GO-Wild - South African National Park - Sept/Oct21

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D L I W

SEPT/OCT 2021 EDITION

HERITAGE MONTH 24 SEPTEMBER

TOURISM MONTH

27 SEPTEMBER In this issue...

Cultural Heritage in SANParks

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Learners experience fly fishing at Augrabies Falls National Park

Hats off to Kruger entrepreneurs

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A world-class system of sustainable National Parks reconnecting and inspiring society

CONTENTS

VISION A world-class system of sustainable National Parks reconnecting and inspiring society.

MISSION To develop, expand, manage and promote a system of sustainable national parks that represents biodiversity and heritage assets, through innovation and best practice for the just and equitable benefit of current and future generations.

VALUES • Demonstrate leadership • Embrace, and be guided by, environmental ethics • Promote transformation both within and outside the organisation • Strive for scientific and service excellence • Act with professionalism • Adopt and encourage initiative and innovation by all • Treat all stakeholders with equality and justice • Exercise discipline • Act with honesty and integrity • Strive for transparency and open communication at all times

TALKING POINT

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FRONTIER NEWS

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SANParks TODAY

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Cultural Heritage in SANParks

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Addo staff run Alexandria Trail Run side-by-side

SANParks and Bonngoe TV launch reality TV series, Away for Repair

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Karoo Junior Ranger programme still in full swing

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COVID-19 and its impact on the tourism sector

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Miss Tourism South Africa promotes SANParks

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KRUGER NEWS

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The importance of having a secure 10 digital signature platform ARID NEWS

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Kruger National Park wellness campaign

Arbor Month and World Rivers Day celebrated at Augrabies Falls National Park

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Hats off to Kruger entrepreneurs

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NORTHERN NEWS

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Learners experience fly fishing at Augrabies Falls National Park

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Covid-19 Vaccine - a passport to Tourism sector Recovery

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World Water Week

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CAPE NEWS

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Tourism Deputy Minister visits Golden Gate dinosour centre

Bontebok National Park celebrates National Arbor Week

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS/HUMAN RESOURCES NEWS/ EMPLOYEE WELLNESS

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Bontebok World Rhino Day celebrations

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New Appointments

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GO WILD TEAM NEWS TEAM/CONTRIBUTORS: Babalwa Dlangamandla, Christine du Plessis, Fayroush Ludick, Genevieve Maasdorp, Khensile Moriri, Sinoyolo Nama, Sipho Mkhwanazi, Hapiloe Sello, Tumi Mphahlele, Tshepiso Lephera, Khanyisa Tyolo, Sarah Letsoalo and Colise Nkosi

Editor in Chief Reynold “Rey” Thakhuli

Editor Katlego Morulane

Sub-editor Phokela Lebea

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK SANParks was established in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003. In terms of this Act, SANParks’ mandate is to conserve; protect; control; and manage national parks and other defined protected areas and their biological diversity (Biodiversity). The organisation is also subject to the prescripts of the Public Finance Management Act of 1999.

COPYRIGHT Go Wild is a bi-monthly internal magazine published by the Communications Division of South African National Parks (SANParks). All material published is copyrighted and cannot be used without the written permission of the Editor in Chief.

Copy intended for publication and comments must reach the editor’s desk before noon on the 5th of every month. If not, the articles will not be published. All articles are published at the editorial team’s discretion.

Please forward your suggestion and comments to: internalcomms@sanparks.org | Tel 012 426 5401

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TALKING POINT

Talking Point West Coast National Park flower season

Reynold “Rey” Thakhuli General Manager: Media, Events and Stakeholder Relations

Spring is officially in the air and we’re very excited about all the celebrations that come with it. First of all, September is heritage month so we’re starting this newsletter off with some of the heritage sites of SANParks issue on page 4.

We are also very excited about our new reality TV series called Away for Repair, which launched on 7 October. In this collaboration between SANParks and Bonngoe TV, Rami Chuene and Romeo Mabasa takes the viewer on a journey to mend broken relationships. Read about the spectacular launch on page 7.

September is also Arbor Month and Augrabies National Park celebrated it by planting some

indigenous trees with the learners from Vredesvallei Primary School. They also celebrated World Rivers Day with the Midstream College group on page 12.

Bontebok National Park has been very busy celebrating Arbor Week with the local community, and followed that up with a celebration on World Rhino Day. Read their update on page 17.

And because we can’t ignore the current pandemic, read about the impact COVID-19 has had on South African tourism and what has been done to curb the loss of income on page 8, and the well-run vaccination drive of Marakele National Park on page 18.

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SANParks TODAY

Cultural Heritage in SANParks

By Cultural Heritage Unit

Cultural Heritage

South African National Parks (SANParks) is home to a diverse and significant cultural heritage. In all the national parks, evidence of human interaction with the landscape over the years can be witnessed.

SANParks conserves and presents evidence of prehistoric life including the dinosaur fossils in parks like Kruger National Park and Golden Gate, and early hominid fossils in the Garden Route and other coastal parks. You can also find impressive San rock art in parks like Mountain Zebra, Garden Route, Mapungubwe, Mokala, Golden Gate and Kruger National Park.

The sand dunes in the Kgalagadi (also listed as Khomani Cultural Landscape) bears untold stories of a long sustainable human-nature interaction of the Khomani San in the harsh desert landscape.

The nomadic herder life of the Nama people is celebrated in the Richtersveld National Park.

Evidence of Iron Age communities can be found in abundance in many parks, including the early civilisation of the Mapungubwe Kingdom, and evidence of early Indian ocean trade in both the Kruger and Mapungubwe. Evidence of early Iron smelting practices can be witnessed in Marakele and the Kruger.

Maritime heritage is found in most coastal parks in the form of historic lighthouses and shipwrecks

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around Table Mountain, Agulhas, Garden Route, and Addo. The painful heritage of slavery also left evidence which is preserved around Table Mountain.

