For South Africans who missed enjoying taking in nature and searching for the Big 5, there’s some good news. 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.
SANParks CEO Fundisile Mketeni said the national parks were looking forward to welcoming visitors.
“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,” said Mketeni.
SANParks will limit face-to-face contact between staff and guests by encouraging online and telephonic day visit bookings and full payment of conservation fees are encouraged before arrival.
Regulations
Namaqua National Park, Boulders and Cape Point in Table Mountain National Park remain closed. The majority of gates at Kruger National Park will be open except Pafuri and Numbi gates.
Gate quotas for Kruger have been revised to approximately one third of what they were before Covid-19. There will be three time slots for arrival: slot 1 is from 6am to 8am, slot 2 from 8am to 10am and slot 3 from 10 am onwards.
Hides and picnic spots at all parks remain closed, and braaing at picnic sites will not be allowed during this period. Ablutions will be open in camps, at gates and some picnic spots. A limited number of shops and petrol stations will open in some parks during the week and will be operated under relevant Level 3 lockdown regulations.
Mketeni said the national lockdown regulations relating to movement between provinces must be observed within the parks. He said inter-provincial travel within parks that stretch between two provinces will not be permitted.
“Everything as we knew it has 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. 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,” he added.
Bookings can be made at 012 428 9111 or visit www.sanparks.org. In the case of Wild Card members, guests have to ensure that their membership is valid before arrival.