Table Mountain National Park: Impact of floods caused by recent heavy rains!
South African National Parks (SANParks) has released an update on the current situation in Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town following the recent heavy rains and floods in the region, which severely impacted most areas of the National Park. SANParks is still conducting assessments on the extent of the damage and regularly updating the alerts to park users of the dangerous areas they need to avoid until further notice. The estimated damage to the infrastructure is still yet to be determined as there are new reports of infrastructure damage on a daily basis.
The following areas have been affected by the recent floods. SANParks urges the park users to exercise caution or avoid the mountain trails where slippery, wet, and muddy conditions persist to avoid having accidents and requiring rescue. Affected areas includes:
- Newlands Forest - eroded trails and fallen trees/branches.
- Tokai - Level 5 cycling trail in Upper Tokai closed due to landslides, boulders, and debris in the road. The area is currently inaccessible for cyclists and vehicles.
- Rhodes Memorial - Tar road lifted, fallen trees, mass amounts of debris in the road, and eroded trails. The road is closed until further notice.
- Schusterskraal Boardwalk (Scarborough) closed pending repairs as a result of erosion underneath the boardwalk.
- Landslide on Tafelberg Jeep track and lots of rock fall on the tar road..
- Landslide along Constantia Nek hiking trail leading up to the dam area.
- Sink hole and a fallen tree in Deer Park.
- Landslides discovered along Camps Bay Pipe Track
- Ouwa Pad in Silvermine closed.
- Landslide off the hiking trail to the Admiral's Waterfall in Simonstown.
- Road verge erosion discovered in Silvermine East Management track.
According to Table Mountain National Park Manager, Ms. Megan Taplin, the intensive work to repair the infrastructure damage will be carried out once the weather conditions become more favorable. In the meantime, some repair work is being carried out by park rangers and volunteers. The winter rains have been predicted for the duration of the season and SANPArks will continue to ensure the safety of the users.
We'll keep you posted!
