DemitriN

An update and some good news relating to Deer Park Forest... As of yesterday, 29/01/2026, TMNP has issued an instruction for all ringbarking to cease across the park following on multiple complaints. SAN Parks will be conducting investigation into the damage and destruction of the trees. It appears evident that Sugarbird Projects has gone beyond their original mandate of removing the wattles. I am enquiring why there was not proper consultation with the local community, and also questioning whether there has been any formal environmental impact assessment conducted before SP started destroying so many large trees in the area. I will update at a later time. I have attached photos showing some of the damage in Deer Park Forest. Hopefully these trees can be replaced with new ones - possibly indigenous species! In an area as vast as TMNP, fynbos and Forest can easily coexist and hopefully this can be the way forward! Thanks everyone who weighed in on this. Have an awesome weekend everyone! 😎

Thank you for your post. -Clearly Kirstenbosch falls outside TMNP. Glad we can agree on that point! 😁 -Interesting you use the better term “exotics” when referring to oak trees and not “aliens”. I like that 👍🏼💯 -I am glad you see value in Kirstenbosch with its very many exotic plants and tree species from all over the globe. Rainbow nature for our rainbow nation! -As you correctly point out, Kirstenbosch botanical garden’s significance is derived by, among other factors, its historical value, educational value, and popularity. I believe Deer Park Forest offers these too. -Both Kirstenbosch and Deer Park have fynbos. So fynbos and forest CAN coexist! ✌️ Peace!

Based on some of the dissenting viewpoints being expressed above, may I ask out of interest: What are your opinions of the existence of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens?

Apparently horses are alien too - and quite invasive 🐿️🐴🙈

Martin, try telling this to my children and their friends who’ve grown up playing in Deer Park Forest since they were toddlers (we live a stone’s throw away). They’ve climbed trees there, collected pine cones, caught tadpoles, picnicked, and played hide and seek there. To them, it’s a forest 100%. Grownups can sure be pretty ruthless and selfish at the best of times. For such a small piece of estate I can’t understand the heart or rationale of those intent on destroying it. Peace bro ✌️

Haha this is sooo classic! 😄 I genuinely appreciate hearing from all of you. I must admit, I was expecting more support from my fellow mtb'ers!!! Guess I didn't realise that preserving a breathtakingly beautiful forest with streams, trails and picnic areas in a built up urban city was such an outlandish concept! I can accept those who are fynbos fanatics - whatever floats your boat! But I do challenge those to be a bit more open minded and consider some give and take like marriage. I am not advocating destruction of any fynbos area, but simply the preservation of a forest area. All the negative critical comments have me wondering: - Has vegetation become so highly charged and politicised in SA that people are ready to go to war and destroy anything that didn't originate on our soil? "One alien, one axe!" - Why do we have to label every non-SA plant "alien"? - other countries don't do that. Why can't we use the more common and positive term, "exotic"? - Are pine trees and oak trees really "invasive"? - Really? That label is also being thrown around way too much IMO. Have the pine trees in Deer Park multiplied like maggots and increased exponentially in the last 20 years? I can vouch they certainly haven't. - What about coexisting? With a 'give and take' philosophy in a mountain national park as large as ours, surely we could designate sections for fynbos and a section for forest? To keep things in perspective, take a look at the Table Mt satellite image... Deer Park Forest is a tiny speck in relation to the total space available for fynbos. Why not preserve this forest area for the many Capetonians who cherish it and use it on a daily basis? Or am I missing something?

Thank you! I've just been checking the maps...

Amazing photo! Thanks so much for posting and for your support

Thanks for taking the time to write on this post and share your perspective! The squirrels in the company gardens are the exact same variety as those in Deer Park Forest. Am I understanding you and other posters correctly that anything (plant or animal) originating outside our borders has no right to exist in our space? Must the squirrels also be caught and culled along with the pines? Very interesting perspectives here! 🪓😅 Irony of all this is that 99% of the vegetation in our gardens and 99% of our pets originate outside of SA - not to mention most of us! 😬

Please help save Deer Park forest from extinction and preserve the wildlife that has called it home for the past hundred years 🙏🏽🌲🌲🌲 https://c.org/YttswwB8zK

Road biker? 🙂

Thanks for your thoughts!

