Luxury Train Hotel on Kruger's Selati Bridge

[Lisbeth]

As part of this process a Heritage Impact Assessment is also being prepared by Archaetnos CC. Any interested or affected party who wishes to comment on this is invited to do so in writing to the Heritage Consultant, Archaetnos, at antonv@archaetnos.co.za before the above date

Are they afraid that the Heritage of the SA people and the rest of the world will find the developments a damage to their heritage? That fear has been thrown out of the window at least a decade ago

I'd better send a few lines to that guy too

[Lisbeth]

I have sent my two e-mails

[Richprins]

Lis!

As always, this will take a long time to recoup building costs. Who will pay the outlay? Government is bankrupt. The bridge will need to be structurally reinforced and drunk-proofed, coaches will need to be brought in by road, and they are incredibly expensive! Will the scheme be privatised? etc. etc.

And the Waterkant Houses are donor accommodation, did they wait for their time to run out? They are a goldmine in their own right, paid off long ago, so pure profit!

[stefan9]

Personally I don't see an issue with this.

[Lisbeth]

Stefan, it is not only taking this by it self, it is this on top of all the other ways that they are intruding in the Park with their "development" and the money they are spending on it, when this money could be used for much better purposes.

[H. erectus]

I'm on a roll again,...

[Bushcraft]

It’s going to look like Santa Claus is flying into Skukuza camp every night.

Imagine how the sound of voices is going to travel at night across to the river front units.

It’s too much , but I suppose there’s a giant hotel behind you already , however the standard chalet you are staying in is in need of maintenance.

[Flutterby]

So true BC...fix all the broken stuff first!!

[Bushcraft]

So true BC...fix all the broken stuff first!!

It seems that it's easier to build new, then to do very little maintenance and when it deteriorates to a point that it's causing an issue, just build new again. Squeezing an asset to get the most out of it through regular maintenance doesn't seem part of the business plan, which is strange, so it raises the question "Are Sanparks actually able to maintain existing units at a required standard and is budget made available each year to maintain existing units?"

[Lisbeth]

This is a question that I have often posed. It has also been discussed as far back as I can remember i.e. more than 10/12 years, when I went to Kruger for the first time and they continue to rent the cottages out even if falling to pieces

I wonder if there are more people camping now than 5/6 years ago (% wise)? Together with the bad state of the accommodations also the prices have shot upwards. Obviously the state of affairs is like this because they can do it. Kruger has no real competitor as long as the Rand is so low. The South Africans cannot afford going abroad and for foreign visitors it is very convenient.

Unfortunately also the new stuff that they built is full of flaws and deficiencies