SANParks.org Forums

does anyone know whether these routes are currently open?

We will ask Lesego to try and find out for you

Tried to book the Mananga Trail one day last week and was told that it was closed with no idea of when it would be reopened.. all entrances and exits were blocked with either no entry signs or dead tree branches etc.

Mike

You can only book at the Satara office for Managa on the day you would like to go on the trail and that depends on how much rain has fallen and condition of the roads. Therefore the trails might not be open.

We tried to book the Northern Plains 4x4 ecoroute in June (when it was bone-dry in that area), and was told that it was permanently closed and of course they ("they" being the people hanging around behind the Punda book-in counter) couldn't tell us why...

(the previous time we wanted to book it - a couple of years back - it was closed due to rain, so we missed out completely on this route. )

This is what Lesego found out and asked me to post here:

Re Mananga Trail:

@Dabchic. As far as I can remember, the Northern plains route was closed permanently because the hikers in that area complained about the presence of vehicles traversing the area. They argued that the vehicles infringe on their right to experience unspoilt wilderness. Perhaps we can have a discussion about this. Although I respect the views of both groups, I have to side with the vehicle group. There are thousands of visitors who would like to do one of the walking trails, but are physically unable to do so. For them to experience the same as the hikers, they must escape to one of the 4x4 routes. It is easy to change the course of the hikers, but not the vehicle routes.

Lets get some views on this.

It is the Nonokani Eco trail near Phalaborwa was closed due to visibility by Olifants Back Pack trailists , another reason was that certain visitors did not keep to the laid down rules ...

Thanks for the correction Ndloti. I knew there was somewhere a clash between the hikers and the drivers. But it is nevertheless sad to read that a trail was closed because of the actions of a few hooligans.

Okay so does anyone know why the Northern Plains route has been permanently closed?

I was told it is because certain areas are difficult to negotiate and stuck vehicles had to be assisted regularly and that the impact on the sensitive sections was excessive .

We asked yesterday and the reason that they give is that the road conditions is to bad