Yes! Agreed 100% As the old saying goes: "The one thing we learn from history is that people don't learn from history!" Remove Table Mountain's trees, and the pre-1800's windswept wasteland returns - along with annual dust storms and mud slides. And people will be cursing.

Haha, bring it on! Trees are a taller order than bushes! 🙂

Thank you for your good suggestion! I will so this. Believe it or not, there is some headway being made... I have been informed that even pine and eucalyptus forests have some measure of protection on the grounds of their recreational value for humans.

Hey guys, I sincerely appreciate your comments and insights. I am no expert at all on forestry, but I have spent the past 6 months studying as much as I can. In addition I have previously engaged with Sugarbird Projects to obtain their reasoning for wanting to do away with Deer Park forest. Here are some responses to the common reasoning/arguments-- 1. Argument: "Exotic plants/trees have no place in our land and should be removed." Response: Most civilised nations on earth have a mixture of indigenous and exotic plants. Our gardens do too! This adds beauty and variety to nature. Who says that we have to only have indigenous? What benefit is it to us to only have local species when we could have local and exotic? Will it make us feel better about ourselves, as if we have accomplished something great? 2. Argument: "Eucalyptus trees are detrimental to the environment as they suck up huge amounts of water." Response: You will find Eucalyptus varieties all over the world - there have been very good reasons for importing them. New academic research is challenging the presupposition that they suck up huge amounts of water. All large trees suck up water! The important thing is to consider what these trees do with the water. It enables them to do their jobs. These large trees can be viewed like factories - they absorb odours and harmful pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, etc) and filter the air by trapping dust and other particles. 3. Argument: "Pines and Eucalyptus trees do not belong in Cape Town. They should be removed to make way for indigenous species." Response: Let me state, our Cape Town foresters in previous centuries were way more knowledgeable than we give them credit for (e.g. Frank Jarman - see his memorial at the King's Blockhouse). They realised that very few tree species would be able to thrive on the slopes of Table Mountain. The area is swept by gale force winds and the soil is of such an inferior quality that many plants would not be able to be established there. Pines and Eucalyptus are two very hardy varieties that have shown success. Positively they act as wind barriers, while their roots aid in preventing soil erosion and mud slides. 4. Argument: "Fynbos is the original plant inhabitant of Cape Town and should be restored." Response: There are many, many areas in Cape Town where fynbos can be propagated. Why should all the Capetonians who love and enjoy Deer Park Forest have it forcibly removed from them without any real consultation? To be sure, not everyone loves fynbos. I have read quotes from visitors to Cape Town in the 1700's and 1800's who described the vegetation on the slopes of Table Mountain as a barren, rocky, dull, and unexciting wilderness. The idea that it will be teeming with beautiful protea varieties is not realistic. Contrary to popular opinion, local is not always lekker. I do hope that these provide some clarity as to my reasoning for starting a petition. I do believe that there can be sections of fynbos, and forest, existing side by side. If Sugarbird decides to lay down the hatchet, be considerate of others, and engage with the public this could be considered. As I stated earlier, I am no expert, and I am always willing to engage with others and research and learn wherever I can. In the end, it is not a case of one size fits all. So thank you again each one of you for your responses. Happy biking! 🙂

