Tokai and Silvermine trails are to reopen in July

SANParks trails in Tokai and Silvermine East, including the Kalk Bay, St James, and Muizenberg mountains, as well as the Steenberg Plateau, will reopen on Tuesday, 1 July.

The trails were closed after a wildfire in late April burned approximately 2 800 hectares. ("Tokai fire contained; suspect arrested in unrelated mountain blaze," Bulletin)

In addition to safety concerns, the closures were also implemented for ecological reasons. According to SANParks, there has been a significant flush of vegetation regrowth following 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,” SANPark said.

However, the Silvermine picnic site, boardwalk, river walk, and other trails in Silvermine West will remain closed.

SANParks has confirmed that all infrastructure in this area was damaged, including the destruction of ablution facilities.

“Infrastructure repairs will take some time and we will not be able to open the picnic area while there are no toilets,” it said

“Table Mountain National Park (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, ” SANParks said.

Although repair work is progressing as quickly as possible, it may be affected by winter weather conditions. While some trails may appear unaffected, it is not feasible to reopen certain trails while others remain unsafe, SANParks said.

“Allowing access to specific trails could lead to difficulty controlling which paths people use. Additionally, it is not reasonable to allow access to some user groups such as mountain bike users and not others.”