Staff Reporter.
South African National Parks (SANParks) has urged visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) to book in advance and to observe the rules of the park over the coming festive season.
SANParks has reminded day visitors that daily quotas for day visitors will apply during this period.
Those wanting to pre-book are advised to choose from the following slots prior to their arrival:
Time slot 1: 05:30 to 07:30
Time slot 2: 07:30 to 09:30
Time slot 3: 09:30 onwards
“For busy periods such as the festive season, we aim to better manage the volumes that we expect, as well as our visitors’ expectations. The three different time slots are aimed at improving the spread of vehicles and preventing unnecessary waiting periods at gates.
“The Day Visitor Quota for the Park is a management tool to prevent overcrowding the roads and facilities; it is applied throughout the year although we mostly reach carrying capacity during long weekends and school holidays resulting in us having to turn visitors away,” said the KNP’s spokesperson, Ike Phaahla.
Pre-booked day visitors will get preference over non-booked day visitors at the gate, but they must ensure that they arrive within their booked time slots or risk being turned away.
Bookings can be changed as well through SANParks Reservations offices if need be.
“The park has made plans for increased visibility of both traffic officials and visitor management personnel to monitor speeding, after-hours travelling and general behaviour on the roads. Visitors are also reminded to not bring liquor with them as the alcohol ban on public areas in the park is a permanent rule which is enforced at all times.
“Management is urging visitors to cooperate with officials who will be on duty and to report unbecoming behaviour to the gate officials or call the emergency call centre number on the entry permits,” advised Phaahla.