Colonial heritage and early European style architectural buildings can be found in many coastal parks. Early farmsteads can also be observed in many parks in the form of ruins and restored buildings. There is also a number of monuments and memorials in most parks commemorating personalities and events from South African history.

Many spaces in the parks also hold sacredness to communities and families who keep the intangible significance of those places alive through pilgrimages and ritual performances.

The cultural heritage unit in SANParks is led by the General Manager, Mr. Thabo Kgomommu. Although the unit is tasked with a huge responsibility, it has very few officials. In addition to the General Manager, the unit also has Dr. Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu who is the Manager for Archaeology, Mr. Chrispen Chauke who is the Manager for Sites and Information, and Mr. Trinity Tshisevhe who is the Senior Curator responsible for all heritage objects.

In the parks there are two officials responsible for cultural heritage, Mr. Thanyani Madzhuta who is a Cultural Heritage Officer for Kruger National Park, and Ms. Karabo Ramotshela who is the Assistant Curator for Mapungubwe.

SANParks TODAY

Manager of Archaeology: Dr. Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu

General Manager: Mr. Thabo Kgomommu

Mr. Kgomommu is responsible for overall strategic direction and management of cultural heritage in SANParks. He worked for SANParks as Manager for Cultural Heritage from 2009 to 2012 and as General Manager since 2016. In the last few years, Mr. Kgomommu led the development of a cultural heritage strategy for SANParks.

The strategy seeks to improve management of cultural heritage in SANParks by among other things, identifying and documenting, conserving, valuing, interpreting and presenting, promotion and overall improvement in management.

Dr. Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu is a qualified archaeologist who attained his PhD in Archaeology in 2013 at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.

He has 20 years’ experience in cultural heritage management work, including in academia. He’s published over 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals nationally and internationally, and has two book manuscripts (interpretation of southern African rock art and decolonisation of heritage in South Africa) currently under review. He is currently driving some important archaeology work in both Mapungubwe and Kruger National Park. Archaeological excavations along the Letaba river in Kruger is one example of the work he is currently doing in collaboration with the University of Pretoria.

Mr. Chrispen Chauke has 24 years’ experience in management of cultural heritage.

In April 2011 Mr. Chauke joined SANParks as an archaeologist for the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site, and in 2013 he assumed the post of Cultural Heritage Manager, Corporate but still based in Mapungubwe until 2018 when he relocated to Head Office.

At SANParks he was involved with reconstruction of dry stone walls at Mapungubwe and Thulamela in Kruger. He is currently responsible for interpretation, cultural heritage databases, presentation and stakeholder engagements.

conserving nature since 1926

Manager of Culture heritage: Mr. Chrispen Chauke

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SANParks TODAY

Mr. Thanyani Madzhuta has extensive experience working with cultural heritage in the Kruger National Park and other projects. He has been key in identifying and documenting sites, including site location using Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

He has also implemented many projects aimed at developing cultural heritage tourism products such as site interpretation in the park.

Mr. Madzhuta monitors cultural heritage sites and projects in the park, as well as facilitates access and use of sites of cultural significance by local communities in order to conserve and enhance the cultural continuity of traditional rituals associated with the sites.

Senior Curator: Mr. Trinity Tshisevhe

Mr. Trinity Tshisevhe was first employed by SANParks as an Assistant Curator for the Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site from November 2010 to July 201. He went on to work for the provincial government in KwaZuluNatal and the City of Ekurhuleni before returning to SANParks as Senior Curator for heritage collections. SANParks has an excessive variety of movable heritage objects (collections) in its parks ranging from archaeological, paleontological and anthropological to historical items.

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Mr Thanyani Madzhuta

Ms. Karabo Ramotshela, Assistant Curator

Karabo joined SANParks on 1 November 2010 as a general worker, and in April 2018 she was promoted to Assistant Curator for Mapungubwe. Her duties are to assist with all curatorship operations.

This includes cataloguing, accessing and managing stored and displayed collections in the Interpretative Centre, as well as to perform bookkeeping functions related to the Interpretation Centre. She also assists with designing and preparing exhibitions and displays related to cultural heritage.

SANParks TODAY

SANParks and Bonngoe TV launch reality TV series, Away for Repair

By Phokela Lebea

SANParks Communications and Marketing team at the launch of the SANParks Reality TV series (Away for Repair) in Johannesburg.

SANParks and Bonngoe TV launched Away for Repair, a 13-week reality TV series, on Thursday, 7 October 2021 at Egrek Cinema in Parkhurst Square, Johannesburg. The launch was followed by the screening of the premier episode of Away for Repair at the dazzling cinema.

Rami Chuene, the ever-fabulous actress, alongside her friend of nearly 25 years, life coach and motivational speaker, Romeo Mabasa are the hosts of Away for Repair. The show showcases the journey of ordinary people taking muchneeded time away on a mission to mend broken relationships. Rami and Romeo used to co-host a radio show at Cliff Central in 2016 and have spoken about being on TV together, not knowing that fate would see it through.

Present at the launch, SANParks Managing Executive for Tourism, Development and Marketing, Ms. Hapiloe Sello, shared some interesting data on the production. “It has been quite a journey, seven national parks, five provinces and over 9 000km of road travelled.” She also mentioned that through this series, “SANParks will be showcasing the

diversity of parks to the audience, as well as the range of fun and educational activities available.”

Romeo Mabasa says “the highlight of the show for me was a deep yearning for a human being to reconcile, a deep yearning for a human being to get back to their loved ones. Yes, there will be the in-between us, there will be the high’s and low’s as we try and reconcile to one another”.

The A-listers of the media industry were also in attendance, including Metro FM’s newsreader Melanie Bala, actress Renate Stuurman, TV Presenter Olwethu Leshabane, executive producer of Away for Repair, Pepsi Pokane, and many more.

Away for Repair premiered on Mzansi Magic DStv channel 161 on Thursday, 7 October. Tune in every Thursday at 21:30 for new episodes, and every Saturday at 10:30 for repeats.

