Luxury Train Hotel on Kruger's Selati Bridge

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Richprins
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Re: Selati Bridge

Post by Richprins »

Just the "loss" of the existing two guesthouses, (Waterkant 1 is R4661 per night for 4 with a max of 8) will very conservatively run to a loss of R3 million in SANParks income in one year.


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Re: Selati Bridge

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They will be getting the train, which most likely will cash even more.

No there are no costs specified anywhere as far as I can see. I have not read it all.


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Re: Selati Bridge

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E-mail:
RE: Kruger Shalati Draft Basic Assessment Report
31/07/2018 - 10:38
Da: Larry

Dear Kevan

Thanks for the updated and comprehensive wastewater, water and waste management information as requested. I am still surprised that the Lower Sabie River is only a “General Standard” River and wastewater discharge to the system does not need to meet the Special Standards particularly in terms of nutrients where a 1mg/l phosphate would be required for a Special Standards discharge.

Kind Regards

Resource Management Services

Larry Eichstadt | Environmental Consultant | Resource Management Services
PO Box 4296, Durbanville, 7551 | www.rmsenviro.co.za


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Re: Selati Bridge

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E-mail:
RE: Kruger Shalati DBARv2 - Annex H - VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT
31/07/2018 - 09:15
Da: Gerhard Smit

Dear Kevan,

Thanks for your email and response.

As you said it is all a matter of opinion, I still fail to understand how he or anyone can express an opinion on this matter especially the visual impact without a site visit.

Your explanation just does not wash with me and remains unacceptable, this is just another illustration of just ticking the boxes.

Regards

Gerhard


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Re: Selati Bridge

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E-mail:
Kruger Shalati Environmental Authorisation (14/12/16/3/3/1/1938)
14/12/2018 - 10:21 1
Da: Kevan Zunckel

Dear Interested and Affected Parties

This email serves to inform you that the application for Environmental Authorisation for the development of the Kruger Shalati upmarket tourism facility at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park has been granted by the Department of Environmental Affairs as of 11 December 2018.

Please note that you have 20 working days from the date of this notification (excluding 15 December 2018 to 5 January 2019), i.e. until 1 February 2019, to appeal this decision if you so wish. The appeal procedure is provided in the attached National Appeal Regulations.

Should you wish to receive a copy of the authorisation please let me know and I will forward such to you. However, please see below an extract from the authorisation in which the Department lists their findings as the reasons for their decision to grant environmental authorisation:

Image

Kind regards
Kevan
Kevan Zunckel
Image
Salati Development.pdf
(508.19 KiB) Downloaded 117 times


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Re: Selati Bridge

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Surprise surprise. :O^


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Re: Selati Bridge

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A link to history planned for Skukuza bridge
The project is aligned with the current KNP management plan.
6 hours ago
Mariana Balt

The familiar sight of the old railway bridge at Skukuza Camp in the Kruger National Park (KNP) is about to change.


Image

Soon there will be a train on that bridge again, albeit a stationary one, even with its own station adjacent.

The Kruger Shalati Train on a Bridge project will consist of two products: Kruger Shalati, the train on the bridge and the Kruger Station, said Judiet Barnes, general manager for Kruger Shalati and marketing manager for Thebe Tourism Group.

“Kruger Shalati will be a luxury, stationary train accommodation product, positioned on the old Selati Bridge adjacent to Skukuza Camp. There will be 24 carriage rooms on the bridge and six on land in what we call the bridge house. It will be serviced by a lounge carriage on the bridge with a deck and small pool next to it, as well as a dining area and pool with deck on land next to the bridge,” she said.

The train will be a unique product in design, build and style – something not seen anywhere else in a national park.
Kruger Station will be a truly unique experience focused on the park’s rail history. “Open to all visitors of the park, Kruger Station will be a hub consisting of various food and beverage offerings based on the needs we’ve seen in the park,” she continued. “Our aim is to offer something different from other products and the specifics will be revealed closer to opening time.”

