News

Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) recorded a successful festive season with visitor numbers, crime incidents and fires presenting an overall encouraging picture. There was a nearly 10% increase in visitor numbers over this festive season.

Entries across TMNP gates and picnic sites increased to 232 420 in December 2024 compared to 213 160 in 2023, a 9.5% increase in the number of visitors. Table Mountain Aerial Cable Company visits in December 2024 numbered 130,675 compared to 109443 in December 2023, an increase of 19.4%.

The growth in numbers is attributed to sustained marketing efforts and value-add collaborative relations with partners that are now yielding positive results. Crime incidents verified by TMNP that were reported to our office/staff during this festive season were 60 in November, December and January of 2024/25 compared to 64 in 2023/24.

However, there was a 40 percent decrease in robberies in comparison to last season and seven more attempted robberies than last season. This is attributed to the combined efforts of all agencies. Incidents observed during this period include attempted robbery, robbery, theft from persons or from motor vehicles.

The latter incidents mainly occurred adjacent to the park. The statistics confirm that the increase in visitors during peak festive months presents increased opportunities to criminals. It is this trend that informs SANParks’ targeted interventions during key periods and times over the festive season intended to combat possible instances of crime.

Regarding environmental crimes, the TMNP attended to 12 counter-poaching incidents. This includes vehicle checkpoints in Cape Point during the West Coast Lobster season and targeted interventions to disrupt abalone poaching. Other crimes include cases of bark stripping, stolen plants (medicinal), and cases of abandoned marine items.

The SANParks helicopter was seconded from Kruger National Park to assist with surveillance of both crime incidents and fires that might flare up. The effective coordination between SANParks ground teams and aerial teams resulted in a decrease in both crime and fire incidents.We had a total of 92 fires up to so far in the 2024/25 financial year (which is March to April of a year). In 2022/23 financial year, we had 85 fires and 119 fires in the 2023/24 financial year.

SANParks uses a combination of ground teams, fire tankers, and trucks to fight fires and in serious cases aerial resources such as choppers and bombers. Fire management along the urban wildland interface is always challenging and we aim to contain fires in the first 90 minutes from callout. Currently, we have a success rate of more than 83%.

SANParks once again urges visitors to always be vigilant and to follow safety tips:

1. Hike, bike, or climb in groups of four or more
2. Access the park between sunrise and sunset and avoid evening hikes. If you are injured, is much harder to access areas across the Park in the dark
3. Wear appropriate clothing, including shoes and protection for all weather conditions
4. Make sure someone knows your departure time, planned route, and expected time of return
5. Use freely available apps that can track your movements for safety
6. Record emergency numbers posted across the park signboards
7. Make sure your phone is fully charged before departure for emergency calls
8. Check SANParks’ social media pages to inform yourself of routes closed, under construction or closures and areas to avoid as a result of fires.

We also want to express our gratitude to all the stakeholders who help to ensure that the management of the parks remains a success story. These include the City of Cape Town, South African Police Services, Volunteer Wildfire Services, Volunteer Safety Services, National Sea Rescue Institute, Honorary Rangers, Western Cape Disaster Management, and various friends of the park.