Follow us on Twitter: @awayforrepair, Like us on Facebook: South African National Parks_ awayforrepair and Follow us on Instagram: @sanparks_awayforrepair

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SANParks TODAY

COVID-19 and its global impact on the tourism sector

By Katlego Morulane

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a crippling impact on the global tourism sector. Lockdowns, borders closing and movement restrictions have tested the sustainability of most establishments. This year’s Tourism Month is commemorated in light of this pandemic to reflect on sustainability milestones while celebrating our diverse tourism offerings and the contribution the sector makes to the South African economy.

To talk about the state of tourism at SANParks, you need to understand the state of tourism globally, explained Managing Executive for Tourism Development and Marketing, Ms. Hapiloe Sello.

“As of last year, the sector has seen declines globally of over 70%, the worst year in its history.

Stats showed that global tourism activity was, in some instances, at similar levels recorded 30 years ago. South Africa as a destination saw a 60% decline of international tourist visits, while SANParks saw a decline of over 74% of both tourist numbers and tourism revenues in the last financial year, so the entire sector is in a very precarious situation.”

In many respects, SANParks is has the advantage of a very loyal domestic market, Sello explained.

As soon as travel was allowed inter-provincially, people began to visit the parks, but not in the same numbers we usually see. In the last quarter, we registered approximately half of what we would have registered in a normal year. It is likely that this is because people are still quite cautious from both a health and economic perspective since there is evidence that people tend to tighten their belts when the economy is not performing optimally.

“This pandemic has made it difficult to project and to predict what is going to happen next.

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Managing Exective: Tourism Development & Marketing, Ms Hapiloe Sello

When we were projecting for the 2020/2021 financial year, indications were that the third wave would hit around May or June and that its impact would be relatively moderate, as it was expected that at that stage the vaccination rollout programme would have been at an advanced stage. Unfortunately, the rollout was delayed and the impact of the third wave that took effect in July was more severe than anticipated. Gauteng became a hotspot leading to travel in and out of Gauteng for leisure being banned, consequently we saw people cancelling their trips and we lost a significant amount of our revenue for that month. These changing variables matter because we are trying to predict performance and chart a way forward in a highly volatile situation,” Sello continued. As matters stand, predictions are that it is going to take the sector about three to four years to recover fully.

SANParks TODAY

Table Mountain National Park alone contributes approximately 50% of our tourism revenue largely from the international market, so with South Africa continuing to be red-listed by most of its key international market, the revenue generation capacity of the park has diminished significantly.

Our concessionaires in other parks, particularly the Kruger, rely heavily on the international market and they are equally affected by this status quo.

We need for South Africa to be removed from the red lists in some countries where our customers are. There is currently a campaign by industry bodies to get us off the United Kingdom’s Red List.

If that happens it will allow for quicker recovery overall, but we should bear in mind however that perception is powerful in destination positioning.

International tourists are unlikely to be in a rush to visit until they feel that we as a country are in control of the spread of the virus, and that heavily depends on vaccination rates.

We’re seeing significant increase in our camping occupancies, which is interesting. Stats SA has also recorded this trend across the country. This likely speaks to people’s preferences at the moment from a health perspective. Perhaps people believe

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SANParks TODAY

that with camping, they’re more in control of their environment as they use their own linen, utensils and cutlery, and social distancing is more assured.

In terms of the performance of the Wild Card loyalty programme we’ve seen a slight decline. We’re not seeing a rush for renewals because consumers are uncertain about when they will travel again.

We have run discount campaigns because at least when we’re discounting, we’re getting a customer in a bed, and in the last financial year we managed to record over R120 million in sales through our aggressive discount campaigns. This strategy is also evident across the sector with a number of hospitality establishments, including five star lodges, are providing price specials for South Africans.

We’re expecting the fourth wave, although we’re uncertain of when exactly it will hit and how badly it will hit. In terms of the recovery of the sector, I believe we’re going to see domestic, then regional recovery thereafter. Countries like America, due to the large population size, are likely to recover significantly from domestic tourism activity. Within the European Union (EU),

tourists will be more comfortable to travel within the region. Africa is unique in that our regional travel is stimulated by other factors, not leisure tourism necessarily. Regional tourism in our part of the world is slightly different, for example when South Africa records 2 million arrivals from Zimbabwe, those tourists haven’t come for leisure pursuits necessarily, they have come for a day or two for shopping purposes. So hospitality providers such as ourselves are unlikely to benefit from their stay. This is largely the case for the rest of the region and continent, therefore these markets are not likely to drive SANParks recovery and some aspects of the country’s hospitality sector.

“We recently launched the Stokvel and Travel Clubs programme to encourage domestic travel to our parks, but it requires ongoing promotion for it to gain traction. We’ve also launched our Reality TV series this month, Away for Repair, with the purpose of showcasing the diversity of our parks to the Mzansi audience in order to draw domestic tourists to our parks and to encourage staff to make use of their travel benefit,” Sello concluded.

The importance of having a secure digital signature platform

By Tumi Mphahlele

Digital technologies are progressively taking over the business world with a slow pace and most organisations are now embracing those innovative digital solutions. SANParks is among those organisations that discovered a need to introduce digital solutions to improve efficiency and to also reduce unnecessary costs. Switching from a paper-based environment to digital solutions is not easy but with commitment and support we will gradually get there.

SigningHub digital signature is one of the innovative digital solutions that have been introduced within

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SANParks to improve the turnaround time, since documents can be signed anywhere using any device. This digital signature solution has features such as reminders and audit trail reports for tracking the history of the digitally signed document.

The SigningHub Project Status We are experiencing a slow response with the SigningHub enrolment and verification process.

The commitment and teamwork from managers who should utilise the digital signature solution will be highly appreciated. The success of this project

SANParks TODAY

AeSign Enrollment Process Enrollment Officer

User Requirement

or ID Book or Cart

Passport

Enrollment Process 1

2 Face to Face Verification

+ Capture User Details

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4

3 Capture User Photograph

Issue user Digital Certificate

End of Enrollment

The SigningHub enrolment and verification process utilised within SANParks

depends on your participation. We have introduced self-enrolment and video enrolment to simplify the enrolment process. For more information on this, please visit the SigningHub self-service enrolment link: https://enrolme.lawtrust.co.za/

• SigningHub can significantly reduce paper-based solutions in the business process cycle.

