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06 February 2017

New area for day visitors in Wilderness section of Garden Route National Park

There are now officially designated areas for day visitors in the Wilderness section of Garden Route National Park. The move to have designated areas was motivated by a growing number of day visitors to Wilderness. In 2016, 71 280 day visitors (visited or entered) the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park compared to last year”s 61 770. So says Area Manager of Wilderness, Sandra Taljaard “we have recorded an increase of day visitors as well as campers from 2014 and thus the need to cater for the different needs and expectations of different visitors.”

Campers mainly visit the park for the tranquillity and serenity of the riverside camping sites, whilst day visitors enter the Park for a variety of activities including nature walks/ hiking trails, water activities, segways, birding and a sense of place the open access Park offers.

Designated areas for day visitors are designed to make visitors feel more welcome. They are all within existing footprint and include the following spots:

  • Tarentaal day visitor area (inside the Ebb & Flow Rest Camp)
  • Island Lake (in close proximity of the main rest camp)
  • Wilderness Lagoon (a picnic spot close to the Touw River Estuary) giving visitors easy access to the beach area which is just across the bridge
  • Woodville Big Tree (Forest area, a few kilometres from the main camp)
  • Goudveld: Jubilee Creek and Krisjan se Nek (Forest area, a few kilometres from the main camp).

The Park is expecting a further increase in the number of day visitors as more people wake up to the tranquil surrounds the Park offers. Every visitor to the Park is lured to the wonder-world of water birds galore who are home to the Wilderness Lakes Area.

To visit the Park, please contact 044 877 0046 or visit https://www.sanparks.org/parks/garden_route/

Media to contact: Nandi Mgwadlamba, 044 302 5633, 078 702 9663, [email protected]