Under The Ubuntu Tree 2015 - 2017

[Grantmissy]

Well done to the Maroela and Orpen Team Keep up the good work

[hilda]

Thank you for the compliments naomi c! RosemaryH has notified Orpen and Maroela of the compliments! She is currently in an area where there is virtually no or very little internet connection, and couldn't respond here herself.

[naomi c]

Thanks Hilda!

[RosemaryH]

Hi suefly

Apologies for not replying here earlier but your wonderful comments have been passed on.
I thank you for taking the time to share them here.

[arks]

I would like to commend Dumisami Ntlemo, Duty Manager at Satara, and Johan Nel, Chief Traffic Office (based at Skukuza), for their exemplary handling of an incident that happened on the H6 on 11 November 2014. The background of the incident is as follows:

At about 08h30 that morning I encountered two men out of a vehicle on the H6, the driver/guide and one of his guests. I took the following photos and then approached to ask the men to please get back into their vehicle.







The man on the left, a South African, who appeared to be in charge of this vehicle carrying foreign visitors (the man on the right did not appear to speak any English) -- a small van holding 7 or 8 passengers -- informed me the that they had run out of petrol and that it was "necessary" for them to be out of the vehicle to flag down assistance. Which is of course not so, since anyone will stop if you merely extend your arm from your vehicle.

It also transpired that they had been stuck there, waiting, for about two hours, having given money to people who had stopped and offered to buy them petrol and bring it to them. The South African man was quite arrogant and told me that I should calm down and stop being upset. He was entirely UNapologetic about breaking park rules, he clearly felt that he was in the right and I was in the wrong.

Some hours later I stopped in at Satara to report the incident and as I was telling the receptionist about it, this same South African driver of the van happened to walk in. He immediately berated me for reporting the incident, and then he held out his wrists to me and said "So arrest me!" Again, his attitude was clearly that I was the one in the wrong and that he was merely the poor victim who had run out of petrol. (It does strike me as highly UNprofessional for anyone "escorting" foreign visitors to not have made certain that his vehicle had adequate petrol for the planned drive.)

At this point, the receptionist suggested that I speak to the Duty Manager, Mr Ntlemo, which I did. I quickly explained what had happened and that the rule-breaker in question was actually right there, so Mr Ntlemo came out to speak to and reprimand him. Again this man was totally UNapologetic, but there was apparently nothing more that Mr Ntlemo could do beyond the reprimand.

However, Mr Ntlemo also suggested that I contact Johan Nel, Chief Traffic Officer, and gave me his email. I subsequently sent an email to Mr Nel with the photos of the incident and an explanation of what had happened, both on the H6 and later at Satara. It was some weeks before I received a reply from Mr Nel, assuring me that he would "attend to it". I requested that he let me know the outcome and what penalty or fine was given. Again some weeks passed (it was after all the festive season), but I did eventually hear again from Mr Nel that the driver had been fined R1500.

I was very pleased by the support and proactiveness of both Mr Ntlemo and Mr Nel and hope that my experience will encourage others to report rule-breakers in the park(s). I just hope that this particular rule-breaker will not be a repeat offender. I only wish that the fine had been (considerably) greater as given this man's arrogance, I doubt that the R1500 fine will be much of a deterrent. Still, any action/fine is better than none!

Kudos to Dumisami Ntlemo and Johan Nel for their positive support in this matter.

[RosemaryH]

for the feedback.

I certainly will pass your thanks and appreciation onto Dumisani Ntlemo and Johan Nel.

[arks]

Thanks so much Rosemary

[Stark]

Nice job arks!

[Grantmissy]

I agree, good job arks. At least the person somehow and to some extend realised that he was wrong – I think that is why he held out his hands to be arrested in the office when he saw you . A situation like this is not easy and could be intense at times. Well done to the Sanparks staff too.

It is encouraging that some visitors still care for Kruger a lot and who are prepared to confront wrong things.

[arks]

Thanks for your compliments Stark and GM

@GM: The person was in no way admitting that he was in the wrong when he extended his hands to me. Rather, as I thought I'd made quite clear in my post, he was being extremely rude, sarcastic, offensive and arrogant -- perhaps even attempting to bait me and make me angry. Which is why I ignored him and headed straight into the Duty Manager's office. This person's attitude throughout was that I was in the wrong for criticising his actions and reporting the incident and that he was the poor innocent victim who had run out of petrol

[Meandering Mouse]

Arks, what an awful incident. It is simply outrageous.

Well done on reporting it. I wish everyone was this proactive.

[Hippotragus]

Thank you arks and KNP staff. It is high time offenders learn the hard way that they will not get away with rule-breaking.

I have sent photos of offenders to Johan Nel and received thanks

[alf]

We stayed over at Letaba on friday and must say well done Letaba

The reception staff was wonderful, the staff at the shop were so friendly and helpful. They made you feel as if you were at home.

Well done

[RosemaryH]

Thank you alf for taking the time to share your experience at Letaba Camp.

I have agree with you - I received the same friendly welcome at reception, the Elephant Hall and the shop when I was there in December

I shall pass your compliments on to all at Letaba Thank You!

[Bennievis]

We were in Letaba last week and had such a wonderful and positive experience. Friendly and professional service from all staff all the time, even the resident bush buck came over to say hello.