Cloward H2O, an expert in aquatic design, has shared its experiences of working with Sun City in South Africa. The 5-star resort is one of the firm’s oldest and most iconic clients and features a varied range of aquatic attractions. It opened over 30 years ago and is regarded as South Africa’s Las Vegas.
With over 40 years of experience in participating in the design and engineering of aquatic projects, Cloward H2O’s portfolio includes virtually every aspect of Aquatic Attractions. Projects have ranged from simple fountains to expansive man-made lakes and river systems, hotel pools to full-scale waterparks, and individual aquarium tanks to some of the biggest aquarium facilities on the planet.
Timeless facility
Sun City’s Water Theme Park contains one of the oldest surf and wave lagoons in the world, set with turquoise waters and sandy beaches. An 18-hole 100-hectare golf course incorporates 28,000 square metres of water features and is famous for the hazard on the 13th hole – Nile crocodiles.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Sun City is The Palace of the Lost City, a resort and casino which features The Valley of Waves and Waterworld facilities.
The Valley of Waves is an extensive water theme park with amenities that include sandy beaches, lazy rivers, and thrilling waterslides.
Sun City’s Waterworld is a man-made lake spanning 1000m x 500m in a natural volcanic valley. This immersive environment allows families to wakeboard, jet ski, parasail, and enjoy a variety of other activities.
Cloward H2O was appointed as the Aquatic Specialists to design Sun City’s unique resort water amenities.
Corry Cloward, president and principal, explains: “Sun City incorporates a little bit of everything, from fountains and waterfalls, rivers, pools and spas, lakes, a waterpark and even a wave lagoon that can be used for surfing! Roaring Lagoon contains approximately eight million litres of water. When the pool is used for surfing it can generate an eight-second rideable wave, 40 times per hour.”
The massive wave pool, The Roaring Lagoon, generates a 1.2-meter-tall wave with a speed of 35 kilometres per hour every 90 seconds, which crashes onto the sandy beaches. In addition, The Sacred River is a 500-meter-long underground lazy river that carries two million litres of water. The Temple of Courage plummets the rider 17 metres down a 70-meter chute, under a bridge, and into a pool below.
The resort also features the Viper and Mamba tube slides, with a water capacity of 75,000 litres, and the children’s Adventure Mountain area, which includes one mini body slide, five mini speed slides and a splash pool with a water capacity of 35,000 litres of water.
“Throughout our years in business, we have had the pleasure of forming many lasting friendships and wonderful partnerships with the people and firms that we have worked with all over the world,” says Cloward. “We have learned that providing excellent services and quality material always pays off in the long run.
“Looking back at how well some of our most iconic projects have endured through time demonstrates this lesson. Sun City is still in operation today over 30 years since opening!
Cloward H2O is proud to have been a part of this timeless and groundbreaking facility.”
Cloward H2O recently shared insights into why filtration is a vital component of any successful water-themed project, and how the type of filter technology adopted can have a major impact on elements of a water feature including water quality/clarity, operational costs, and visitor experience.
