GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - South African National Parks Week is a campaign to afford all South African citizens free access to national parks. It is sponsored by FNB and Total SA. Last year, more than 4 000 people visited the Garden Route National Park (including Wilderness, Knysna and Tsitsikamma).
The campaign week takes place from September 14 to 19.
The Garden Route National Park (GRNP) is a picture-perfect playground for adventurers with approximately 155 000 hectares of land including indigenous forests, lakes, rivers, wetlands, protected estuaries and marine protected areas. Its three sections all have forestry and marine components.
Visitors and stakeholders to the park will launch the campaign week on September 14 from 10:00 at the Harkerville Sports Ground via an information session about the Knysna section of the GRNP. Conservation efforts of interest of both fauna and flora in the forestry areas as well as the Knysna Estuary will be shared. The session will also include information on activities offered in the park as well as accommodation.
An hour-and-a-half will be dedicated towards the business development and business opportunities in the park. Entrepreneurs and small development agencies set up to boost local small business will also share their know-how (SEDA, SATSA and Anglo American).
Visitors to the park can be treated to various edutainment opportunities, including trips around the estuary (thanks to the Featherbed Company). Guided tours will be offered into the mystical Knysna Forest. To skeptics: The Knysna seahorse really exists. To see it for yourself, visit the park's Knysna office at the Thesen Island jetty.
The Half-Collared Kingfisher Trail will be opened up to the first 20 people every day during the campaign week. An orchestra in the park is set to mesmerize visitors on Saturday, September 19. Take along your own picnic basket and blanket. There is also a potjiekos competition on Sunday, September 20 at Island Lake.
The focus will be on youth development and related activities. These will include an information session, guided tours to the famous suspension bridge. There is also a planned picnic in the park for September 20.
Visitors must provide proof of identity and are welcome to either join planned activities or enjoy the park on their own.
For more information, visit www.sanparks.org/parks/garden_route.
For more information on activities in Knysna, call 044 302 5600, for activities in Wilderness, telephone 044 877 0046 and in Tsitsikamma, contact 042 281 1607.
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