SANParks Week 2016

The annual South African National Parks (SANParks) Week (12 – 17 September 2016) gives all South Africans the opportunity to explore their local national park for free. All you’ll need is your South African ID as proof of citizenship.

This year’s theme for the SANParks Week is “Know Your National Parks”. The objective of the week is to grow a culture of pride in our relationship with the country’s natural, cultural and historical heritage.

According to SANParks Acting Head of Communications, Mr William Mabasa the objective of the week is to cultivate a culture of pride in all South Africans in their relationship with the country’s natural, cultural and historical heritage. “When people start to take pride in the national parks, then we believe that they will start to understand the importance of conservation.”

The idea of a national parks focus week is a world-wide campaign and was conceived in  South Africa in 2006, after realising that a vast majority of South Africans weren’t  accessing the national parks.

“This year’s SA National Parks Week will include exhibitions around the country at various key national parks which will represent the different geographical regions of SANParks. The expo will include cultural, conservation, nursery and tourism aspects from the community, rangers and various conservation entities in order to highlight the broader South African biodiversity landscape,” said Mabasa.

National Parks in the Western Cape

Grab the opportunity that SANParks Week provides to get out and explore the national   parks in the province:

• Agulhas National Park
• Bontebok National Park
• Garden Route National Park
• Karoo National Park
• Table Mountain National Park
• Tankwa Karoo National Park
• West Coast National Park

Some of the parks will be extending the week to include the weekend. For individual park dates please visit the SANParks website.

Please note that free access to the parks doesn’t include:

• accommodation,
• any commercial activities in the park such as guided safaris in vehicles or guided walks,
• access to certain parks in the province, namely Namaqua National Park, Boulders Beach Penguin Colony and Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (both within Table Mountain National Park).

What you can see and do in some of the National Parks

Some of the parks will be extending the week to include the weekend, so to find out more you can refer to the individual park dates.

Alternatively, you can also visit the SANParks website or email Tarcia Hendricks at tarcia.hendricks@sanparks.org