Stormwater drains

Man hole cover

Ever since I was a kid I've been curious to know what lies beneath holes like these. When I was young I remember playing in stormwater pipes not far from my parents' home. I remember walking below the streets watching people pass by from beneath the drains in the road. Fortunately for my brother, sister and friends we had sense enough not to play in the tunnels when rain was imminent, but still, I sometimes shudder at the danger we put ourselves in. Not only was there the possibility of being trapped by some kind of freakish flood, but there could have easily been freakish people wandering the tunnels too.

A few years after leaving home, I noticed that the municipality had erected heavy iron grids in front of the entrances. I do hope this was in response to residents' complaints, and not as a result of some unfortunate incident. To be honest however, I suspect it was because the cops got tired of chasing baddies down the tunnels! :)

2 thoughts on “Stormwater drains

  1. matt

    What else do you do if you live in a city and you are looking for adventure. Before the city there was bush we could run around in, now we have to do this in tunnels, old mines and skyscrapers.How the world has changed. If you would like to share some of your cape town secret hotspots please contact me.

  2. Paul

    Post author

    Ha ha Matt, I don’t have secret hotspots anymore… I can’t say that I’d advise slipping down into one of these manholes. :)

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