‘Ban plastic completely’ says enviro adventurer

If conservation adventurer Dean Swart (48), in Shelly Beach at the moment en route from Namibia to Mozambique, had his way he’d get the government to completely ban plastic.

That’s unlikely to happen anytime soon but he feels it’s the only way to stop the increasing threat pollution is posing to the country’s beaches and oceans.

ALSO READ : What is single-use plastic? Why you should start recycling from home?

Dean worked in construction most of his life. One day he woke up and realised there had to be more to living than the mundane, day-to-day grind.

He sold his company and decided he’d walk the coastline from Namibia to Mozambique.

The South Coast seemed a good spot for a rest and to visit some old family friends, including the likes of Terry-Sue Booker (née Moss).

After walking more than 2500km in the past year and a bit, it was the perfect place for a break.

The irony is that he hated exercise and was certainly no fitness freak.

Family members thought he’d had a mid-life crisis. He insists he hasn’t. “When you see me on a Harley-Davidson, then you’ll know,” he joked.

Dean’s mission is to raise marine conservation awareness.

Born in Zimbabwe, he has lived much of his life in Johannesburg.

The great trek is a solo mission, pretty much unsupported… plodding along the beach as much as possible.

There have been some incidents, like when he broke his foot and had to walk kilometres before he could get it seen to.

“I had to come inland at Knysna Heads, and Diamond Coast I couldn’t do, but pretty much the rest has been on the beach.”

An interesting ‘challenge’ was traipsing gently through the Arniston missile testing range, which he hasn’t told too many people about, until now.

The intrepid traveller still has roughly 3500km to go, which he hopes to get done by Christmas this year.

Dean has also been in a few life-threatening situations along the way.

“Mostly my own stupidity,” he said. “Misjudging the tides, trying to swim across the rivers at the wrong time, getting hypothermia, that kind of thing. I just had to deal with it, couldn’t exactly ‘phone a friend’.”

He does actually have a cellphone with him, but finding a signal in some of those areas is almost impossible. “Probably easier to find a diamond.”

ALSO READ : Enviro Monday: How plastic ends up in the ocean

Dean mentioned that the people he had met on the way had been ‘amazing’ and that he had been treated extremely well by people of all ages, races and religions.

On a more serious note, he said the plastic pollution has shocked him.

“There’s a false dichotomy to a large extent. Sometimes you go to the beach and it doesn’t look too bad, but when you dig around in the dunes, you see just how much pollution there really is.

“So, the beach looks clean but fishermen further up have to deal with the pollution in the rivers and at the non-bathing sections of the beach.

“Government has got to get involved and ban plastic altogether.”

You can follow his progress on Facebook – 500 Sunsets.

“Initially I thought the journey might only take 500 days or so, hence the name,” he laughed. “Obviously it’s going to take much longer.”

It’s been fairly epic so far, which is perhaps a colossal understatement.

“I’ve killed two birds with one stone really. One was to do something for myself, the other to raise awareness of the conservation issues.” 

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