It’s been a steady start to the December/January holiday season with South Coasters hopeful something meaningful can be eked out after an exceptionally difficult time.

There have been a number of factors to overcome, including Eskom’s loadshedding, Ugu’s erratic and inconsistent water supply, potholed roads, unpredictable and wet weather and the depressed economy in general.

However, there are signs that not all hope is lost. Not by any stretch.

Many locals, through various organisations but especially Tidy Towns, have worked exceptionally hard to present the towns in shipshape condition, clean and neat and appealing to holidaymakers.

The signage and freshness is there for all to see and many have commented about it on social media platforms.

Most accommodation outlets have some form of alternate power and water supply, in particular B & Bs. They have seen the signs from long ago and prepared.

Unlike further north, South Coast beaches are open for use (at the time of writing, and hopefully should stay that way).

The general feeling is to avoid or limit swimming in lagoons, an issue not unique to this area.

Whether or not the numbers are back up to pre-Covid figures remains to be seen but there seems to be a steady stream of vehicles coming through the toll booths and decent footprint in the malls.

If the weather plays the game, the week between Christmas and New Year could be jam-packed. Let’s hope so.

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