SKUKUZA – Olifants Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park (KNP) is the park’s camp of the year for 2019.
This was announced during the KNP annual achievement awards ceremony at the Nombolo Mdhluli Conference Centre at Skukuza on Friday night.
Pafuri Border Camp is the bush camp of the year and Olifants Wilderness Trails Camp took honours as the wilderness trails camp of the year.
Punda Maria Gate seems to be the place to enter the park as it won the award for best entrance gate.
Stolsnek Rangers’ Post was awarded as best rangers’ post while the living quarters at the Malelane Staff Village took the honours as the cleanest residential area.
Several other awards for outstanding service in the workplace were handed out in different departments and appreciation and special awards recognised some contributors from outside the park.
Among them were the My Planet Rhino Fund, Stop Rhino Poaching, external biodiversity social project contractors, the Jock environmental monitoring unit and other individuals.
Thomas Sibuyi shares the bravery award with the late Walter Nkuzana Chauke. Sibuyi is a general worker who risked his own life to save a colleague when they were repairing a geyser and a ball of fire from a handheld welding torch rendered the man unconscious.
Chauke was a field ranger in the Olifants section and in 2018 hit an attacking leopard on its head with his rifle barrel, instead of shooting it, saving his and the leopard’s life. He passed away after a short illness earlier this year.
Alberto Sitoe received the lifetime achievement award from SANParks CEO, Fundisile Mketeni. He has been with the organisation for 47 years, of which the past 18 years were at Lower Sabie.
He will retire in February 2020.
The Nombolo Mdhluli auditorium was packed with more than 400 guests for the occasion and more than 40 waiters served a scrumptious three-course meal.
