Hyacinth blocks Dusi route

The organisers of the annual Dusi canoe marathon are in a race against time to clear up the river before the start of next month's race in KwaZulu-Natal.

Cameron McKenzie, chairman of the organising committee, said on Monday that hyacinth threatened to choke the river ahead of the three-day event.

"We have a huge challenge here to get through these huge blocks of the alien weed by February 16, the day that The Unlimited Dusi starts," McKenzie said.

"We have resolved to use helicopter crop sprayers early in the coming week, which we hope will clear the river for the paddlers."