TMNP Activity Card system - there has to be a better way

[marko35s]

2 hours ago, Hairy said:

For my education, what is a "bark stripper" please?

Basically exactly what it sounds like, stripping bark from an otherwise healthy tree mainly for use in traditional remedies. It often means the targeted tree dies and is quite a big issue in Cape Town.

[marko35s]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

Dunno... I've been running on Table Mountain for decades and I continually see rangers. Either in bakkies or patrolling the common access/egress points.

@Headshot I'm not batting for anyone. I just don't think that they care about MTB mountain users as much as MTB mountain users think they should.

I don't think WE (I include myself) are a particularly important part of the bigger picture.

I'm ok with that

It's not just mountain bikers feeling ignored or pushed out, there are quite a few user groups up in arms pretty much all the time.

Someone a while back called TMNP a cash cow and they have a reasonable point when Cape Point alone brings in hundreds of millions each year but user groups (be they MTB, horse riders, hikers or whatever) as often as not end up with the responsibility of maintaining or making safe large chunks of the facility.

We are talking about a group who try not to drive at the end of the month because their fuel budget is too small (and yes I have personal experience of that). What we do tend to miss is that as often as not the local management are generally decent people who do their best to do a good job in circumstances beyond their control thanks to decisions made way above them in Pretoria. They do, however, have quite the ability to frustrate when you try and engage with them. For example when chasing them about the activity card revenue being used for trail upgrades I was told that it was essential to their operation but in a separate conversation when I pointed out that MTB earned them a lot through activity card sales I was told it is an insignificant portion of their budget... You can't win.

 

[Zebra]

16 minutes ago, marko35s said:

Basically exactly what it sounds like, stripping bark from an otherwise healthy tree mainly for use in traditional remedies. It often means the targeted tree dies and is quite a big issue in Cape Town.

and in MANY areas, now, incl Hout Bay, Constantia - Spaansemacht Road, you will see the desired 'bark' tree(s) painted solid WHITE up to a height of around 6+ feet, which is roughly where the desirable bark is,

...and it is used in traditional remedies; thus painting it white stops it being stripped of it's bark, and the tree gets to live, since serial bark-stripping can/does kill the tree(s).

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

Dunno... I've been running on Table Mountain for decades and I continually see rangers. Either in bakkies or patrolling the common access/egress points.

@Headshot I'm not batting for anyone. I just don't think that they care about MTB mountain users as much as MTB mountain users think they should.

I don't think WE (I include myself) are a particularly important part of the bigger picture.

I'm ok with that

 I rarely see rangers....I think they're targeting you.

 

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, marko35s said:

It's not just mountain bikers feeling ignored or pushed out, there are quite a few user groups up in arms pretty much all the time.

Someone a while back called TMNP a cash cow and they have a reasonable point when Cape Point alone brings in hundreds of millions each year but user groups (be they MTB, horse riders, hikers or whatever) as often as not end up with the responsibility of maintaining or making safe large chunks of the facility.

We are talking about a group who try not to drive at the end of the month because their fuel budget is too small (and yes I have personal experience of that). What we do tend to miss is that as often as not the local management are generally decent people who do their best to do a good job in circumstances beyond their control thanks to decisions made way above them in Pretoria. They do, however, have quite the ability to frustrate when you try and engage with them. For example when chasing them about the activity card revenue being used for trail upgrades I was told that it was essential to their operation but in a separate conversation when I pointed out that MTB earned them a lot through activity card sales I was told it is an insignificant portion of their budget... You can't win.

 

out of interest i went and checked the latest SANparks accounts (2022). pretty sure they make certain you can't see where the actual $$$ come from. but pretty sure it is hiding in this somewhere

 

 

[Hairy]

5 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

 I rarely see rangers....I think they're targeting you.

 

they clearly only catching up to the SLOW riders and runners on the mountain, hence Chewy being the only one to see them

[Anthem24]

TMNP is hardly a cash cow! Of course the busy places like Cape Point (and Kruger) have to cross-subsidise national parks that have great conservation value but can't possibly pay for themselves.

I think most people have no objection to paying -- we buy day permits when we ride in Tygerberg or the winelands -- but we don't ask any northern suburbs people to join us on rides at Deer Park etc because there's no way they can buy a day permit. TMNP really could make it easier and help everyone stay 'legal' and rake in more money, even if they're not going to put it back into trail maintenance.

[Hairy]

2 minutes ago, Anthem24 said:

TMNP is hardly a cash cow! Of course the busy places like Cape Point (and Kruger) have to cross-subsidise national parks that have great conservation value but can't possibly pay for themselves.

I think most people have no objection to paying -- we buy day permits when we ride in Tygerberg or the winelands -- but we don't ask any northern suburbs people to join us on rides at Deer Park etc because there's no way they can buy a day permit. TMNP really could make it easier and help everyone stay 'legal' and rake in more money, even if they're not going to put it back into trail maintenance.

A simple post at the trail head with a snapscan option to buy a day permit is soooo simple to do.

[DJR]

8 hours ago, Hairy said:

A simple post at the trail head with a snapscan option to buy a day permit is soooo simple to do.

If you could only know how much trouble it was and how long it took to get SANParks to approve putting up signs funded by Tokai MTB at the start of the single tracks in Tokai. Dozens of meetings, negotiations, specifications, sizes, colour, lettering, baboon proofing, no sponsor names, no advertising ....... YEARS! Just to get a few very small signs to prevent mtbikers from getting lost.

But then, maybe if it brings in money, it will be quicker?

