A petition has been launched to oppose the closures of certain hiking trails, particularly in the Jonkershoek and Hottentots-Holland Nature Reserves, by CapeNature.
The petition, which has more than 2 000 signatures, is calling on Cape Nature to reconsider the decision, saying it will badly affect hiking enthusiasts who enjoy these trails.
But CapeNature said the long connecting trails were rarely used and it did not make sense to spend a huge amount of resources maintaining them.
Trevor Rennison, who launched the petition, said the reasons given for the closures, that will affect the hiking public, were not comprehensive.
“Without feet on the trails, the paths become overgrown and eventually reclaimed by nature. In the end, they will be lost, and all the history associated with these trails will be gone forever.
“The short-term danger is that despite the closures, hikers will continue to go there, and in doing so, hikers may get lost, due to lack of trail maintenance, or they may stray off path, trample sensitive vegetation while searching for the path, or worst still, fall and injure themselves, necessitating a mountain rescue,” he said.
“If nobody opposes these closures, the pattern will continue, and hiking trails will continue to be closed because CapeNature is not maintaining them.
“By leaving the trails to rot, CapeNature is inviting complaints from the hiking public, and the knee-jerk reaction is to close the trails, citing them as ‘unsafe’.
“The only reason they become unsafe is because CapeNature failed in their mandate to maintain the trails in the first place.”
Rennison said the petition will be presented to the management of CapeNature.
CapeNature spokesperson Petro van Rhyn said there were numerous reasons to close the connecting trails, including safety, and budget and management challenges.
She said the long connecting trails also cross sensitive vegetation and wetlands, adding that there were a number of rare or endangered species close to the old trail, with a concern that to reopen it would increase risk of access to the species.
Illegal access to the huts at Hottentots Holland (HH) has also been an issue.
“There was an ongoing issue with illegal access to the huts at HH. Instead of coming to HH reception, people would walk up from Jonkershoek side and overnight at the hut without approvals or permits or keys.
“This meant they broke into the hut to stay over or would interfere with other users who had legally obtained permission to overnight at the huts (from the HH Nuweberg side),” Van Rhyn said.
She added that the Jonkershoek and Assegaaibosch trails are closed temporarily due to damage caused by the recent rains and will be opened once it is safe for the public.
To sign the petition, visit: https://www.change.org/p/oppose-the-closure-of-hiking-trails-by-cape-nature
Cape Times