Cape Town - South African National Parks (SANParks) has announce the re-opening of Deer Park in the Northern Section of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) following its closure in April due to the devastating fire that destroyed more than 650 hectares of land.
The reopening of the park comes after rehabilitation work has been successfully completed and a contractor was appointed to fell and remove dangerous trees.
“To date 118 dead and dangerous trees were felled and they produced a total of 472 (3m) logs, ranging from 19cm -96cm and the total volume of wood equal to 200.6 m3 was removed. This process has allowed us to invite members of the public to collect wood and this has helped us with the restoration process.
“To reduce fuel load the wood permit was issued and other wood was delivered to Redhill and Imizamo Yethu settlement areas,” TMNP manager Frans van Rooyen said.
The fuel reduction, wood collection and road maintenance would continue for the next two months and be done while the area is open to the public. Visitors are asked to exercise caution during this time.
SANParks said the Rhodes Memorial/Estate and Game Camp would remain closed until further notice and that the contractor has started with the tree-felling process.
“Teams have been hard at work implementing rehabilitation plans to allow for the re-opening of the two areas that are still closed off to the public and we kindly request users and visitors to these areas to continue exercising patience and allow the restoration work to continue without any obstructions,” it said yesterday
Said Van Rooyen: “SANParks wishes to thank the members of the public for the ongoing support and will continue to provide update as the information becomes available and we would like to thank you for your patience and co-operation during this time.”