Fellow MTB’ers, trail runners, dog walkers & Deer Park Forest users — this is urgent! I’m putting this S.O.S. out as a Deer Park Forest frequent user (mountain biking, dog walking & all round forest lover). I’m seeing this deforestation happening first hand and it is tragic - healthy, mature trees are currently being poisoned, ring-barked, and saplings uprooted, mostly without public awareness. If this continues, much of our forest could be gone within 1–3 years. The work is mainly being carried out by Sugarbird Projects. While they’ve done well in the past removing invasive wattles, their current approach labels most trees here — including pines, oaks, and eucalyptus — as “alien” and targeted for removal. Their stated long-term vision is to clear forests from Tokai to Newlands and Deer Park to Signal Hill, replacing them entirely with fynbos. What does this mean for Deer Park? 🚫 Loss of vital shade 🚫 Increased wind, erosion, and dust 🚫 Loss of habitat for birds and animals 🚫 A harsher, less usable park for people I have chatted to a number of environmental groups in Cape Town. Action needs to be taken. We believe that Sugarbird Projects is acting upon its own impulses and not in the best interests of our community. This deforestation will not only disrupt the natural habitat of many bird and animal species but also strip the community of a vital, green space central to the identity and health of Cape Town. If you care about the future of Deer Park Forest, please take action now. We are calling on local government and environmental authorities to intervene and halt the deforestation of Deer Park Forest. I have started this petition to present to City Parks and Cape Nature. 👉 Sign and share our Change.org petition: https://c.org/YttswwB8zK Let’s protect Deer Park Forest before it’s too late. 🌿 Please share 🌿 For more info or to chat please msg me on bikehub. Kind regards, Demitri Nikiforos

It's been suggested I name my head condition "Leattitus Turbinitus"! 🤕

I'm posting this to help any biker suffering from an itchy scalp and unexplainable head bumps! A year ago I started getting large red bumps on my head which started to itch and trouble me. I first thought they were sunspots. Nope. Then I thought perhaps it was a reaction to my shampoo. Nope. They were about 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter and quite sensitive. My barber asked me about them and I was on the verge of getting a dermatologist to look at them and possibly remove them. Then mysteriously the bumps all disappeared! About that time - a couple of weeks - I hadn't been biking. No coincidence. I resumed biking, and you can guess... the bumps returned to haunt me a few weeks later. And the itches! 🐀 Sniffing the rat in the kitchen I took a suspicious look at my head gear, a Leatt Enduro helmet. Whala! There they were, a bunch of big-eyed culprits staring up at me and looking guilty as sin. These round blue rubbery inserts. Leatt calls them "360° Turbine Technology" on their website. Looking at the location of each one inside my helmet it was a perfect match with every single bump on my head!!!! One by one I removed the blue rubbers (they pull out easily) and resumed my normal mtb rides. Magically the bumps disappeared after a week. And thank the Lord no more itching scalp! Mystery solved. No more 360° Turbine Technology and my scalp is happy as can be! Hopefully this can help another biker with head bumps scratching his/her head wondering why... Happy biking!

Found on a single track near Table Mt road. Contact me if its yours to arrange collection.

So is goedkoop really duurkoop? Let’s find out! I recently picked out some cheapo Chinese Chaoyang Tyres from a bike shop to try out on my Giant Reign. My local trails are all around Table Mountain so lots of super steep gradients with a good mix of loose gravel, powdery sand, granite & sharp rocks - an unforgiving torture tunnel for MTB tyres if ever there was one! Price wise the Chaoyangs were substantially cheaper than anything else on offer. The tag on the 26 x 2.25 double hammer model was R399 - tubeless with shark skin side walls, dual compound & 60 tpi. I’ve never tried this Chinese brand before btw and can honestly say my expectations were low! My go-to tyres are Vittoria, but I’ve previously used Maxxis, Schwalbe, Michelin, Continental, etc. So in this durability & performance test I’ll try to compare with those brands esp as to whats most cost effective. Fitting the tubeless tyres was not too challenging at all. Rubber felt good and weight was decent at 660g. Inflated to 20 psi. First two rides I aimed at every rock on the trail, leaned into turns excessively to test holding & did a few jumps. So far so good! I’m stoked with performance & really like the tread pattern (perfect for rear wheel) - good holding & lowish rolling resistance. Will periodically update this post to share how the tyres hold out after a few hundred k’s around the mountain. Also would like to hear from anyone currently using Chaoyangs what your experiences have been. Is goedkoop duurkoop or not? :-)

No it doesn’t need to be certified

Update- Between Chris and I we have 6 guys now so we looking for 2 more riders for a 2nd group of 4. Anyone keen let me know asap:-)

Will do, thanks!

Anyone else keen to get the group rate for MyActivity Table Mountain card this month? My friend & I are about to renew our permits. So we can have 2 others join and save $. Let me know in next couple of days if possible.