An additional area of focus for the station will be edutainment of this unique part of the history of the park.

Kruger Shalati is expected to open between December 2019 and March 2020, with the final date to be determined over the next month or two. They are working towards opening Kruger Station around mid-year 2019.

The train will offer 24 rooms with 48 beds with another 12 to 14 beds (six rooms) on land.

Barnes promised that the environmental impact will be minimal. “We are using the existing footprint on the bridge and the Selati Station and buildings adjacent to the bridge. The track will be extended towards the Skukuza warehousing district for the offloading process, but this will be done on already disturbed land,” she explained.

The train coaches for the accommodation product are being built in Johannesburg and will only be transported in a few months’ time as part of their commitment to minimise the amount of construction work being done in Skukuza, in consideration of environmental factors.

Safety was also taken into account with two sets of engineers first assessing the bridge. “It is structurally sound to carry the load,” she said.

The project is furthermore aligned with the current KNP management plan. “It is our intention to hire the majority of staff from the land claim beneficiaries and neighbouring communities,” Barnes concluded.

https://lowvelder.co.za/468353/link-his ... za-bridge/


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Re: Selati Bridge

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“It is our intention to hire the majority of staff from the land claim beneficiaries and neighbouring communities,” Barnes concluded.
Better send them a couple of years to Oxford first O**


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Re: Selati Bridge

Post by Alf »

A small pool next to the train 0*\

Why not build a spa and kids jungle gym too O/


Next trip to the bush??

Let me think......................
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Re: Selati Bridge

Post by RogerFraser »

https://www.traveller24.com/TravelPlann ... NWQ6mvOuDs

PICS: The new luxury train hotel on Kruger's Selati Bridge will make your jaw drop

2019-05-03 05:30 - Gabi Zietsman

From old and run down to chic and luxurious - the new Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge offering from Thebe Tourism looks like the ultimate bush experience.

Unveiled at Africa's Travel Indaba in Durban, the fixed train hotel will be built on top of the Selati Bridge in Kruger National Park above the Sabie River, where the first visitors to the park once made their stopover before its roads were built.

Image

(Photo: Thebe Tourism)

That 1920s glam is reimagined by Thebe after they won the tender put out by South African National Parks (SANParks) to repurpose the old bridge while retaining its heritage.

Launching in December this year, the Afro-chic hotel will have 24 en-suite rooms able to sleep 48 guests, with another seven rooms in adjacent Kruger Shalati Bridge House accommodating 14 beds on land next to the bridge.

The train, in its stationary position with an external walkway attached to the bridge structure, allows the Kruger Shalati rooms to be much larger than the expected traditional train compartment-style room - complete with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Image

(Photo: Thebe Tourism)

The old block-house next to the bridge will be used as the base for an Insta-worthy pool deck designed with an overhanging pool above the river with unique viewpoints over the wildlife roaming below.

Image

(Photo: Thebe Tourism)

Environmental impact
The Kruger Shalati team is working very closely with SANParks to ensure minimal disruption to the park, says Judiet Barnes, concession general manager of the boutique hotel.

“We have put into place all the necessary measures needed to ensure the impact on the environment is minimal and that the fauna and flora are not disturbed.”

One of these measures include the train coaches, which are being restored in Johannesburg and will only be moved to the Selati Bridge once completed, further minimising the impact on its surroundings.

Image

(Photo: Thebe Tourism)

Thebe Tourism also announced that it has made an acquisition of Chiefs Tented Camps, which will enable them to have a pop-up hotel offering, the first of which will be in Kruger National Park on a river bank during the month of July.



@ThebeTourism CEO Jerry Mabena unveiled their new Kruger Shalati train-styled accommodation offering on the park's old Selati Bridge.#Indaba19

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7:39 PM - May 2, 2019
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Africa's Travel and Tourism Indaba is taking place at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban from 2 - 4 May. As Africa's leading trade show, it sees some 7 000 delegates attending from 80 different countries.


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