love with this incredible tourism route.”

The MBDA has been working on the Donkin Reserve upgrade and the Route 67 arts journey for close on three years. Heritage month saw the launch of Route 67, a tribute to the 67 years Nelson Mandela dedicated to politics. His commitment is celebrated through 67 pieces of public art which form Route 67.

The result is a unique tourism product that reads like an “alternative, very visual, history book” using multi-mediums to tell the political story of Nelson Mandela’s life.

The MBDA’s goal is to see Route 67 growing into an international attraction that will give tourist’s the “Mandela experience” in the city named after the iconic leader and former South African president.  Since the upgrade the people of Nelson Mandela Bay have started to use to renewed space more and more.

Nearby preschool, Teletubbies, which does not have a playground on their premises uses the Donkin as a play space for their children.

“We come every day to play with the children, show them the art and let them run around in the sun,” said teacher Silvia Fejela. “They love coming here and we are lucky to have it right near the school.”

Every day at 5pm there is a regular soccer match played by a group of athletic young men and many people take daily walks with their pets or families on the reserve.

“It is becoming, in fact, more than a tourism attraction – it is an integral part of the lives of local people. It is fantastic to see the Donkin and its surrounds being embraced on this level,” said Sapere of the tourists, soccer players, school children and strollers who can be seen on the Donkin at any given time. “It has become the big playground of the city.”

The Donkin Reserve is home to ten pieces of public art that form part of a collection of 67 pieces of art throughout the city. The “Route 67” arts journey celebrates the 67 years of Nelson Mandela’s political life through a visual collection of works produced by local artists.

The result is an incredible tourism route known as the Arts Journey – which includes exhibitions and showcases on the Route 67 and at the refurbished Athenaeum gallery, ArtEC, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, the historic Red Location museum, South End Museum and Ron Belling Gallery. The Route was opened on September 24, 2011, South Africa’s National Heritage Day and has launched a tourist hub which focuses on art, culture and heritage. Route 67 is a unique tourism product for Nelson Mandela Bay, a job creation project for the artists, and an educational tool for both local and international visitors to the city.