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by DJR

[Hairy]

31 minutes ago, DJR said:

If you could only know how much trouble it was and how long it took to get SANParks to approve putting up signs funded by Tokai MTB at the start of the single tracks in Tokai. Dozens of meetings, negotiations, specifications, sizes, colour, lettering, baboon proofing, no sponsor names, no advertising ....... YEARS! Just to get a few very small signs to prevent mtbikers from getting lost.

But then, maybe if it brings in money, it will be quicker?

 

I am sure they would appreciated another scan code next to the cycling access code where you can also make "donations" to SANP's ....

[DieselnDust]

8 hours ago, Hairy said:

A simple post at the trail head with a snapscan option to buy a day permit is soooo simple to do.

A government department using an honesty system,………. The irony 

[DieselnDust]

10 hours ago, Hairy said:

they clearly only catching up to the SLOW riders and runners on the mountain, hence Chewy being the only one to see them

Well a kalk bay dweller did report a Sasquatch sighting over the weekend….

there may have been drugs involved

[Shebeen]

9 hours ago, Anthem24 said:

TMNP is hardly a cash cow! Of course the busy places like Cape Point (and Kruger) have to cross-subsidise national parks that have great conservation value but can't possibly pay for themselves.

I think most people have no objection to paying -- we buy day permits when we ride in Tygerberg or the winelands -- but we don't ask any northern suburbs people to join us on rides at Deer Park etc because there's no way they can buy a day permit. TMNP really could make it easier and help everyone stay 'legal' and rake in more money, even if they're not going to put it back into trail maintenance.

I think you need to look up the definition of CASHCOW. it is next to "cooking the golden goose" in the dictionary

Just as an example, Sanparks took over what is now TMNP in 1998.

check the pricing here from 2001 Adults went up from R20 to R25.

ok that is about inflationary, on 7.5% year on year to the current R94 entry.

BUT here's where it gets fun.

in 2018 it was R145 for an adult, which was a 12% yoy increase. They then decided to split between locals and internationals. I don't have a problem with differential pricing, it is the massive margin between the two that leaves a bad taste in the mouth of a serious ripoff for tourists. For an international entrant they looked at all the tour busses rolling in and just went hockey stick with the pricing. SADC nationals pay about halfway too.

in 2018 they went from R145 for everyone to R70 for locals and R300 for foreigners.

A Hylton Ross bus with 30 people in it today then brings in about R12k (i wonder if the drivers get wildcards). Of course where does this money all go? You'll have to ask these people who operate the cash cow. This must be one of the most lucrative tenders out there, but unfortunately they haven't paid their hosting fees http://www.thebetourism.co.za

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has Sanparks done for TMNP? boggerol. cape point has a fancy restaurant which opens way after the reserve is open and doesn't have takeaway coffee. Hoerikwaggo trail - great idea but they cocked it up.

[Anthem24]

Well with the Rand so weak against the Dollar and Euro, the Cape Point entry fee probably doesn't hurt foreign visitors. And we get charged a higher SADC fee in parks in other countries too, I think? The once-off entry fee for locals is steep, but at least we have the Green Card to give us (and guests) 12 free entries to paying parks per year.

Snapscan and Zapper would be great at Trailheads, but hugely tricky with government procurement systems, I imagine. Perhaps they are finally heading that way, since they've gone 'cashless'.

Anyway, you're focusing on the tourism stuff, but that's not SanParks' primary mandate: 

"Conservation – the primary mandate of the organisation is the conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity, landscapes and associated heritage assets through a system of national parks."

"Responsible Tourism – the organisation has a significant role in the promotion of South Africa’s nature-based tourism, or ecotourism business targeted at both international and domestic tourism markets. The eco-tourism pillar of the business architecture provides for the organisation’s self-generated revenues from commercial operations that are necessary to supplement government funding of conservation management."

"Socio-Economic Development – SANParks has taken a strategic decision to expand its role in the developmental support provided to neighbouring communities as an entity of the developmental state".

[Shebeen]

2 hours ago, Anthem24 said:

Well with the Rand so weak against the Dollar and Euro, the Cape Point entry fee probably doesn't hurt foreign visitors. And we get charged a higher SADC fee in parks in other countries too, I think? The once-off entry fee for locals is steep, but at least we have the Green Card to give us (and guests) 12 free entries to paying parks per year.

Snapscan and Zapper would be great at Trailheads, but hugely tricky with government procurement systems, I imagine. Perhaps they are finally heading that way, since they've gone 'cashless'.

Anyway, you're focusing on the tourism stuff, but that's not SanParks' primary mandate: 

"Conservation – the primary mandate of the organisation is the conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity, landscapes and associated heritage assets through a system of national parks."

"Responsible Tourism – the organisation has a significant role in the promotion of South Africa’s nature-based tourism, or ecotourism business targeted at both international and domestic tourism markets. The eco-tourism pillar of the business architecture provides for the organisation’s self-generated revenues from commercial operations that are necessary to supplement government funding of conservation management."

"Socio-Economic Development – SANParks has taken a strategic decision to expand its role in the developmental support provided to neighbouring communities as an entity of the developmental state".

Remember 2010? Accommodation prices spiked massively as people chose to cash in on a once off bonanza. (the dutch pulled the middle finger and just went camping and spent their savings mostly on beer). Visitors came away feeling that SA was actually not such an affordable place to go visit. and we lost out on potential long term tourism growth as people made a quick buck rather.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/the+golden+goose

I'm ok with different pricing, but the delta between the two is too large here.

 

 

 

 

[Headshot]

They do love to extort cash whenever they can however. 

The last item above is part of the problem as it is elsewhere in SA society. everything goes out to tender, wasting months or years and often leading to poor performance by ill-equipped contractors. Alien clearing at Tokai being a case in point. The lack of a dedicated trail repair team being another.