Tokai and Silvermine to remain closed to the public

[raptor-22]

Or you simply quoted the bit that you wanted

[NotSoBigBen]

Nursery school kids comes to my mind ..... Just shake my head [emoji36]

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Its worth a try man. Go in with a proposal where the trails possibly all interlink into tokai at some point. So that everytime a section is opened the is a trail for it.

 

I know its easier to say Than done but surely some negotiating can be done.

Already done that in our proposal back in April / May. As you say, it's worth a try. At the moment though, we are at their mercy.

[marko35s]

Or you simply quoted the bit that you wanted

Nope and you know it.

[marko35s]

Nursery school kids comes to my mind ..... Just shake my head [emoji36]

You can say that and it's probably fair but at some point I just got sick of people sniping at the committee.

[(Deon)]

Right. I'm about to get upset. Take this offline if you would kindly. 

[marko35s]

Right. I'm about to get upset. Take this offline if you would kindly.

I'm happy with that.

[(Deon)]

I'm happy with that.

You shouldn't be. My suggestion is to let this go. There will always be people sniping and his guy does not have a history of taking pot shots at the committee.

[(Deon)]

Posted Yesterday, 18:02

Eddy Gordo, on 06 Aug 2015 - 6:31 PM, said:

Is there any chance of negotiating a silvermine section for mtb?

:-SS

Eddy, sorry this one slipped through without being noticed.. 

 

I understand Mark's hesitance to go into detail with the recent misunderstanding about opening dates but I have a bit more info on this and will be able to elaborate. Important to mention at this point that until the ground study is complete, no trail discussion here is cast in stone but I can certainly try to convey the motivation being seen on both sides of the fence.

 

To answer your question in short, yes.. 

 

The long story.. is that the ground study (TRRP - rationalisation) will include the areas; Silvermine, Tokai and Vlakkenburg. An obstacle that needs to be considered is that a lot of what is planned in undisturbed areas will almost without doubt trigger a NEMA study and for this and to help avoid delays, the two Tokai adjacent areas will be included in the TRRP.

NB, NEMA will drag the process out extensively, especially in undisturbed areas but this is not to say it cannot be done.

 

As an indication to how real the possibility of more trails on that side is (while staying under the radar), I have already been sent out at Park's request before the fire to scope the possible Tokai/Silvermine singletrack link. Two trails are now on the table that both minimises disturbance while keeping the lengths below EIA thresholds.

 

As far as more trails in Silvermine are concerned, there really is only one other viable route which was historically in existence. It has been plotted at a TMMTB forum workshop and based on it's existence, getting around NEMA should be easier and quicker than combing new trails throughout the reserve.

 

Vlakkenburg is another story, it's the Mast but off-road. Categorised as "wilderness"!! Determination should your motivation

 

Did I understand your question?? If not, oooops, hope you enjoyed the read none-the-less 

Edited August 8, 2015 by (Deon)
SP

[dirtypot]

I've missed a lot!

 

Essentially Deon needs a kick in the nuts for getting our hopes up, but other than that the prospects for the far away future look good 

I look forward the blisters and broken skin from carving out many new trails!

[(Deon)]

You gonna have to catch me first!

[DJR]

You gonna have to catch me first!

...and if your bike is in working order, that is going to be difficult! Edited August 13, 2015 by DJR

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

...and if your bike is in working order, that is going to be difficult!

That's a rather big if!

[(Deon)]

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

[Edge_Design]

Great that we will be able to go up to Silvermine dam in the foreseeable future, but end of 2016 for the main forest - ouch!

[Eddy Gordo]

Well, I drove past silvermine as well as across boyes drive for the first time since the fire over the past 2 weeks.  I dont normally bother with Boyes drive, however we normally hike up from Muizenberg.

 

I must say for the first time seeing what and where the fire went and did - DAMN!!!!!! the pics dont do it justice and this after some regrowth.

 

I always did understand why it was close, but now, it would be foolish to go up there.

 

At least for now there are places one can go and walk in the fire damaged areas.

 

As for MTB, think I will stick out north for a while!!