The Tokai and Silvermine East trails that were closed due to the fire that ravaged Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) in April, will be reopened to the public next month (July).
South African National Parks (SANParks) confirmed that these trails, including Kalk Bay, St James, Muizenberg mountains and the Steenberg Plateau will reopen on Tuesday 1 July.
Previously, People’s Post reported that firefighters battled a blaze that scorched nearly 3 000 ha of vegetation in Silvermine, Tokai and Boyes Drive areas of the TMNP (“Authorities remain on alert,” People’s Post, 29 April).
The Silvermine picnic site and boardwalk around the dam as well as the riverwalk and other trails will remain closed as all the infrastructure at Silvermine West was damaged and the ablution blocks burnt down.
“Infrastructure repairs will take some time and we will not be able to open the picnic area while there are no toilets.
“TMNP is currently conducting post fire hazard removal, clean-up and rehabilitation in these areas to ensure safety, as fire damage included the destruction of boardwalks and other support structures which resulted in the exposure of dangerous objects such as nails and metal,” explained SANParks’ head of communications, JP Louw.
SANParks expressed appreciation of the assistance from volunteer groups such as Tokai Mountain Trial Biking (MTB) as well as SANParks Honorary Rangers in these repair efforts.
“SANParks apologises for the inconvenience caused by the closures and appreciates the public’s understanding as we carry out this work. Repair efforts will proceed as speedily as possible but may be affected by winter weather,” Louw explained.
Although some trails may appear unaffected by the fire, it is not feasible to reopen certain trails while others remain unsafe.
Allowing access to specific trails could lead to difficulty controlling which paths people use.
Additionally, it is not reasonable to allow access to mountain bike users.
SANParks also closed Silvermine and Tokai from an ecological perspective as there has been a flush of vegetation regrowth post the fire.
“These newly germinated fynbos plants need time to grow without human and dog impacts (e.g. footprints and trampling) potentially disrupting this delicate and sensitive rejuvenation. We will assess the regrowth of vegetation and determine whether any further closures or restrictions are needed,” Louw added.
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