Why do we have to use SigningHub Digital Signature solution within SANParks?

Documents are locked and converted into an electronic form so there is no need to spend time verifying that the other party didn’t make unilateral changes before signing.SigningHub contains protected features such as One Time Pin (OTP) that provides data integrity and authentication which uses the public key infrastructure (PKI) to guarantee security on a digitally signed documents.Every change is painful and that is why we experience challenges when transitioning from paper-based solutions. We strongly need support from top management, their buy-in is crucial at this stage. We will greatly appreciate if you can start communicating this change from the top. This is where change-management kicks in because it is a structured process to move individuals, teams and organisations from the current state to the desired state.

• SigningHub eliminates the need to schedule in-person signing meetings or to mail/fax documents back and forth.

Let’s work together to improve SANParks’ business processes and systems as we all know teamwork is the key toward success!

We were given an opportunity to facilitate the SigningHub workshop session for the COO division on 15 October 2021 and we received a positive response from that session. The COO division will commence with the piloting exercises before end of October 2021, and the refresher training sessions will be facilitated on request. We have also uploaded the SigningHub manuals and guidelines to SharePoint in the SigningHub folder. Any SigningHub related queries should be forwarded to tumi.mphahlele@sanparks.org.

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ARID NEWS

Arbor Month and World Rivers Day celebrated at Augrabies Falls National Park

By Genevieve Maasdorp

The SET department of Augrabies Falls National Park celebrated Arbor month this year at Vredesvallei Primary School by planting a local tree species, namely Searsia pendulina. The learners were excited to be part of this important day and promised to look after their own special tree which is also a local species found in the area surrounding their homes and the park.

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South Africa celebrates Arbor Week in the first week of September every year and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), as the custodian of forestry in South Africa, is responsible for the campaign. September is also heritage month and as we celebrate Arbor Week, we also focus on the country’s champion trees which include some of the oldest, largest and culturally significant trees. These include the Sophia Town Oak Tree and the Sagole Baobab Tree in Limpopo, both of which are part of our heritage.

disadvantaged in terms of planning for parks and tree planting in streets and open spaces.

National Arbor Week is an opportune time to call on all South Africans to plant indigenous trees as a practical and symbolic gesture of sustainable environmental management. It affords the government, the private sector, non-governmental and community-based organisations, as well as the public to be involved in ’greening’ their communities, since planting trees and greening human settlements takes place in communities. It is therefore important for the public to join hands with partners in local government and communitybased organisations.

Augrabies Falls National Park also celebrated World Rivers Day with the Midstream College group. The group enjoyed an overnight stay at the park which was followed by a rowing excursion downstream from the park. The maintenance team participated in this celebration as well as they all live in a community that is situated right on the northern bank of the Orange river. The team were given an introduction of the protected trees and recycling awareness campaign, and to top this off, brand new baboon-proof bins will be distributed all over the rest camp and the staff village.

Greening refers to an integrated approach to the planting, care and management of all vegetation in urban and rural areas, to secure multiple benefits for communities. Greening in the South African context takes place in towns, townships and informal settlements, specifically because in the past, the latter mentioned areas were

World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways and it highlights the many values of our rivers, strives to increase public awareness, and encourages the improved stewardship of all rivers around the world. Rivers in virtually every country face an array of threats, and only through our active involvement can we ensure their health in the years ahead.

Vredesvallei Primary School planting a tree in celebration of Arbor week

ARID NEWS

Learners experience fly fishing at Augrabies Falls National Park

By Christine du Plessis

Happy Fly fishers, Vredesvallei Primary School and the Perde Eiland Primary School

Despite all the challenges and uncertainty that the levels of lockdown bring, a fly fishing invitational was recently arranged and successfully held, which came as a first for the park. The Northern Cape Tourism Authority (NCTA) was the main sponsor, with GT Productions and Kalahari Adventures as the event organisers.

The NCTA Augrabies Falls Fly Fishing invitational attracted 24 anglers with two, unfortunately, having to withdraw due to COVID-19. The anglers came from Mpumalanga, KwaZuluNatal, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, North-West and the Northern Cape. All were excited about being given the opportunity to fly fish in the Orange river in the Northern Cape, as well as inside the Augrabies Falls National Park itself.

Over a three-day period everyone rotated in pairs between three exceptional fishing sites, called beats, one inside the park in the gorge at Echo corner and two outside the park on private land. Typical of the current unpredictable winter weather, a cold front suddenly moved in,

making it utterly uncomfortable to be outdoors, and a stiff climb to get out of the river gorge provided additional physical challenges. Yet, the anglers were not one bit deterred by the extreme conditions, but rather saw it as a great adventure.

More than 117 fish were caught,released and data recorded. The largest catch was a largemouth yellowfish, weighing in at 6,5kg. A sharptooth catfish of 16kg was also caught. Other fish species that were caught were smallmouth yellowfish, common carp, mudfish, barb and tilapia.

The prize-giving evening was filled with good cheer and high spirits as all the participants received great mock prizes. The overall winners, Eddie Rall and Des Fourie, walked off with the floating trophy, an all-expenses paid fishing trip and two return Airlink tickets anywhere in South Africa. The cherry on top however, was that a development fund was initiated after the prize-giving and a local youth team (hopefully consisting of a male and female) will be given the opportunity to develop their skills and participate next year.

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ARID NEWS

But the excitement was certainly not over. The park made arrangements with four local schools located close to the Orange river to give a total of 13 Grade 7 learners the opportunity to experience fly fishing and river conservation in the form of an open day. To minimise interference with the already complicated school schedule, the open day was split into two afternoon sessions.

Unfortunately, two schools had to withdraw at the last minute due to COVID-19 complications, but the programme continued with ten learners from the two remaining schools.

