Motorised outdoor recreation pursuits in the Lower Umfolozi and Hlabisa Coastal Districts of KwaZulu-Natal
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Date
1996
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Abstract
Modern life is often accompanied by severe physical, intellectual and emotional stress as people battle to survive. Recreation activities provide people with an outlet to release this stress. In the past few years a great deal of attention was focused in the way people spent their leisure time. This study focuses on outdoor motorised recreation pursuits in the Lower Umfolozi and Hlabisa Districts of KwaZulu-Natal as one of the ways in which leisure time can be spent. Motorised recreation, which covers the use of various machines such as motorĀ¬cars, caravans, campers, trailers, beach-buggies, motor- cycles, beach tricycles, and motor-boats, is one of the recreation facilities that has been either ignored or overlooked. Basically, this was because of the disparities in the provision of recreation facilities and resources in general. Motorised recreation has therefore over the past years been regarded as an "elitist" activity that could only be taken advantage of by a few who could afford and also who "by right" could utilise those facilities.
The fundamental aims of the study are to:
(a) investigate the socio-economic demographic characteristics of recreators who participate in motor-related outdoor recreation activities with a view of making a contribution towards effective planning and provision of recreation resources. The resources that are provided should be those that are required by the target community and those that will satisfy the needs of the group they are intended for;
(b) examine the various physical facilities existing in the study area for motor-related recreation activities. During the planning phase it is important to know what is available and what should be upgraded, improved or substituted; and
(c) reveal the attitudes of the recreators, managers of recreation facilities as well as the people who live around the recreation facilities. Before embarking on the task of providing the recreation facilities it is very important to know the attitudes of people who will be using the facilities.
Some of the hypotheses that were postulated for this study are:
(a) Participation in motorised recreation activities varies in terms of the major demographic variables.
(b) The majority of recreators who participate in motorised recreation are Whites.
(c) The recreators, managers and local people have a positive attitude towards motorised recreation activities.
(d) Car ownership is a prerequisite for participating in motorised recreation activities.
Data for this study was gathered through the use of questionnaires which were distributed to the respondents as well as using the person-to-person interviews. The respondents included recreators who were participating in motorised recreation activities, the managers of the recreation facilities and local people who stay around the recreation facilities.
The main findings of the study revealed that whilst the respondents have a positive attitude towards motorised recreation, Whites still seem to form the largest percentage of recreators who participate in this pursuit. Findings reveal
that this situation has a bearing on the history of South Africa which deprived Africans of motorised recreation experience. There was also lack of knowledge about motorised recreation which is necessary as a foundation for the formation of attitudes towards recreation. Education and income featured prominently as factors that have an impact on the rate of participation in motorised recreation activities. It was found that recreators need cars to participate and benefit fully in motorised recreation activities and this was lacking. Education was seen as a stepping stone towards the acquisition of skills and capacity to acquire facilities for participation in recreation activities.
This study has serious implications for planning and management of recreation facilities in the Lower Umfolozi and Hlabisa Districts. The awareness programmes seem to be of primary importance, to conscientise Africans about the availability of the resources that can be used for motorised recreation facilities. Accessibility, in terms of finance, should also be looked into if all people are to be given equal opportunities to participate in motorised recreation activities. Unlike other forms of outdoor recreation activities, motorised recreation depends on the use of a motor machine to participate fully, therefore a vehicle is a necessity. Facilities can therefore be provided after having taken serious consideration of the above factors.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fullfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1996.
Keywords
Outdoor recreation--Zululand (South Africa)