Riverbed cycle challenge in Kgalagadi

[Bushcraft]

Shocking

[Peter Betts]

The

[Richprins]

I suppose cricket and a marathon etc. are on existing facilities, like the Kruger cricket!

This sounds a bit non-ecological, though!

Anyway, here's the blog link: http://www.roxannereid.co.za/1/post/201 ... agadi.html

[Lisbeth]

For once I agree with Peter Betts' post!!

Apart from this

"how can a Pom sitting in England LOCK the thread on the 'Official Website Forum..Its our Kgalagadi not Norfolks".

I am a "Pom" sitting in the north, but I would never have locked the thread!!

Watch you words, Peter and please be objective. Love for the wild has nothing to do with where you live, but what you have at heart!!!

Conserving what we have left, be it Siberian tigers, Asian rhinoceros,Polar bears or South African whales has nothing to do with where your live, but with your wish for conservation!!

Don't make this mistake again

[Richprins]

For once I agree with Lisbeth!

[Peter Betts]

Richard the Skukuza Cricket takes place in the urban Skukuza Village at the cricket club

[Richprins]

Pete!

SanParks mods are under strict instructions not to allow anything negative there...end of story!

My points exactly!

[Sprocky]

Peter, I agree with everything you have said here. But, lets forget about that other forum and discuss the issue here without giving the yellow bunch free advertising.

[Lisbeth]

3
Dear friends.

The SANParks Honorary Rangers West Rand Branch have decided to stage a bicycle tour from Unions End to the Nossob Rest Camp in the Kalahari Transfrontier Park a distance of approximately 155 km during September 2013.

It is stated that an entrance fee of R4000.00 per participant is charged and the number of participants will be restricted to 50 and that this will raise R200 000.00 for conservation.

It springs to my mind that a few years ago the Lowveld (Phalaborwa) Branch arranged a sponsored fishing competition in the Reënvoël Dam south of Masorini in the Kruger National Park also to raize funds, the funds were used to repair the roof of the lapa in the Letaba rest camp staff village, just more than 100 persons participated, my opinion about this still is that it was just an outing for a selected few.

The Kalahari Transfrontier National Park is an arid park which is vulnerable to destruction and overutilization, the roads in the KTP are terrible; not due to lack of effort by SANParks to maintain them but due to overuse, the roads are said to be graded regularly and dragged weekly but due to the nature of the surface (loose sand) the many vehicles traversing them soon returns them into the original very poor state.

The Nossob Rest Camp is already short of potable water, suitable water has to be brought in by tanker.

SANParks also have plans to do even further developments in this gem, and now a bicycle tour in a conservation area, this cannot be allowed to happen. My reason for saying this is imagine the number of support vehicles in this convoy transporting seconders and camping gear and medics and whoever else is required to make this idea take place.

I do not know what the costs in Rand value will be but it should be quite hefty, unfortunately the damage to the area cannot be determined no matter what the defenders of this venture will be saying.

It is also stated that this is a once of event, if so why at all.

You can read more about this on:

http://www.roxannereid.co.za/1/post/201 ... agadi.html

and

http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopi ... 38&t=66245

If you would like to communicate with the organisers of this event, their contact details are here below:


WESTRAND HRs

CONTACTS:
CHAIRPERSON: Peter Zietsman 082 322 2486
E-Mail: pziets@gmail.com
SECRETARY: Norma Gardiner 011 476 3057
E-Mail: normagardiner7@gmail.com
LOCATION: Discovery, Roodepoort, Gauteng

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
Mr. Janssen Davies
Chairperson: National Executive Committee
SANParks Honorary Rangers
daviesathome@icon.co.za

Kind Regards

Gerhard Smit
Convenor of the AIKONA GROUP.

[Peter Betts]

Basie my great Bird Photographer friend and conservationist came up with this brilliant argument...I hope I can get it on here ..Computer skills NOT good...Like me and so many others Lisbeth have a look at his last sentence...its not me

Basie Van Zyl via Bridgena-Johan Barnard

Once again the human species, specifically SANPARKS, Peter Zietsman and Dries Engelbrecht, as custodians
of the crown jewels in our heritage ,the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, could get it right t
o mess up this wilderness area
for future generations to come by organizing such an event that really have nothing to do with conservation.

I do not for one moment believe their deceiving comments that conservation and/or marketing is on the mind of the organizers of this event.
It is once again the root of all evil...money....and I will tell you why-
First year they will try to establish the principle of such an event with their announcement that it will be a ''once in a lifetime opportunity'' for 50 cyclist.
The 200k entry fees and other additional income generated will balance out with the organizing of the event.....and conservation will get nothing.

After the success of a first event it will most definitely be all over for the peace, tranquility and unspoilt nature of this untouched wilderness area.
They already played their hand by stating in the video ''it can be one of the biggest events on the cycling calendar''
So in year two and three...who is going to stop them with 250 cyclists ? Just think about it...now the entrance fees will be 1M Rand per event.
That will be the time when the money demons come out to play and conservation, as in the past, will once again suck the hind tit.

Shame on you all involved in this event for selling out your most loyal supporters, visitors, nature lovers and photographers, the people that really care for the land and animals
and spent their money there in the name of conservation over many, many years...People that care with minimal impact on this finely balanced environment.
Why don't you- get photographers more involved ? -grant special privileges to photographers & nature lovers at a cost ?.
Take 20 photographers out for a long night drive at 1k per person and after costs spend 15k on a new valve for a wind pump.....that's conservation.

Lastly, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is fully booked most of the time by the above mentioned people and one of few parks in SA that make money. Why the need to market it ?
Furthermore......How is it possible in today's time and age of freedom of speech that a thread on the SANPARKS forum, by the people, for the people's heritage and an important
conservation issue as this can be closed by a person sitting in the UK ? Absurd !