Bayworld in need of a clean-up

[caption id="attachment_75025" align="alignright" width="300"] STILL ATTRACTING TOURISTS: Children interact with penguins at Bayworld during the school holidays. A letter writer says she was less than impressed during a recent visit to Bayworld -[/caption]

BAYWORLD is meant to be a tourist attraction for people visiting Port Elizabeth, and while the outside appearance has been slightly improved, the interior leaves much to be desired.

I have relatives from Namibia who came to PE for a visit, and the first thing they asked to see was Bayworld.

I found myself conflicted, as much as I wanted to show them the city, Bayworld is a place I would rather not let them see, but I took them there anyway.

I don’t condone dolphin shows, as I feel that it is an unnecessary form of captivity. But I feel that the municipality and/or Bayworld, should do something about the massive space where the dolphins once were kept.

If you look over the walls and see the inside of the now deserted dolphin enclosure, it looks terrible.

Rubble is lying all over the floor, which is a terrible sight.

The penguin and seal enclosure could also do with improvements, as they appear to be too small for them.

The reptile park area was promising with their cool idea of robotic dinosaurs that would move when a person walked by, except for the one dino that was covered in plastic bags and looked to be broken. Not to mention there were very few reptiles to be seen at the reptile park, other than the occasional crocodile and tortoise, and left much to be desired.

I did however, enjoy the museum. I loved the history on display, especially the area with the fashion exhibits and, of course, the dinosaur and sea animal exhibition.

I would just like to know if there are any plans to renovate Bayworld for any future tourists. It has so much potential and I feel that it can be improved greatly.

-Jesica Slabbert, Port Elizabeth