Four new Wilderness hiking trails
FOUR additional hiking trails in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route have received Green Flag accreditation, despite the devastation caused by fires that gutted many properties and destroyed much vegetation in the Knysna area last year.
The trails are the Half-collared Kingfisher trail (9.65km), Dune Mole Rat Trail (8.2km), Woodville Big Tree (2km) and Circles in the Forest (3.4km).
They bring the number of accredited hiking trails to 18 in the Garden Route National Park (GRNP).
GRNP spokesperson Nandi Mgwadlamba said: “More people are walking trails in Knysna, Wilderness and Tsitsikamma – with a total of 667 people having walked trails in Knysna during the Easter weekend.”
Of the 667 hikers, the Garden of Eden had the most walkers (266), with the King Edward Big Tree hosting 140, Kranshoek 132, Diepwalle 70 and Perdekop 59, she added.
In 2015, two of Knysna’s hiking trails (Perdekop in Harkerville and the Elephant route in Diepwalle) had received Green Flag status accreditation from the Hiking Organisation of Southern Africa (HOSA), which administers the green flag status system, said Mgwadlamba.
She said the system ensures that hiking trails meet standards in terms of trail outlay, accommodation, facilities and service, as well as the conservation of natural resources.
Mgwadlamba said about 482 people had walked the Half-collared Kingfisher trail in Wilderness during the Easter weekend, compared to 356 in Easter 2017.
“The steady increase in the number of people walking in the national park can be attributed to the Garden Route Festival,” said Mgwadlamba.
“People are also walking trails in groups, and include hiking as one of numerous activities to do in the park.”
She said Harkerville Trail was rerouted in December 2017, pending the recovery of the burnt area, and that the coastal portion of the trail was still closed.
An alternative scenic route along the coastal ridge has since been developed, and bookings for the trail are open.
The Kranshoek Trail is still closed and maintenance work is under way.
About 90% of the route is complete, but rebuilding and rehabilitation of the route is also under way.
Kranshoek Viewpoint is still closed and not accessible to visitors as yet, until management and scientists have finalised urgent deliverables pertaining to the area.