A Sky-High Reward for Noordhoek’s Green Heroes

Photo Credit: Karoline Hanks via Facebook

The dedicated team that works so hard to keep Noordehoek tidy and pristine recently had the fun opportunity to see the fruits of their labour from high above – in a chopper!

Cape Town, South Africa (18 March 2026) – Karoline Hanks and her dedicated Project Noordhoeked team, including Edger Phiri, Jacob Mohale and William Chirwa, are well-known for their community heart and the “green fingers” that keep Noordhoek so tidy and gorgeous. Recently, the team had the fun opportunity to see their hard work from a whole new perspective – high above in a helicopter!

Thanks to the generosity of Ingram Casey from Escape + Explore, Cape Town Helicopters, and The Alexander Estate, the crew enjoyed an eight-minute flight from Noordhoek to the V&A Waterfront.

“These are men who have never been in an aircraft of any kind, seeing their world of work from above,” said an overjoyed Karoline.

Edger Phiri, Jacob Mohale, William Chirwa and Karoline Hanks. Photo Credit: Supplied

Together, the excited passengers flew over the wetland and the beach where they work so hard to protect, as well as over Chappies, where they had a bird’s eye view of the Rooikrans forest they’ve cleared. They also went over Hout Bay, which offered a real treat: a spectacular view of whales off Bakoven.

“Eyes as big as saucers. They got a really good sense of how much PJ we have removed!”

The team landed at V&A, where they also popped into the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s turtle rehab centre. There, they discovered the hazards of ocean plastic for turtles and all marine life.

Photo Credit: Karoline Hanks via Facebook

“We were shown the microplastic particles that have been pooped out (or dissected out) of many a hatchling and adults. The guys were blown away seeing the kind of stuff they collect off the beach.”

The final stop was at Ree Treweek’s insanely beautiful mural, which knocked everyone’s socks off!

Project Noordhoeked is a non-profit community project founded by Karoline. She and her team care for the area in all sorts of ways. This includes building boardwalks and infrastructure like benches out of eco bricks, landscaping gardens at Noordhoek Beach, maintaining Kakapo (the famed wire whale), clearing invasive plant species, collecting litter and in so doing, hoping to create awareness about the effects of single-use plastic and our own personal waste footprint.

With a renewed love and vigour for the invaluable work they do, and possibly a shift in purchasing behaviour, too, the team ended the day feeling spoiled, privileged and inspired to continue protecting what they treasure most.