NU 5 - The Best View In Town

Now, is this not a beautiful view? 

Looking down from NU 5 over the large Bridle Drift Dam you will see this. The River who feeds this dam amongst others is the Buffalo River. It is the only navigable river in South Africa and the town of East London was built around it. The Buffalo River has its source in the seeps and sponges of the Amatola Mountains Range at an altitude of 1200 m. 

The river is 126 kilometres long and drains a catchment of 1287 square kilometers. From its source, the river descends through indigenous forest in a deeply-incised channel, flanked by rock cliffs up to 120 meters high. 
The Bridle Drift Dam is the largest dam on the river, with a full supply volume of 101 million cubic meters. Small streams on the northern bank bring runoff directly into Bridle Drift Dam from Mdantsane

From Bridle Drift Dam, the Buffalo River flows through low altitude coastal forest for twenty kilometres, before entering the Indian Ocean through the estuary harbour of East London.

This is for me probably one of the nicest views in the Mdantsane. Having said this, I am already preparing myself for lots of protest from residents from other NU's when they will read this. One thing we have understood clearly is that each NU  has a distinct character and it's own pride.

We have been told very often "I will live and die in NU 5, NU 6 , NU 7" , and so on, depending of what unit the person is coming from.

But no matter if it is the nicest or if there are other views in Mdantsane that are more beautiful it must be definitely a great pleasure to enjoy this view everyday. 

There is sufficient land available in and around Mdantsane to cater for housing developments particularly when informal settlements are upgraded. The Department of Local Government and Housing is funding currently several housing projects in Mdantsane.

A wide variety of already existing residencies can be found in NU 5 ranging from neat small stone houses built on the green slopes to some more already more luxurious and elaborate properties facing the Buffalo River and the mighty dam.

In many places you can see on-going construction

Residents making their houses bigger, larger and longer......

The provision of adequate, safe and decent housing is still the greatest challenge in the township.

 And of course still there is the familiar sight of many shacks. 

The official name of this reservoir is Bridle Drift Dam but I was introduced to it as the "Grinaker"dam which is the name of the construction company that has build the dam. Grinaker was adopted as a name by the residents and generally the dam is called that way.

The vibes are good in the neighborhood.

People are friendly and welcoming

Houses are kept neat and clean

As far as we can see residents are enjoying living in NU5

like the two girls taking a stroll down the road to the river

It is only a question of time, and not too long anymore, when private developers will come in and start building prime properties. Mansions and villas will flank the slopes and the sides of the river. And the key word here will be location, location, location and again location.

Concerning the heated discussion of the development of Africa, and in fact everything else as well, one has always the choice to look close or to search for a larger picture. 

The larger picture is not always evident but it is there. It is a question of focus. Choose to see the obstacle in your way that is blocking your view or see what waits behind.