KNP’s Letaba Camp in dire condition
Visitors to the popular Letaba Camp in the Kruger National Park (KNP) are dismayed by the dire conditions at the camp.
“It has been in ruins for almost five years without proper maintenance,” posted a regular visitor to the camp, Brendan White on the “Camps and Roads of Kruger” Facebook group with its more than 37 000 members. “Sad to see the generally bad state of Letaba camp. Clearly no management and no effort to maintain it. Safari tents are falling apart and no effort to fix them.
Dirt everywhere. Thatch roofs are falling apart all over the camp. We’ve had elephants breaking down the fence both nights because the electric fences don’t work. I don’t know if the camp will be habitable in 5 years from now,” he said. Another visitor, Carol Anne van der Walt, said they visited in 2017. “Already there was a huge decline with no maintenance, service, repairs or upkeep being done. I reported a
the problem with the fence several times at the office during our stay.
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Tried the duty manager at night a couple of times, but calls were never answered. So terribly sad to see this iconic place going to ruins.”
Lynne Crawford Manning posted that it has been deteriorating for the past couple of years. “Every time we visit it has gone down a bit more – very sad. Maintenance and grounds cleaning is very poor. It used to be a favourite camp.”
A comment from Frances Murphy said, “When we were there last week, we were very disappointed, Letaba is nothing like it used to be.
Even the burnt-out shop has not been cleared in a year and a half. Terrible lumpy pillows, only one per bed. Wires all sticking out on top of the thatch roofs!” Isaac Phaahla, spokesperson for the KNP told the Herald that they saw the post and immediately sent it to the regional tourism manager for his urgent attention.
“However, we need to explain that repairs and refurbishment are ongoing in the KNP since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. “It is not true that this has been going on for five years, however, there is always room for improvement. “We are in the process of dispatching teams to Letaba urgently,” he said.
