Luxury Train Hotel on Kruger's Selati Bridge

[Lisbeth]

Choo choo! New train-themed accommodation to be built on Selati Bridge in Kruger

2018-01-27 10:57 - Gabi Zietsman

Train and railway history buffs will be very excited about South African National Parks (SANParks) latest plans for the defunct Selati Railway Bridge in Kruger National Park.

The conservation authority announced its plans to develop an upmarket tourism facility on the old bridge, complete in the style of a train to reflect the heritage value of the long-gone Selati Railway Line.

It will be able to accommodate 48 guests and made up of 12 railway carriages, plus a lounge carriage, and will be an extension of the current Selati restaurant near Skukuza Rest Camp.

Other new facilities will include edutainment and interpretive areas for the general public as well as a reception area for guests of the new facility.

"To the north of the bridge it is proposed that a stationary box carriage be positioned on the existing railway tracks to serve as storage and backdrop for bush diner functions and the departure/return of game drives," says SANParks.

History of the Selati Line

The Selati Railway Line was first built in 1912, connecting Komatipoort with Tzaneen during the gold rush heydays. It cut through South Africa's first private nature reserve, Sabie Game Reserve, which in time became part of the Kruger National Park.

In 1923 South African Railways took over and started a nine-day tour through the Lowveld, with a stopover at Sabie Bridge, today called Skukuza, where passengers had to sleep on the train. It became very popular for its game viewing, and Kruger was established as a national park in 1926.

Trains still ran through the park up until 1973 after which most of the tracks have been removed, leaving the bridge as is and part of the Skukuza scenery.

A few years later a steam engine was donated to the now defunct station for display, and today three of its coaches serve as the Selati Station Grill House. It boasts pictures and posters from the station's heydays, highlighting the unique game viewing experiences people had back then.

Request for public participation

SANParks, through Kruger Selati (Pty) Ltd, is in the process of applying for environmental authorisation from the Department of Environmental Affairs, and they are inviting Interested and Affected Parties to register with the assigned Environmental Assessment Practitioner from Emross Consulting, before 26 February. Once this is approved they can move on to start developing the project.

A Heritage Impact Assessment is also being made by Archaetnos CC, and interested parties can also submit their comments with them.

[H. erectus]

I cannot express my point of concerns here, for this is a open
platform, public review. However my concerns run deep!!!

[RogerFraser]

Never ending commercialisation of the KNP continues ! Hotels disguised as tented camps and trains . ..

[H. erectus]

Rog and fellow members,...

[Bushcraft]

Some may think, wonderful I would like to spend a night on the bridge over the Sabie river, some may think, wonderful I would like to stay in a tented camp at Nkuhlu, some may think, wonderful I would like to spend a night of luxury in the hotel for my last night in the park, etc, etc and all valid opinions.

But

Have you experienced that same area in the park in holiday season on a Saturday or Sunday? If you have, then the answer to the next question is simple.

Is the park overcrowded in the south?

Most definitely.

Is that in the best interest of the animals, conservation, etc ?

No.

Why would you endorse any further development in the south of Kruger Park then?

I don’t know, but I’m interested to hear other opinions, but please not the normal “self-sustaining, no government funding story”

[Richprins]

BC!

[Flutterby]

Agree with you BC. If they had to decrease and control the gate quotas in the south then maybe they could justify all this extra development but if not then it's just going to become even more of a circus!

[Lisbeth]

It is scandalous!

[H. erectus]

Why would you endorse any further development in the south of Kruger Park then

Oh golly,..need I really answer this one???,...again,....good grief,
KNP a bottomless pit of financial resource!!!

[steamtrainfan]

Thanks to R.P. for taking the trouble to phone me about this proposed development.

I have sent the following email to our SAR group which I feel is self explanatory.

Good evening all,

I have been asked by my Africa Wild group to post this article here and get opinions from the real railway enthusiasts who have more knowledge of the costs and technical feasability of such an undertaking from a railway viewpoint and not that of a Kruger Park enthusiast. I feel that the Africa Wild listees might just be a bit biased.

I did post another article on this in October 2016 and received some very interesting replies.

I would appreciate it if I could receive some responses be they technical, financial or personal or any other viewpoints.

Please

Re: Selati Bridge
Postby Lisbeth » Mon Jan 29, 2018 1:27 pm

Choo choo! New train-themed accommodation to be built on Selati Bridge in Kruger

2018-01-27 10:57 - Gabi Zietsman

Train and railway history buffs will be very excited about South African National Parks (SANParks) latest plans for the defunct Selati Railway Bridge in Kruger National Park.

The conservation authority announced its plans to develop an upmarket tourism facility on the old bridge, complete in the style of a train to reflect the heritage value of the long-gone Selati Railway Line.

It will be able to accommodate 48 guests and made up of 12 railway carriages, plus a lounge carriage, and will be an extension of the current Selati restaurant near Skukuza Rest Camp.

Other new facilities will include edutainment and interpretive areas for the general public as well as a reception area for guests of the new facility.

"To the north of the bridge it is proposed that a stationary box carriage be positioned on the existing railway tracks to serve as storage and backdrop for bush diner functions and the departure/return of game drives," says SANParks.

History of the Selati Line

The Selati Railway Line was first built in 1912, connecting Komatipoort with Tzaneen during the gold rush heydays. It cut through South Africa's first private nature reserve, Sabie Game Reserve, which in time became part of the Kruger National Park.

In 1923 South African Railways took over and started a nine-day tour through the Lowveld, with a stopover at Sabie Bridge, today called Skukuza, where passengers had to sleep on the train. It became very popular for its game viewing, and Kruger was established as a national park in 1926.

Trains still ran through the park up until 1973 after which most of the tracks have been removed, leaving the bridge as is and part of the Skukuza scenery.

A few years later a steam engine was donated to the now defunct station for display, and today three of its coaches serve as the Selati Station Grill House. It boasts pictures and posters from the station's heydays, highlighting the unique game viewing experiences people had back then.

Request for public participation

SANParks, through Kruger Selati (Pty) Ltd, is in the process of applying for environmental authorisation from the Department of Environmental Affairs, and they are inviting Interested and Affected Parties to register with the assigned Environmental Assessment Practitioner from Emross Consulting, before 26 February. Once this is approved they can move on to start developing the project.

A Heritage Impact Assessment is also being made by Archaetnos CC, and interested parties can also submit their comments with them.
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Lisbeth
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I look forward to receiving some honest and unbiased comments.

Kind Regards,

Richard.