Cape Town - As the mercury continues to climb and Capetonians race to beaches to cool off, the first outside ice rink in South Africa can also serve as a way to cool off – but only for kids.
The rink, which opened last week, is the first of its kind in the country and provides children the opportunity to glide around on the synthetic ice in Mouille Point.
The idea was the brainchild of Sean Holmes and Cornelis Ouwehand, who have led the project to restore and develop the Rotary Blue Train Park into a unique family outdoor play experience.
The park has undergone substantial refurbishment in the past 15 months, including painting of existing play equipment and garden landscaping. A great portion of the park’s operational proceeds are donated to Rotary. Everything else is invested back into park operations and maintenance.
The ice rink, which was opened to the public for the first time last Wednesday, is a key part of the Park’s restoration project.
The 126m2 rink is made of Xtraice Pro Panels and was partly sponsored by a local bottler and distributor of The Coca-Cola Company products in the Western and Northern Cape.
Denise Behrens, spokeswoman at PenBev said: “This ice rink will no doubt bring much joy to many, and at the same time it will also benefit the communities where Rotary operates. “We are thrilled to be part of this wonderful project that combines great fun with such a worthy cause.”
Holmes said the project has been coming on for more than a year and had received positive remarks from users.
“The ice rink has created a lot of interest, keeping in mind that it was a difficult time of the year to launch anything. But we will see a lot more popularity after the festive season when people will be more aware of it.”
Holmes said the ice rink was a permanent feature in the park and was part of the refurbishing of the park.
The ice panels are self-lubricated with the highest gliding degree in the industry. The rink is also environmentally friendly as it does not require electrical power to operate.
Only children between the ages of three and 12 may skate at the rink.
l For more information about the Rotary Blue Train Park, visit www.thebluetrainpark.co.za or contact 084 314 9200.
Cape Argus