SANParks opens for self-drive day excursions after two months

Today South Africa National Parks (SANParks) announced that self-drive excursions for day visitors will be permitted from Monday June 8 in parks that cater for self-drives.

The SANParks CEO, Fundisile Mketeni, said SANParks used this week to prepare for the expected arrivals of guests.

“We appreciate that after two months of confinement, the public is keen to engage with nature and the excitement, as shown by enquiries from our loyal visitors, is encouraging.

“We are obligated to ensure that the opening of our national parks for self-drive excursions is done under the strictest health protocols to safeguard both our staff and guests.”

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As a result, they are limiting face-to-face contact between staff and guests by encouraging online and telephonic day-visit bookings and full payment of conservation fees prior to arrival where possible.

Bookings can be made on 012-428-9111 or www.sanparks.org from Monday June 8.

In the case of Wild Card members, guests have to ensure that their membership is valid prior to arrival.

Mketeni said Namaqua National Park as well as Boulders and Cape Point in Table Mountain National Park remain closed for the meantime.

The majority of Kruger gates will be open with the exception of Pafuri and Numbi. Gate quotas have been revised to approximately one third of what they were prior to the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Three time slots for arrival will be introduced with the understanding that booked day visitors must arrive at the gate within that time span. Slot 1 is from 06:00 to 08:00, slot 2 from 08:00 to 10:00, and slot 3 from 10:00 onwards.

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Hides and picnic spots at all parks remain closed; braaiing at picnic sites will also not be allowed during this period. Ablutions will be open in camps, at gates and at some picnic spots.

A limited number of shops and petrol stations will open in some parks during the course of the week and will be operated in accordance with relevant level 3 lockdown regulations.

Further information and updates will be available on the SANParks website on Monday June 8.

The national lockdown regulations relating to movement between provinces must be observed within the parks.

“This means interprovincial travel within parks that stretch between two provinces will not be permitted. Guests therefore must exit into the province from which they entered.“

He said everything as they knew it has been fundamentally changed by Covid-19, “therefore we are requesting guests to adhere to all official alert level 3 regulations when inside the parks including wearing masks, keeping social distance, and following transport capacity directives.

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“We also implore guests not to deposit their litter inside the bins within the parks, but to leave with as much of it as hygienically possible.”