(Deon)

Question 1. Expect a month turnaround for the Environmental Management Plan sign off from date advertised. Question 2. Laying down of tracks is undefined. The plan however with the revision of the emp is to streamline the adoption of trails. Based on the enthusiasm seen from Parks.. not long. The routes linking north to south have been chosen based on the amount of intervention required to convert them to cycling trails. No trail features but rather tending to sustainability requirements. Another plus is that TokaiMTB has worked with TMNP for over 10 months to develop the official signage to be used in the park. It's just a matter of naming the trails, printing and installing.

Hi Toby, going right back to the procedure for new cycling areas or trails, the revised Environmental Management Plan with Cecelia included in the list should come out for public comment in the next two weeks-ish. Unless it is opposed by more people than those who support it, I cannot see that it won't be approved. The public step of this process will be advertised.

lots and lots

Indeed, all users were considered.

Shared to TokaiMTB Facebook and twitter, plus a few retweets. UPDATE ON SILVERMINE WEST – TABLE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK Since the fire in March 2015 most of the central section (Silvermine & Tokai) was closed off to visitors for all activities in order for the section rangers team to get to work on post fire rehabilitation projects. This included footpath work, rebuilding of fire damaged structures, closure of illegal paths, law enforcement and monitoring of the affected areas. SANParks have been working tirelessly to get the areas affected by the March 2015 fires opened again for our visitors to enjoy as they always have done. On the 14 September, TMNP successfully reopened Silvermine East, while work at Silvermine West continued. The damage in this section included the re-building of all the boardwalks and walkways around the Silvermine Dam, down the ever popular River Walk as well as the viewing deck at Blackburn Ravine. Although teams are hard at work, they still manage to record various interesting sightings of fauna and flora in the area. With many tasks still to be done, the Park plans to have Silvermine West reopened by the end of December 2015. SANParks wishes to thank you for your ongoing support and will continue to provide updates to stakeholders and to the general public on progress as new information becomes available.

..and then the last pic roles up. I feel I should practice saying "but it's not a specialised" with my hands in the air.

Ok, so here is the latest from Sanparks. It was explained differently a few days ago but if this is the date, then so be it. It is usually better to wait for confirmation like this. UPDATE ON SILVERMINE WEST – TABLE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK Since the fire in March 2015 most of the central section (Silvermine & Tokai) was closed off to visitors for all activities in order for the section rangers team to get to work on post fire rehabilitation projects. This included footpath work, rebuilding of fire damaged structures, closure of illegal paths, law enforcement and monitoring of the affected areas. SANParks have been working tirelessly to get the areas affected by the March 2015 fires opened again for our visitors to enjoy as they always have done. On the 14 September, TMNP successfully reopened Silvermine East, while work at Silvermine West continued. The damage in this section included the re-building of all the boardwalks and walkways around the Silvermine Dam, down the ever popular River Walk as well as the viewing deck at Blackburn Ravine. Although teams are hard at work, they still manage to record various interesting sightings of fauna and flora in the area. With many tasks still to be done, the Park plans to have Silvermine West reopened by the end of December 2015. SANParks wishes to thank you for your ongoing support and will continue to provide updates to stakeholders and to the general public on progress as new information becomes available.

Was there a thread looking for support? I know the FB page has stopped providing "info", there was even a chap who deleted all his posts but considering he was just pouring fuel on the fire, passing on what he thought was "his best info", I'm not surprised. Tokai was never set to reopen in Dec 2017 and he stuck by his guns mind you. Would not listen to reason... then *poof*, he was gone.

Quite likely that it will be around that time. I didn't get a fixed date but the original estimate of end Dec seems more likely now to be a week before Christmas.. As for the reasoning, I'll go with your guess, I guess. Regarding "official" announcements, if I see one released I'll certainly pass it on.

Glad PPA could be there. You should have received all the info you need from this group as they too sit on the forum and have equal knowledge of the process. As I understand, the representative sent did speak.

Thanks gwhite. Silence is often a precursor to good news. TokaiMTB is going nowhere for the foreseeable future, so expect more news in time. Keep in mind it is not always possible to get all the news out as a lot of the plans change daily. Some may not see the importance of releasing solid info, we however do. There is still a process running trying to maintain how or what trails are rebuilt. This will be in the next newsletter, hopefully soon.