On the first afternoon, in icy cold weather, they were taken on a game drive and down into the gorge at Echo corner inside the park to experience fly fishing first–hand, and to gain information on how such an event was structured. On the second afternoon they were taken down to the river on Vaalkop island outside the park. They were divided into three teams, which rotated between learning to how use a paddle boat coupled with river safety and conservation, how to cast fly lines and the intricate link between entomology and the flies/bait.

The learners were extremely excited and participated with great enthusiasm. The entomology and bait activity opened a whole new world to them and had them turning over rocks in the water, eagerly searching for insects at different larval stages to compare with the bait. The casting of the fly lines soon created a competition as each tried their hand at the rod. The paddling lesson and being able to finally navigate a small rapid was the ultimate joy.

They were rewarded with SANParks caps, masks, A Trail Through Nature books, NCTA branded hoody sweaters and lunch and picnic refreshments. Their introduction to the scientific and technical sport of fly fishing will certainly be long remembered, if not forever.

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Local Grade 7 learners view fly baits

Wonderful world of entomology

Introduction to Fly fishing

ARID NEWS

World Water Week

By Tshepiso Lephera

and the climate change crisis. The learners were very interested and really enjoyed the presentation.

DFFE AND SANDF preparing to plant a tree

World Water Week is the leading annual event on global water issues organised by Stockholm International Water Institute since 1991. The week attracts participants from more than 130 countries and consists of a broad array of parallel activities convened by leading international organisations on a broad array of water-related topics, ranging from food security and health to agriculture, technology, biodiversity, and the climate crisis. In 2021 World Water Work is celebrated from 23 to 27 August.

Mokala National Park celebrated it on 25 August with Zingisa Primary School in Kimberley. This day was a joined venture with stakeholders such as the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Solplaatje municipality, Department of Water and Sanitation, Green Good Deeds and Blueprint. Each and every stakeholder had an important role to play during this event.

The Socio-Economic Transformation Officer (SET Officer) did a PowerPoint presentation on the importance of water conservation, highlighting the water-related issues ranging from food security and health to agriculture, technology, biodiversity,

The objective of the presentation was to: • Identify ways to conserve water at school.

• Implement and measure water conservation efforts at school and communities.

• Emphasise that water is essential for all living things, and connecting our consumption habits to our local, state, and national impacts.

• Connect water conservation measures at school to behaviour changes and actions at home.

• Create awareness that the world’s supply of fresh water is limited.

• Explore the concept of water distribution around the world and how the availability of clean water affects people’s quality of life.

After the presentation the learners were given an opportunity to ask questions and share what they learned from the presentation. What stood out the most during the interaction was the amount of questions they asked. After the indoor programme the learners, along with the stakeholders and the teachers, planted 10 Searsia pendulina trees. DFFE showed everyone how to plant the trees and the learners were so excited that they decided to name each tree and vowed to take good care of them.

The day ended with lots of pictures.

Zingisa learners posing with their teacher along their newly planted tree

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CAPE NEWS

Bontebok National Park celebrates National Arbor Week

By Khanyisa Tyolo

Bontebok National Park and Sweellendam municapal workers conducted a clean-up in Swellendam

Greening equals healthy environment National Arbor Week is an opportune time to call on all South Africans to plant indigenous trees as a practical and symbolic gesture of sustainable environmental management. It affords the government, the private sector, non-governmental and community-based organisations and the public to be involved in ’greening’ their communities.

Planting trees and greening human settlements takes place in communities.

It is therefore important for the public to join hands with partners in local government and community-based organisations. Greening refers to an integrated approach to the planting, care and management of all vegetation in urban and rural areas, to secure multiple benefits for communities.

Greening in the South African context takes place

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in towns, townships and informal settlements specifically because in the past the latter mentioned areas were disadvantaged in terms of planning for parks as well as tree planting in streets and open spaces.

Bontebok National Park joined hands with Swellendam Municipality, DFFE and local schools in Arbor Week celebrations. Awareness on importance of trees was raised during the week and trees were planted. The week was closed by community clean-up and awareness on illegal dumping and littering. The aim was to create an environmentally friendly mind-set in society to care for the environment. Residents were encouraged to be vigilant of the cleanliness of their communities and to report any illegal dumping taking place in open areas. They were educated about the benefits of greening their yards and taking care of their environment.

CAPE NEWS

Bontebok World Rhino Day celebrations

By Sinoyolo Nama

Bontebok National Park staff took part in the World Rhino Day commemoration event in Robertson

Bontebok National Park joined Wilderness Foundation Africa to celebrate World Rhino Day hosted in Graham Back Skill centre at Robertson.

The purpose was to educate the youth about the importance of rhinos in our ecosystem and how to mitigate the poaching.

South Africa has become the epicentre of rhino poaching. It’s the greatest threat faced by rhinos and is done by poachers for the illegal trade of their horns. Rhinos are brutally killed in our parks for the belief in medicine that is made from their horns and this has left the status of the white rhino to ‘Near threatened’ and black rhino to ‘Critically

endangered’. For this reason, World Rhino Day is celebrated on 22 September every year to raise awareness of the need to conserve and protect the population of rhinos in the world. This year is the 10th anniversary of World Rhino Day. It is celebrated to recognise and celebrate the five existing species of rhinoceros: white rhino, black rhino, javan rhino, sumatran rhino and greater one-horned rhino.

Let us save rhinos as they play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem. Do your bit to save the rhino population. #SaveRhino

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FRONTIER NEWS

Addo staff run Alexandria Trail Run side-by-side

By Fayroush Ludick

Penny Shiloane and Katlego Poss, Field Rangers in action side-by-side, as they were throughout the race

Addo Elephant National Park colleagues, Katlego Poss and Penny Shiloane participated and excelled in the annual Alexandria Trail Run which took place in the Woody Cape section of the park on 11 September.

Kick off for their 14km race of the event was at 07h00 and they took one hour and 34 minutes to finish. They placed sixth and seventh respectively.

