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SKUKUZA- Day visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) will no longer be able to book their entry as this will be done on a strict first come, first served basis.

"We decided to do away with this day visit booking system as it created logistical problems and was considered unfair by many of our visitors", commented the Park's Director of Public Relations, Mr William Mabasa.

Gate quotas will still be enforced, particularly over busy periods like the upcoming Easter Weekend, so it is suggested that members of the public get to their gate of choice as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

"We will honour those bookings already made for this coming weekend as long as the people that made them arrive before 9am at the gate specified on the day specified", added Mr Mabasa.

KNP gate quotas are based on considerations like the amount of tourist infrastructure in the vicinity of the gate, environmental impact and various other conservation reasons. Gate quotas do not affect guests with overnight accommodation bookings.

The KNP has ten entrance gates: Crocodile Bridge, Malelane, Numbi, Phabeni, Paul Kruger, Orpen, Phalaborwa, Punda Maria, Pafuri and Giriyondo.

The current quotas for day visitors are (# people NOT vehicles, by gate):

Pafuri – 300, Punda Maria – 300, Phalaborwa – 500, Orpen – 500, Kruger – 500, Phabeni – 500, Numbi – 500, Malelane – 500, Crocodile Bridge – 300 and Giriyondo – 300.

Labels: crocodile bridge, giriyondo, kruger, orpen, paul kruger, phabeni, Phalaborwa, punda maria

PRETORIA- Water levels along the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga are exceeding expectations because of the recent rainfalls in the province.

"Concerns that have been raised regarding low water flow levels in the Kruger National Park and adjoining areas are baseless," the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) said in a statement on Wednesday.

A two-day inspection at the site by a DWAF team found that the water flow from Kwena Dam right through the Crocodile River, past the Kruger National Park into Mozambique, was exceeding expectations.



The team was made up of the Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement (CME) Unit officials from Head Office in Pretoria and its Mpumalanga office based in Nelspruit.

The inspections were conducted on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 and concluded the next day.

DWAF's Mpumalanga Regional Director for Water Resources, Johan Van As Wegen, who was part of the team, said he was surprised that allegations about low water levels in the area were raised outside a recognised and "agreed upon" chamber, the Crocodile River Water Forum (CRWF).

Mr Van As Wegen described the move as "surprising".

One of the CRWF's tasks is to discuss issues such as the issues raised to warrant necessary investigations regarding the matter.

DWAF's water level monitoring process is up and running and is put into operation everyday to measure water flow levels. Water releases are monitored daily to ensure that there is enough water flows in the river.

The Department is in constant contact with all stakeholders, including members of the CRWF to discuss and find solutions to all matters of concern.

One of the major challenges facing the Department is dealing constantly with people contravening Section 21 of the National Water Act, 1998.

This section deals with people who illegal construct dams, weirs and other structures that impede water flow in the river.

Nigel Adams, head of the CME Unit said three possible unlawful activities were identified and are currently being investigated by the Mpumalanga CME Unit.

Labels: climate, crocodile bridge, hydrology

SKUKUZA- The Crocodile Bridge gate to the Kruger National Park is closed due to flooding, said a park official on Friday.

Check out the comments link (below) for the latest status.

Park spokesperson Raymond Travers said the Crocodile river was flooding, mainly due to rainfall in the catchment area, so the park decided to close the bridge- and thus that gate at the south-east of the park- at about midday on Friday.



"The entrance gate will be closed for at least two days," said Travers.

He said visitors wanting to get to that area of the Park would have to use either the Malelane gate to the west or the Paul Kruger gate to the north, which would add travel time.

He said the park was "very very full" for the weekend and that the number of visitors being let into the park each day was being limited.

"The gates actually close from about 10am onwards."

He urged visitors to take it easy, be considerate of other game viewers, stay in their vehicles and abide by the park rules.

Visitors wanting to find out whether the Crocodile Bridge gate is open can call the park on +27 (0)13 735 4000.

Labels: crocodile bridge

HOEDSPRUIT (Kruger Times)- Five poachers, responsible for the killing of three rhinos in the Kruger National Park and adjacent Mozambique, have been arrested. This comes after a successful joint operation by SANParks Corporate Investigation Services (CIS) and the South African and Mozambican police.

In November last year, the poachers shot the first rhino in the Sabie Game Park on the Mozambican side of Kruger’s south eastern border.

Another rhino carcass was found at the end of September this year just south of the Sabie River in the Crocodile Bridge section of the KNP.

While CIS was investigating the incident, a second rhino was killed in the same area and a third two weeks later.

Shortly thereafter CIS identified the group and had gathered sufficient information to carry out an operation and make arrests.

With this information in place, a cross border operation with the Mozambican and South African Police was undertaken.

The joint operation, at the beginning of November, led to Kaboko, a village at Koromana Dam in Mozambique where two suspects were arrested. An AK47 and a Mosine Nagant rifle, as well as bloodied clothes and other evidence were confiscated.

The suspects confessed to killing the rhinos in KNP and the rhino that was shot in Mozambique in 2003, as well as other armed poaching incidents in the area.

A second operation, based on further information obtained by CIS, took the joint investigative team to Ngungwa village, about 50km north of Koromane Dam. Three more arrests were made and another AK47 and Mosine Nagant rifle were found.

“With these arrests we thought the problem had been solved,” said Don English of CIS Special Operations.

However, on 22 November and barely two weeks after these arrests were made, two more rhino carcasses were found shot by a second group of poachers in the same area in the Crocodile Bridge section of the Park.

“A joint cross-border follow-up operation into Mozambique in conjunction with the Mozambican Police provided valuable intelligence and arrests are imminent.

Furthermore, the success of these operations would not be possible without the support of and excellent working relationship with the Mozambican and South African Police,” said Don.

by Lynette Strauss, Kruger Times

Labels: crocodile bridge, poaching, rhinos