So far I have seen (on the various trails in Tokai): Puff Adder on Mamba - super close, super angry, lunged few times. Closest call ever!! Boomslang on Cobra Boomslang on Boomslang Cobra on Switchbacks Puff Adder on jeep track from Switchbacks Puff Adder on main jeep track (DJR will recall) x2 Puff Adders on DH3 Baby Boomslang on Vasbyt ..the rest in Tokai I forget but only ever saw one Cobra at Rhodes Mem where in my haste to escape I got a snake bite - work that one out.. :/

You only make that mistake once, from this point every log will look like a puff adder until you see your first "long thin pole", then it's a Cobra.

dude, really? Ok so the white fork is garish but nothing a black lower won't fix. Always loved that about the black carbon rear that could match the black fork lower - I wouldn't worry about the sliders. The orange accents are totally spot on, it's matching the decals that can't be seen from the side..

390 is plenty poke..

Honda? There can be only one. 1985-90 CR

..but who cares how much it costs?! http://i2.wp.com/riderzone.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ktm-390-adventure-8985.jpg

Behind every KTM is an empty ATM but sometimes the fun is worth it.

...keep an eye on these kids! Lombardi is already one name that unsettles a few on the #Enduro "circuit" Well done Spur and Amarider for committing to this.. it's been long in the making!

HAHA!! I see it!!

Geez. Really? Sorry bud, just seen what's transpired. Can't believe this.. sorry for you and Squams but happy it's worked out, not that losing a leg is any solution but you know what I mean.. Now for the neighbour. **** ******* ******* **** ********** ******* ****** nut. CCTV man. CCTV

I'm getting people posting on TokaiMTB's FB page that they really just don't give a damn, but I'm sure this makes them nothing like the taxis.

POST FIRE REHABILITATION UPDATE: RE-OPENING OF BURNT AREAS 20 August 2015: Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) takes pleasure in announcing the re-opening of certain burnt areas which had been closed off to the public. Restoration work started immediately after the fire with attention to both restoring access as well as the natural elements. Now, five months after the fire, fynbos recovery is showing great progress and mountain lovers can once again look forward to their favourite hikes and to see the wonders of fynbos. The recovery of fynbos had been closely monitored by a number of scientists, studying the return of plants and animals after the fire. SANParks Regional Ecologist, Carly Cowell, has worked with the rehabilitation teams and is satisfied with the diversity of plants returning, as well as the distribution of plants across the burnt area. Camera traps and spoor are providing evidence of animal movements while other signs show the return of insects, birds and reptiles to the area. “However, everything is still in a very delicate stage,” says Cowell. Park management has therefore been advised to open the burnt area in a phased approach, where veld recovery and footpath rebuilding has shown good progress. Area Manager Gavin Bell says: ”teams have been hard at work implementing rehabilitation plans to allow for the re-opening of certain areas.” This has certainly been the case in the mountains above Lakeside, Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay which TMNP foresees re-opening to the public at the start of SA National Parks Week which runs from 14th - 19th September 2015 and is a week of free entry to all parks in the country. Permitted recreational activities in the re-opened areas mentioned above will continue as before, including hiking and dog walking with people kindly requested to remain on demarcated footpaths and to be mindful of rules pertaining to keeping dogs under control. Re-opened paths following the fires in the park include: - Pecks Valley - Bailey’s Kloof - Spes Bona - Echo Valley - Trappies Kop - Ou Kraal and - Steenberg Plateau In the Cape of Good Hope section of the park, the Gifkommetjie and Circles Vlei areas are now open to the public after the area was extensively burnt in March. Teams have been working around the clock to re-build the various walkways and footpaths destroyed during the blaze. Burnt infrastructure has also been replaced as well as the demarcation of existing routes and the inclusion of new, more visible signage. The unique Olifanstbos Beach-Cottage at Cape Point was also closed and is now open for bookings (see: www.sanparks.org/tourism/reservations/). Teams are now moving to the rest of the Silvermine area including the mountains above Hout Bay, Noordhoek and Constantia as part of the rehabilitation programme with the re-opening of this part of Silvermine envisaged by the end of December 2015. The Upper Tokai section of the park remains closed with rehabilitation work still in progress. However the possibility of an opening by end of next year is in sight. We plead for more patience and ask that people assist us by remaining out of all burnt areas while Mother Nature heals herself

You won't believe what else I just read!!

Thanks for posting Creek. That is the correct statement not like the one that appeared in the Cape Times where a very creative bit of writing may have insinuated that Tokai and Silvermine are now open, which they are not. Please not that Tokai is not open until late 2016.