Section Ranger, Zelna Breytenbach, says they only entered the race about a week earlier, and while they were initially only going to run the 8km distance, they decided to upgrade to the 14km on the morning of the race.

Breytenbach says their team is very proud of Penny and Katlego for doing so well in their first race.

“They are good friends and often go for training runs together when not on shift. They even ran side-by-side along the entire race and were a great source of support to one another.”

Race organiser, Sheena O’Keeffe, says it was a spectacular day at Woody Cape. “What a privilege to spend time out there with like-minded people.

Everyone was so happy to be out and about. We

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Penny Shiloane and Katlego Poss, Field Rangers, proudly showing off their medals

had 151 runners in total, 150 finishers and only one who did not finish. We even had five new course records!”

The Alexandria Trail Run has various distances.

There is an eight, 14, 39 and the new 52km Ultra Trail Run. “It is one of South Africa’s most spectacular coastal trails as it traverses dense dune forest to the wide expanses of the Alexandria dune field. It provides an unforgettable trail running experience and is a bucket list event for many serious trail runners,” says Sheena.

She continues, “The Park is looking superb, nice and green! Evidence of care and maintenance is everywhere and the rangers were so helpful.

It was a pleasure to be there. Once again, there were a number of people who had never visited this section of the park before, so we were happy to share the beauty with them.”

With a year to train, who knows, perhaps Penny and Katlego may feel confident enough to tackle the 39km or even the 52km event next year. They could even take on the more gruelling 44km Addo Elephant Trail Run as well.

FRONTIER NEWS

Karoo Junior Ranger programme still in full swing

By Fayroush Ludick

Socio-Economic Transformation Officer, Jan Jacobs, out in the field with Karoo National Park’s latest group of Junior Rangers. One Saturday per month these youngsters spend time in the park going over the course material

One Saturday per month, a group of 12 learners eagerly make their way to Karoo National Park, where they get to focus on a special learning area for five hours. These seven girls and five boys make up the latest group of the Park’s Junior Ranger programme.

The Grade 7 and 8 learners are from local schools in Beaufort West, namely John D Crawford Primary School and Hoërskool Sentraal. They are just about finishing off their first year of the threeyear programme, during which time they would have covered a myriad of topics including ants, plant founders, Nama Karoo families, birding and indigenous and exotic plants. Other course material still to covered includes medicinal plants, monitoring of animals, invasive plant species and animal identification through tracks and droppings.

The aspiring conservationists spend their time spent on both theoretical as well as practical work in the field to go through the SANParks course material. No prizes for guessing which of the

two the group prefers. The programme is headed up by the park’s Socio-Economic Transformation Department in the form of Rosemary Scheepers and Jan Jacobs. They are also ably assisted by the local branch of the SANParks Honorary Rangers who transfer their skills and knowledge to the youngsters, as well as external experts in their fields.

Every three years a new group of learners who show a keen interest in the programme and conservation in general, after it was promoted at various schools around the park, are chosen to participate. The programme was first started in the park in 2011 by former SET Officer, Esna van Zyl, and the first intake of 13 learners graduated in 2016.

Even if these learners never choose to follow a career in conservation, the knowledge about and love for the environment they receive during this time will hopefully contribute to them being able to care for it better and pass on what they’ve learnt to others.

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FRONTIER NEWS

Miss Tourism South Africa promotes SANParks

By Fayroush Ludick

Asande with some of the learners who participated in Wilderness National Park’s World Way Day activities.

Ms Tourism SA, Ms Asande Mchunu with learner who participated is ticking off the national parks she’s visiting one-by-one. The modelling school teacher from Gqeberha, Port Elizabeth, was crowned in May and has been working with the Frontier and Garden Route Regions’ Marketing Officer, Yoliswa Matwa, as a local SANParks ambassador.

Over the past few months she’s not only visited and promoted Addo Elephant, Mountain Zebra and Wilderness National parks, but also worked closely with the Socio-Economic Transformation Departments on environmental calendar days.

Asande was a motivational speaker at Youth Day celebrations in the Bersheba community near Addo in June, encouraging the youth in attendance to be protectors of the environment.

She also participated in Wilderness National Park’s World Water Day campaign. Also addressing the youth, she emphasised the importance of saving water and participated in water games which were not only fun, but educational in that it taught the participants about the species that live in and depend on water for their survival.

Asande says she absolutely loves travelling, so the title of Miss Tourism South Africa fits her

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Ms Tourism SA, Ms Asande Mchunu thoroughly enjoyed her experience in Addo!

like a glove. “I’ve always believed one should explore their country and culture first before going abroad.” While she has many titles under her belt, she says with this one her task is to find ways to promote the country’s top tourism sites, which she says includes a visit to all the national parks over the period of her reign. “I get to experience all that the parks have to offer from accommodation, activities, food, animals and so on, then I share my experiences on social media. If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa,” Asande says.

“When I was at Addo, for example, I got to meet the staff, which was one of my favourite parts of the visit. They are all so warm and vibrant. It felt as if I had known them forever. The rangers and tour guides made the experience and game drives so pleasant and exciting,” she raved.

She is mindful that many South African citizens are unaware of the destinations on their doorstep and that COVID-19 has halted many visits from overseas. “Some of our people in surrounding areas of the parks have never visited the parks and we need them now more than ever since we can’t fully rely on international tourists.”

Mchunu is a past winner of Miss Teen Port Elizabeth (2015) and Miss Teen Commonwealth SA (2016).

She will be representing South Africa in Miss World Tourism 2021 in Dubai at the end of October.

KRUGER NEWS

Kruger National Park wellness campaign

By Khensile Moriri

Ms. Gcinaphi Matsebula planning ahead with SANLAM

The Kruger National Park (KNP) wellness unit hosted a wellness roadshow campaign from Monday, 6 September to Friday, 16 September 2021. The team comprised of the Umvuzo Health medical scheme, Bestmed Medical Scheme, Sanlam, Metropolitan, Liberty, Medizone, ICAS, the Kruger Wellness unit, medical scheme brokers, universal nurses, an optometrist and a dentist.

