Following a month of torrential downpours and flooding in Cape Town, South African National Parks (SANParks) has released a statement warning hikers to be wary of water-damaged sections in Table Mountain National Park (TMNP).
"We are grateful for the rain that is filling up dams. The natural vegetation thrives beautifully during the rainy season but this year the park has been severely affected by the floods, causing a lot of infrastructure damage, especially to the hiking trails, and posing danger to the park users due to landslides, road verge erosion, and sinkholes,” said TMNP Manager, Megan Taplin.
According to the statement, assessments to determine the full extent of the damage are still under way, and regular updates are being provided to park users alerting them to dangerous areas to avoid.
The recent floods affected multiple areas in the park, with SANParks advising users to be cautious or, if necessary, to completely avoid certain trails with slippery, wet, muddy conditions to prevent accidents and the need for rescue.
According to the statement, the affected areas include Newlands Forest, Tokai, Rhodes Memorial, Schusterskraal Boardwalk (Scarborough), Tafelberg Jeep Track, Constantia Nek Hiking Trail, Deer Park, Camps Bay Pipe Track, Ouwa Pad in Silvermine, Admirals Waterfall Hiking Trail in Simon’s Town and Silvermine East Management Track
Said Taplin: "The intensive work to repair the infrastructure damage will be carried out once the weather conditions become more favourable. In the meantime, some repair work is being carried out by park rangers and volunteers.”
In a collaborative effort, Friends of Table Mountain (FoTM), SANParks and the Table Mountain region of SANParks Honorary Rangers are in the process of completing a conservation project to repair some of the flood-induced damage.
The project addressed the degradation of 17 popular trails, contributing to the restoration of about 20km of pathways. However, more restoration is required.
“It is important to highlight that Table Mountain National Park has about 800km of trails, and these are some of the most impacted trails in all of SANParks. We appreciate the support from the Table Mountain Region of SANParks Honorary Rangers and the Friends of Table Mountain group, who initiated this project of trail maintenance,” said Taplin.
The project was funded by an initial allocation of R10 000 from the SHR’s annual budget and additional fundraising from FoTM, resulting in a total of R300 000.
