Tourism Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has urged South Africans to vote in the final round of the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest to ensure that Table Mountain makes it onto the final list of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Table Mountain is on a shortlist of 28 natural sites from around the globe competing to be named one of the official New7Wonders of Nature. The final seven wonders will be determined entirely by votes from the public, with the organisers aiming to attract more than 1 billion voters across the globe.

In an effort to support South Africa’s entry in the contest, van Schalkwyk was the first person to use a new sms voting mechanism to vote for Table Mountain’s campaign. He  said that following on from the massive success of the 2010 World Cup, South Africans can now focus on 2011 and a completely different contest, “this is a race that aims to preserve the top seven wonders of nature for future generations and which gives South Africa the opportunity to be written into the history books for thousands of years to come…”

To vote for Table Mountain, fans can either register and vote on the New 7 Wonders site or SMS the word TABLE to 34874. SMSes cost R2 each and voters can vote as often as they like. The voting will continue into next year. The world’s New 7 Wonders of Nature will be announced next year in Switzerland’s capital, Zurich on 11 November 2011. – BuaNews

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