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What”s more is that, in conjunction with Cradock”s 200th anniversary celebrations earlier this year, Park Manager Megan Taplin has decided to grant the first 100 day visitors on both the Saturday and Sunday (13 and 14 September) free access, making a free visit to the park possible for those who might not get to do so during the course of the week.

This annual campaign under the established theme “Know Your National Parks” allows locals with valid identity documents an opportunity to spend a day at a national park of their choice at no cost whatsoever.

As part of SA National Parks Week, Mountain Zebra National Park”s People and Conservation Department will facilitate visits to the Park for a number of community and school groups, offering them guided walks, field trips and talks and presentations on the park.

Next week is the ideal opportunity for local people to visit and get to know the natural heritage which lies within short distances of their homes. At Mountain Zebra, visitors can make use of facilities such as the Weltevrede and Fonteinkloof picnic sites and swimming pool and the well-developed network of roads for wildlife viewing. There”s a chance to spot one of the lions, the magnificent cheetah and one or more of the seven new cubs in the park as well as the endangered Cape mountain zebra. Buffalo, antelope species such as eland, black wildebeest, gemsbok and eland as well as over 200 bird species occur in the Park. Mountain Zebra National Park is also well-known for its special sightings of the rarer animals such as aardwolf and bat-eared fox.

Visitors with 4×4 vehicles can also access the Sonnerust, Juriesdam and the more challenging Umngeni 4×4 Eco-Trails.

The objective of the campaign is to cultivate a culture of pride in all South Africans in their relationship with the country”s natural, cultural and historical heritage. When people start to take pride in the national parks, then SANParks believes that they will start to understand the importance of conservation.

The idea of a national parks focus week is a world-wide campaign and was conceived in South Africa in 2006, after realising that a vast majority of South Africans were not accessing the national parks. It should be noted that the free access to the parks will not include accommodation and any commercial activities in the park such as guided game drives, guided walks, etc.

The annual South African National Parks Week has been made possible with support from First National Bank (FNB), who”s been on board since inception eight years ago. They were joined as a sponsor this year by Total South Africa.

SANParks encourages all South Africans and especially educators and school groups to diarise these dates and plan a visit to Mountain Zebra National Park. The survival of the South African national parks system and our natural and cultural heritage lies in the people of South Africa.

Issued By

South African National Parks (SANParks) Frontier Region Communications

Media queries:
Fayroush Ludick
Regional Manager: Communications, South African National Parks
Cell: 082 888 0201
Email: [email protected]