“Our main drive within the Wellness unit is to ensure that employees’ health is secured. We invited these service providers to ensure that they sustain relationships with their existing clients and to also introduce employees who are not members, and are in need of services provided, during this campaign.

It is vital for employees to be both mentally and physical fit to enhance organisational productivity.

We also campaign for wellness to ensure that the rights to employee’s health in the workplace is exercised,” proclaimed Sherlock Shabangu, KNP Wellness Manager, as he highlighted the purpose of the roadshow campaign.

Stalls for each service provider were erected on site at each and every camp in order to achieve face– to-face information sessions on existing services and products with employees. A medical scheme broker from Leap was available on-site to resolve all matters related to medical covers, and employees received free goodie bags from all the stalls they

Dr. Ntuli attends to dental therapy

visited. Universal nurses, Matsife Optometrists and a Dentist, Dr. Ntuli offered counselling and screening for the following conditions at the venue: • • • • • • •

high blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), voluntary HIV testing, eye testing, dental therapy, men’s health issues.

ICAS Southern Africa was also on site to render services on mental health related issues. ICAS offers a variety of free services on a 24/7 basis both telephonically and face–to-face. Clients can reach out to service providers on by telephone at 0800 212 351 or by email at sanparks@icas.co.za.

Employees were also graced by Medizone Health Care who presented Oxygen products, wound treatment kits and free power massages to those with interest, while SANLAM, Metropolitan and Liberty offered employees free financial wellness for a better economic life with financial security. Employees who have inquires related to their medical schemes at Umvuzo Health and Bestmed are advised to contact Leap South Africa on 0861 222 931 or email them at info@leapsa.co.za.

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KRUGER NEWS

Hats off to Kruger entrepreneurs

By Khensile Moriri

Gold certificate recipients for SANParks FNB Business Incubation Programme

31 August 2021 marked the most memorable day for 43 entrepreneurs from the neighboring communities of the Kruger National Park (KNP).

South African National Parks (SANParks) in partnership with FNB hosted SANParks FNB Business Incubation graduation ceremony at the Skukuza auditorium.

The business incubation derived from the SANParks’ vision of ’Inspiring society’ where local entrepreneurs from the boarder lines of KNP were selected and mentored by the FNB Business Incubation to enhance entrepreneurial management skills within their businesses, and to carry forth their visions in accomplishing their industry goals. The Incubation also aimed at empowering and seeing more small businesses grow into market suppliers across the country. Due to COVID-19 and the national lockdown restrictions, the training was offered remotely with a total number of 70 entrepreneurs from both Mpumalanga and Limpopo in Hazyview and Phalaborwa.

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Ngcali Nomtshongwana Acting Head: Social Economic Transformation

KRUGER NEWS

Thulani Mabaso of Dhuna Mabaso Trading receives a gold certificate for completing the SANParks FNB business incubation

Delivering the purpose of the event, the Managing Executive of the Kruger National Park, Mr. Gareth Coleman, mentioned that “we cannot give all of you jobs, but at least we can give you something to create jobs for others and ensure you get some investment from the KNP to make sure that communities are also developed”, as he honored and celebrated graduates for their hard-earned achievements.

The FNB Provisional Head of Gauteng Public Sector Banking, Mr. Karl Diedricks, touched on the important role SMES realises in the country as productive drivers of inclusive economic growth and development in South Africa, and also around the world. He went on to recognise the graduates and encourage them to continue their journey with the business incubation, and to use the tools given at their disposal to grow and sustain their businesses into succession.

“As you go out there, we wish you more luck. We hope that you grow the type of determination that you have demonstrated so far because, at the end of the day, entrepreneurship sustains on determination,” proclaimed Ms. Hapiloe Sello, SANParks Managing Executive of Tourism Development and Marketing. She also emphasised

Managing Executive of KNP, Mr. Gareth Coleman expresses gratitude towards the collaboration with FNB and the graduates

that the future of developing economics across the world depends greatly SMES growth.

The business incubation was intense training which entailed of in-depth background of company registrations, taking ownership as an individual and financially in order to develop excellence, and the reality of extreme hours spend in a business.

Graduates were honored and took home bronze and gold certificates, as well as brand new laptops according to their categories.

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NORTHERN NEWS

Covid-19 Vaccine - a passport to Tourism sector Recovery

By Sarah Letsoalo and Colisile Nkosi

Department of Health Officials and park management during the awareness session

In more ways than one, COVID-19 has placed a lot of pressure on the lives of many people.

Regulations also stopped tourism operation at some point which subsequently led to a great loss of income for the organisation. Marakele National Park also felt the pandemic’s impact on tourism operation, hence its continued efforts to have the park compliant with regulations and most importantly, comfortable and safe for all its employees and guests.

Park management has taken it upon themselves to organise with the Department of Health to inform their staff about vaccinations and to provide an opportunity for all staff members, including workers in the BSP Projects, Environmetal Monitors programme and permamnent staff, to get vaccinated.

Department of Health officials visited the park on 3 September to talk about the vaccine and to

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clarify some of the questions staff had on the virus and vaccine. The session was very informative and motivated employees to get the jab.

On 7 September Department of Health officials visited the park once again to vaccinate all the staff members.

85% of staff responded positively and got their first jab with much excitement. Amongst those vaccinated was Ms. Chantal Phandle who voluntarily took the jab to protect her unborn baby and herself from the deadly virus. She was greatly motivated to take the step after attending the workshop held a week earlier on the benefits of vaccinating even during pregnancy.

Park management believes that with the number of vacinnated employees the park will generate more revenue, and the working environment will be safer for both employees and guests.

