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Media Release: KNP gears up for SANParks Week Celebrations
Above all, South African Citizens will have free access to the park for the five days of the celebration i.e. 12-16 September 2011.
The heart of this event is to create awareness of the National Parks and to promote the sense of environmental conservation awareness amongst the people of this country.
The conditions applicable are that free access will only be allowed to South African Day Visitors between 12 and 16 September; however groups which are regarded as commercial ventures e.g. private open safari vehicle operators and tourists who come to the Park in tour buses; and of course overnight visitors are not included in the free access arrangement.
To open this special week, KNP Management will visit the sick children at Matikwane, a local hospital outside Kruger Gate and spend some time with them as a way of taking the park to them because they cannot make use of opportunity as offered due to their condition.
The celebrations in the KNP will include activities such as “Walk on the Wild side”, a project which has been running since 2008 and targets high school pupils specifically Grade 10 and 11 from neighbouring communities in order to expose them to conservation and tourism related careers. This project will run every day in the Marula region of the park during that special week and a week earlier at the Nxanatseni region.
“Other groupings that we plan to reach during this special week are the taxi associations, whom we will meet during the course of the week in order to discuss issues of mutual interest” said the HOD: Public Relations, William Mabasa. “When they are not busy taking people to and from work, taxi associations could open a door for individuals from local communities who do not have their own transport but would like to visit and take part in the activities available in the park”, continued Mabasa.
KNP Management will also dedicate time to the teenagers with disabilities from various neighbouring communities as part of the celebrations. “The approach is to ensure that we reach out to these groups of children while also getting lessons from them about life”s challenges. We encourage South Africans, young people in general to visit the Park as the intention is to make them understand the value of the environment and the importance of conservation”, concluded Mabasa.
Please visit the initial media release for more information.
Issued By
Laura Mukwevho, Media Relations Practitioner, Kruger National Park. Contact: Tel: (013) 735 4262, cell: 082 807 1441 or e-mail: [email protected]
Media Enquiries
William Mabasa, HOD: Public Relations and Communication, Kruger National Park. Contact: Tel: (013) 735 4363, cell: 082 807 3919 or e-mail: [email protected]