NORTHERN NEWS

Tourism Deputy Minister visits Golden Gate Dinosaur centre

By Sipho Mkhwanazi

Dr M Nokwequ, HoD at Free State Department: Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Free State MEC Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Makalo Mohale, Dept of Tourism DDG Shamilla Chettiar Tourism Deputy Minister Fish Mahlalela and SANParks CFO Dumisani Dlamini

Tourism Deputy Minister, Fish Mahlalela visited the Golden Gate Highlands National Park on Sunday, 26 September 2021, as part of the National Department of Tourism’s (NDT) activities to commemorate National Tourism Month across the country. This visit came at an opportune time as the construction of the Godumodumo Dinosaur Centre is nearly complete. The Godumodumo Dinosaur Centre in Golden Gate Highlands National Park is a legacy project that was funded by the NDT through its Tourism Infrastructure Development Fund in 2018.

Deputy Minister Fish Mahlalela said, “The MOU between the Department and SANParks has been a strategic partnership that has birthed the incredible Dinosaur Centre and many other significant tourism infrastructure projects at the South African National Parks (SANParks).” He

SANParks CFO Dumisani Dlamini, Deputy Minister Fish Mahlalela and Free State MEC Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Makalo Mohale

added, “This partnership has been in existence for decades and it has been successful, especially because our mandates coincide with one another

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NORTHERN NEWS

MEC Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Makalo Mohale, Tourism Deputy Minister Fish Mahlalela, SANParks CFO Dumisani Dlamini & Golden Gate Highlands National Park Manager Peter Gordon.

to promote the conservation and preservation of our national heritage, as well as the elevation of active tourism amongst our local citizens and international compatriots. As a world class and state-of-the art interpretive centre, the project will serve as an iconic tourist attraction modelled on the narrative interpretation of the paleontological, archaeological and geological evidence found at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.”

Present at the event, Dumisani Dlamini, Chief Financial Officer at SANParks stated, “The Dinosaur Centre is one of many major initiatives that have been funded by the NDT on SANParks, all of which amount to an estimated total of R435 million. Some of our key partnership projects include: • the Southern Most Tip Centre in the Western Cape, • the Big Tree Development at our Tsitsikama National Park, • the Dinosaur Centre we are in today, • the extension of the Addo Elephant Rest Camp in the Eastern Cape,

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• the Agulhas Lighthouse Precinct Development, also in the Western Cape, • an innovative Youth Centre soon to launch at the Mapungubwe National Park, and • the EPWP programme that serves to conduct maintenance across our national parks.”

He added that “the discovery of dinosaur eggs is a marvel in South Africa, and it means even more that these eggs were found at Golden Gate Highlands. SANParks is confident that the centre will provide the most ideal platform to educate visitors, especially young learners about dinosaurs and many other interesting attributes of the Golden Gate Highlands.”

“The construction of this massive research facility is nearly complete. Once finished, visitors and students from all over the world will be able to learn more about the study of archaeology and palaeontology. The construction is on track and we hope to launch the centre as soon as the end of this financial year, Mr. Dlamini concluded.

SANParks looks forward to partner with the Department of Tourism on more exciting projects in the future and trusts that this centre will enhance the visitor experience in Golden Gate.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS/HUMAN RESOURCES NEWS/ EMPLOYEE WELLNESS

New Appointments Name

Position

Park

Date

Selby Kola

Tourism Monitor

Mokala National Park

9 August 2021

Owen Meiring

Handyman

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

1 September 2021

Morné Farmer

Handyman

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

1 September 2021

Donolene Witbooi

EM Admin

Mokala National Park

1 October 2021

Nthabiseng Chabalala

Tourism M onitor

Mokala National Park

1 October 2021

Bridget Skosana

(SET) Tourism Monitor

Mokala National Park

1 October 2021

Conservation Manager

Addo Elephant National Park

1 September 2021

Roland Januarie

Park Manager

Karoo National Park

1 September 2021

Koketso Kotsoe

Park Manager

Mountain Zebra National Park

1 September 2021

Jack Greef

Helicopter Pilot

Air Services, Kruger National Park

1 September 2021

Iaian De Beer

Helicopter Pilot

Air Services, Kruger National Park

1 October 2021

Sipho mathebula

Assistant Trails Ranger

Punda Maria

1 October 2021

Pilot Mashale

Field Ranger

Mooiplaas Ranger

1 October 2021

Vutivi Marima

Field Ranger

Shingwedzi Rest Ranger

1 October 2021

Marcia Ntimane

General Worker

Pafuri Camp

1 October 2021

Shane Gertze

Strategic Environmental Planning

Skukuza Rest Camp

1 October 2021

Nice Mayelani

General Worker

Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp

1 October 2021

Tendani Magwabeni

Hut Attendant

Shingwedzi Rest Camp

1 October 2021

Louis Mukhabela

General Worker

Shingwedzi Rest Camp

1 October 2021

Field Ranger Corporal

Skukuza Rest Camp

1 October 2021

Fiona Mkansi

Assistant Trail Ranger

Tourism

1 October 2021

Agness Rikhotso

General Worker

Mopani Rest Camp

1 October 2021

John Mabasa

General Worker

Letaba Rest Camp

1 October 2021

Arid Region

Frontier Region Taitas Evans Mkansi Promotions and Transfers

Kruger Region

Promotions Adolph Mashabane Transfers

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS/HUMAN RESOURCES NEWS/ EMPLOYEE WELLNESS

New Appointments Name

Position

Park

Date

Walter Mogajana

General Manager: Enterprise Risk Management

Groenkloof National Park

1 September 2021

Ernest Mayila

Finance Intern

Groenkloof National Park

1 September 2021

David Tloubatla

Human Capital Management Intern

Groenkloof National Park

1 September 2021

Thokozani Mathenjwa

Risk Management Intern

Groenkloof National Park

1 September 2021

Innocentia Mashele

Finance Intern

Groenkloof National Park

1 September 2021

Lebogang Mothiba

Human Capital Management Intern

Groenkloof National Park

1 September 2021

Gugulethu Khuzwayo

Human Capital Management Intern

Groenkloof National Park

1 September 2021

Hanlie Schoeman

General Manager: Enterprise Risk Management

Groenkloof National Park

1 October 2021

Gugulethu Khuzwayo

Human Capital Management Intern

Groenkloof National Park

1 October 2021

Northern Region

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